Paul Heyman Reveals What WWE Now Looks For During Tryouts

WWE's tryouts aren't about impressing Vince McMahon anymore. Here's what Paul Heyman looks out for.

Paul Heyman
WWE.com

"Someone who’s 20 better not look at this industry the same way I do".

That's how Paul Heyman feels about candidates who attend WWE tryouts. The process has changed quickly since Vince McMahon retired, and the iconic manager has been drafted in by Triple H to help vet potential signees during company auditions.

Heyman revealed, during an interview with Bleacher Report, that he deliberately asks young hopefuls questions that they "better not have the answer to". Explaining, Roman Reigns' on-screen handler said that he doesn't want people with "prior knowledge" of the product.

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That...sounds an awful lot like what McMahon has occasionally looked for.

Putting things another way, Heyman said he looks for people "who see this as an option, not an obsession". He'd like WWE to hire young men and women who aren't "living and dying and breathing and hoping and praying that all of their dreams since they were five years old can come true or come crashing down around them by the decision that’s made".

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Again, it sounds like Heyman is there to scout out those who barely watched wrestling growing up.

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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.