WWE Paul Heyman DVD Review: 13 Things You Should Know

13. The Early Years

One of the most fascinating aspects of this DVD is the light it casts on Paul Heyman's personal life: he's always been a fairly private individual, but here for the first time we get some genuine insight into his family. There's photos of his parents and later on his own children. Heyman's formative years saw him raised by his Holocaust surviving mother and attorney father in New York. From a young age he was charmed by wrestling and there's a veritable trove of images and videos of a teenage Paul attending wrestling events at Madison Square Garden. Even at that young age he looks full of confidence and mischief. By age 14 Paul was operating his own business. He started selling mail order movie posters, making extra money on the side by photographing at WWF New York events. How did he get the press credentials? By sheer hustle; winging it with Vince J McMahon that he was a wrestling reporter. His Mother was disappointed in his decision to go into the wrestling business, but his father got something of a kick out of it. Within a few years Heyman was a regular figure at wrestling ringsides. He photographed all the top stars and got to know men like Freddie Blassie and The Grand Wizard. He credits this with being the learning curve for some of his own managerial work later in his career.