How Paul Heyman Saved WWE SmackDown In 2002

In an effort to create genuine separation between the shows after a feeble false start, the red and blue brands were torn from one another wholesale.

Company head writer Brian Gerwirtz became chief scribe on Raw, whilst Paul Heyman was surprisingly selected to steady a sinking SmackDown ship. He explained as much during a Chris Jericho podcast interview. “When they split the writing team and i became the lead writer of SmackDown, SmackDown was facing cancellation. All eyes were on Raw internally because the Raw ratings had dropped…my job was just to take SmackDown off their plate.”

The hand of the author could be felt from the earliest stages too, but - and in a change to the regular received wisdom - this was actually a welcome development. Crucially, Heyman’s creative voice was different, and those differences helped stifled choking characters breathe again. John Cena dodged a firing and began his journey to the summit by donning Vanilla Ice attire. Brock Lesnar was a largely unproven WWE Champion that appeared to grow into the role overnight. Matt Hardy ’s V1 Persona took off within weeks of the roll-out and potentially disastrous split from brother Jeff. But all of these success stories paled in comparison to pulsating beating heart of the show he’d carefully reestablished in the midcard.