Paul Heyman is widely considered one of the greatest minds in pro wrestling history. We already know what he did by turning ECW into a cultural phenomenon and wrestling powerhouse, but some people may not know how integral Heyman was for WWE’s creative team in the early 2000s. Heyman joined WWE in February 2001 to replace Jerry Lawler — who had quit when then-wife Stacy Carter was fired — as Jim Ross’ right-hand man on commentary. It wasn’t long before he became a writer for the company.
A year later, Vince McMahon introduced a brand-split, separating Raw and Smackdown into two different rosters with distinctive writing crews. Heyman joined the Smackdown crew and became the head writer in July 2002, though he still answered to Stephanie McMahon who would effectively be running the show. At the time Heyman joined the team, Smackdown was allegedly on the verge of cancellation, causing a need for a loaded roster and a new creative direction. What Heyman did with Smackdown was nothing short of magical, giving us one of the best creative runs in wrestling history.
Heyman had major help in the fact that the Smackdown roster is maybe the most complete roster in WWE history, which is remarkable considering the fact it was only half of WWE’s roster at the time. They had legends and main eventers like Hulk Hogan and The Rock. They had hunger, in their prime wrestlers like the Smackdown Six (more on them later). He also had rookie superstars in Brock Lesnar, John Cena and Batista (briefly). Not to mention the relatively strong cruiserweight division of Kidman, Mysterio and Jamie Noble. It was a monster squad. But great rosters don’t mean anything unless you have someone pulling the strings to make them work to their potential. Here’s what Heyman did that was so incredible.
The Smackdown Six
Let’s get the most famous part of the Heyman Era out of the way first. The SmackDown Six consisted of Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Edge, Rey Mysterio, and Chavo and Eddie Guerrero. They were are relatively popular figures in wrestling already, but they became something special under Heyman. They began having great matches during a tag tournament whose championship match featured maybe the best tag team match in WWE history up to that point: Rey Mysterio and Edge vs. Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. The matches would carry over to Smackdown episodes as any combination of the six wrestlers would find ways to feud and end the show with 30-minute clinics. Edge proved himself to be a superstar cutting main event-level promos and putting on classics with Angle, Guerrero and Benoit to close out shows. Benoit became a fan-favorite, showing decent mic skills and a bit of comedy as Angle’s partner, all culminating in a coronation at Royal Rumble 2003 where the two rivals had the match of the year. Kurt Angle was in his prime, putting it all together to be at his best. But the biggest revelation from the Smackdown Six might have been the fact that Guerrero had it.
Sure, Latino Heat had shown off his charisma and ability to connect with the fans in the past, but his Smackdown run made him a legend. There’s a moment on the September 5, 2002 Smackdown when Guerrero is left alone in the ring with his opponents Edge, Rikishi and Undertaker and he plays it to perfection. It seems like right then it clicked for him and the fans that Guerrero could do anything and be entertaining. Just look at it and watch everyone in the ring hold back the laughter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCxwAmf5zPc
The Smackdown Six became the standard-bearers for wrestling in 2002 and 2003, launching each guy (besides Chavo) into the main event, superstar picture.
Brock Lesnar
Paul Heyman was always known as someone who could accentuate performers’ positives when they had a ton of shortcomings. His run at ECW was the equivalent of a mid-major coach finding a way to the Sweet 16 when his roster might not have had the stars the big teams had. Well, with Smackdown, Heyman now had a Dream Team and the #1 blue chipper was Brock Lesnar. When Lesnar made it to Smackdown, he was still a rookie, raw and athletic as hell who was immediately thrust into a feud with The Rock. If you watch the Smackdowns leading up to the match between the two at SummerSlam 2002, you’ll notice that the intensity was off the charts. Heyman (along with Vince McMahon) created a real-life UFC feel to the match, making it seem like Rock and Brock would be two super athletes having a competition. This didn’t feel like sports entertainment. It felt like peak-level athleticism on display.
After Brock handled Rock, he would move on the face Undertaker, who deserves a massive amount of recognition for the role he played in making Brock look like a star. ‘Taker, who was mastering the American Badass gimmick, would put Lesnar over clean in a Hell in a Cell, then go on Smackdown the next week and call him the better man. Undertaker did a stellar job at showing how to elevate younger talent and still look great in the process.
Under Heyman (and with veteran help from guys like Undertaker, Kurt Angle and Big Show, who Heyman turned into a legitimate threat for the first time in his career), Lesnar went from rookie sensation to staple main eventer destined for greatness.
The Misses
Heyman’s Smackdown had two major notable misses, though it’s hard to tell if they were his ideas or from the McMahons. The most infamous horrible storyline came from the Torrie Wilson/Dawn Marie feud. The basis of the back and forth came from Marie marrying Torrie’s dad. Then Torrie’s dad kayfabe died. And there was a funeral. And a lesbian scene or three somewhere in the middle. It was hard to watch, even with the amount of boobage they were showcasing every week.
The next miss was the Billy and Chuck gay wedding angle. The tag team of Billy and Chuck were essentially the Ambiguously Gay Duo come to life and in a push for mainstream appeal, they would have a gay wedding on TV. I always remembered this as a terrible, embarrassing sports entertainment angle, but I watched the episodes back and they’re not as bad as I remember. There was actually, dare I say, some progressiveness here with D-Von Dudley — in a preacher gimmick — bemoaning the wedding for religious reasons only to get called out for his hypocrisy and summarily defeated. Still the show could have done without the story, even though the bait and switch at the actual wedding was executed really well.
The Quick Hits
There were some other great nuances to the Heyman Smackdowns that made the shows great. For instance, Jamie Noble and Nidia were revelations. Go back and watch them. They had tremendous chemistry and Noble had great matches with Kidman and Mysterio.
It was also great watching John Cena figure things out. He was apparently a Stephanie McMahon project, so I’m not sure how hands-on Heyman was. But watching John Cena develop his character in hindsight is great.
People like to trash Michael Cole for his commentary, but he was pretty good on Smackdown. Heyman and Jim Ross were helping produce, so Cole really couldn’t go wrong.
The Verdict
The Heyman Smackdowns might be the best WWE show ever. For me, I’d put the 1997 Raws as the only show that can compete. Whatever the case, the Heyman shows are on the WWE Network in full, so go watch them all. Now. Do it.
