The Secret History Of ECW | Wrestling Timelines
April 13, 1997 - Market Research
By 1997, the promotion has peaked artistically.
Heyman, though, is still clever. He is a man who will one day outlast Vince McMahon as a creative force in WWE which, to anybody who knows history, is inconceivable.
On the same night, Heyman books a spectacular match in collaboration with Michinoku Pro Wrestling. Gran Hamada, the Great Sasuke, and Masato Yakushiji defeat TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo and Terry Boy. All six men, versed in the puro-lucha hybrid form, dazzle the crowd across 17 jaw-dropping minutes. When it’s over, the fans award it with a standing ovation.
This is Heyman at his most resourceful. So what if Eric Bischoff has poached so many of his talents and ideas; he’s got more of them.
Heyman still has the ability to blow the minds of his audience with a futuristic style they can barely comprehend. The problem is that he is getting what he wanted back in 1991: people are listening to him. Many wrestlers in the match very quickly make their way to the WWF to bolster its Junior Heavyweight division. Every time Paul Heyman creates or repurposes an idea, the WWF or WCW takes it.
At this point, he isn’t so much running a wrestling promotion as conducting market research for his wealthier competitors - and the talent will always follow the money.
Heyman actually is working with the WWF - but what’s he getting out of it, really? He’s earning a bit of consultancy coin as the WWF makes untold riches from his ideas.