10 WWE Decisions AEW SHOULD BE Scared Of

2. The Paul Heyman Effect

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WWE

There's something particularly delicious about about Vince McMahon preparing for this latest wrestling war by arming himself with his two biggest enemy generals from the last major one.

The returns of Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff to Raw and SmackDown respectively earlier this year provided fascinating insight into the always-abstruse mind of The Chairman. Heyman especially, considering the rapid upswing in the red brand's quality since he was reported to have taken the boiling hot seat.

Not to go all Bruce Prichard on the internal operations, but there's been so much rumour and innuendo regarding McMahon's inner circle this year that it's impossible to work out exactly who's doing what from our spot on the grassy knoll outside Titan Tower.

Network specials with cameras in Gorilla reveal the likes of Prichard, Jeff Jarrett and Heyman himself sat in close proximity to McMahon, with Triple H always there or thereabouts as is his wont as the heir to the lot of it. Conflicting reports about Bischoff's influence and/or control of the blue brand notwithstanding, McMahon's relaunched XFL kicks off in February 2020, raising further questions about his involvement of the output day-to-day.

Could the former Philadelphia gaffer currently be operating at such a level that he could manage things without McMahon entirely once the football's underway?

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett