The Many Faces Of Paul Heyman - Ranked From Worst To Best

6. SmackDown General Manager

Paul Heyman
WWE.com

2003 saw Heyman become SmackDown’ General Manager when Stephanie McMahon was forced to resign after losing to Vince at No Mercy. While Steph had played a fan favourite, Paul’s role was far closer to Eric Bischoff’s on Raw, and he became an arrogant tyrant of a boss, regularly stacking the odds against the brand’s babyfaces, while favouring the heels.

He re-aligned with Lesnar, and blocked the Undertaker, John Cena, and Chris Benoit from receiving title shots. Before long, Paul had made an enemy of almost everybody on the roster, which came back to bite him the night before WrestleMania XX. Heyman asked the entire SD locker-room to help him and Lesnar against Steve Austin, but each and every one of them walked away, leaving the duo to fend for themselves.

Paul resigned from his role after being sent to Raw in the 2004 draft lottery, and was replaced by Kurt Angle. Though Heyman is rightly revered for his time as SmackDown’s lead writer, his GM stint was relatively unspectacular. It did, however, keep one of WWE’s most entertaining on-air personalities on our screens, and felt like an apt reward for the good work he was putting in behind the scenes.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.