Somehow, even though he was asking his talent to go to lengths that were fittingly extreme, Paul Heyman managed to keep pretty much everyone onside with his vision for what ECW could be. It's been said by many that Heyman is a master manipulator, able to take a contentious issue and have someone singing from the same hymn sheet as him immediately following a conversation. This must have been the case back in the original ECW days, because money was often hard to come by. In fact, many hard-working wrestlers - who would put their bodies through absolute hell for the company - would sometimes have to go as much as a few months without any cash coming their way. It's either a testament to Heyman's people skills, or a damning verdict on just how much blind loyalty can affect people, but there was a lot of money owed towards the end of the promotion's life span. Using stories about how they were an ongoing conspiracy against ECW, because of how well the company was doing when it never really should have existed longer than a few years, Heyman was able to keep tired, hungry and broke wrestlers motivated, all for the sake of putting on a wild, exciting show.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.