Heyman's Five-Year Plan

[It's Damn Real!]

Had he been hired as was reportedly TNA's intentions for months now, the sought-after Paul Heyman recently laid out his long-term plan for TNA Wrestling in an interview with the UK Sun:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/3178291/Paul-Heyman-turns-down-TNA-for-MMA.html

"To me, it was more of a deal with Spike TV and then a stock and ownership deal involving TNA. I had a five-year plan. I was going to spend 18 months building the roster and the next 18 months exploiting that built roster. That's three years in, go public in three, stay for two more running it and get out at 50. That was my plan, I had an exit plan. I had a five-year plan and I clued everyone into it."

I told TNA what my plan was and I told Spike TV what my plan was and how we would capitalise on it."

"I also explained how we would make this thing move and an acknowledgement that wrestling is a diminishing market and it's not perceived as cool. So I told them how you, if not change course, at least present it differently so that at least you have a chance in today's marketplace to compete."

"When that didn't happen, that was it. I didn't have any other interest in doing it. It was closed. I would have done it for that particular deal and that's it. That time passed."

Thoughts on Heyman's words? Would his five-year plan have worked for TNA? Why or why not?

 

[TNAtion4Life]

I think his words were very well said and I would have had high optimism for it to work. I would however have liked to have him elaborate more on his ideas on presenting the product differently and/or changing the course of the product.

 

[shattered dreams]

I'd like to know exactly what he meant by "present it differently" but honestly I doubt Heyman was some huge difference maker. I really think the only strategy TNA needs is to keep putting on the best show they can week in and week out to grow the audience the only way you can, slowly. While I would have liked to see Heyman's vision, I suspect another full reboot and working out all the kinks of said reboot would really hurt TNA. Something like their third one of those in 3 years and pretty much everyone floundered for a while before it actually started working. I also have some serious reservations about a short timeline to a borderline mandatory going public. It might work but it might backfire and simply become a countdown until Vince buys TNA. I look at what Heyman does on his hustle site and I am not so sure he has really has ideas beyond return to attitude era. Something like reaction shows enough innovation for me to think staying the course was better than heyman firing all your veterans and having the knockouts go back to stripping.

I'd give one caveat that if his approach was to force the talent to get over these outdated ideas involving too many unwritten rules, that essentially place wrestling in a protectionist failing society, then he might have been on to something worth trying. Then again if his ideas related to MMA type stuff I think they were never going to amount to much.

I kind of get the image of Heyman as the old guy Adam Sandler got dumped for in Big Daddy.

 

[Optimist Prime]

I touched upon this in another Heyman thread here...

No, I don't believe it would have worked. From the research I've gathered...Heyman had a very good "big picture" outlook on where ECW was going to be headed but wasn't very good with much after that. TNA already has their direction (despite several people wanting them to just be an all X Division show). ECW didn't have very good storylines at all. It was basically just extreme wrestling with nonsense in between. TNA is trying to get away from that. At least the nonsense part anyway.

So what is the point of hiring Heyman? What is he going to do exactly? He became the head of ECW in 1995...and yes, he ran into some bad luck going up against WCW and WWF amidst the Monday Night Wars and some of the best days the mainstream wrestling business had ever been through...but he still didn't do much. You can't exactly use that as an excuse and just assume he would have been much better had the circumstances been different. Regardless of the circumstances, he failed. He tried to create a niche market inside a niche market and while it created some great matches, wrestlers, and chants down the line...it failed to capitalize on the main goal which is to be successful, maximize profits, what have you.

I just don't see how he makes much of a difference. A lot of the TNA fans love the idea because TNA has a large portion of the ECW market...because quite a lot of people hate mainstream and love the underdog or whatever the reason might be...plus TNA does have more of an "extreme" feel to it than WWE could ever. I just don't think that going 100% into the "extreme" realm is such a good idea...and when you have guys like Hogan and Bischoff owning portions and running things...I don't think they'd ever go for it either...because they wouldn't feel comfortable as they have no idea about the genre of wrestling. Can't blame them. That's like you taking a job at a place you love and then it turning into something very uncomfortable overnight that you aren't very familiar with...but you're still expected to contribute your fair share.

So I say there is no point for Paul Heyman. He's basically a poor man's Jim Cornette...who I also wouldn't want to have in TNA (especially after the internet mumbo jumbo).

In order to move forward they should probably try somebody knew. Too many times businesses look at the older experienced guy to help them with something in a modern society in which they perhaps don't know all that much about any longer. Try giving a smart younger guy a shot at thinking of a few things. He'd be infinitely cheaper...and he probably knows a lot more about the demographics and modern techniques to use.

 

[goodlay]

Regardless if his so called "5 year plan" would have worked or not, TNA just needs to get behind a single direction and go with it.

Though I do think Heyman is right in how he talked about how mainstream doesn't see wrestling as cool. But, how do you "present it differently?" Plus I don't think he would have done as well as all the people on his nuts think, but he wouldn't have driven TNA bankrupt or anything.

The whole "they" angle would have been significantly better for sure. Heyman coming out at BFG instead of Hogan/Bischoff would have been fucking great, and you actually get that feeling of take-over or invasion.

 

[Calderownz]

It's hard to assume how things would work out. He didn't really lay out his plan. How would he exploit the current roster? How would he continue to build upon it?

So, it's hard to say. Judging by his track record, he knows how to use talent. He knows what hooks people in. However, time changes things. So, you never know.

 

[ChampionOfTheWorld]

WOW what a big miss from TNA they should have brought in heyman simple for the fact that he is gauranteeing TNA will be around for another 5 years.

heyman is the reason the WWE version of ECW was actually good even if it wasnt all that extreme.

An old episode of ECW that lasted one hour was better than a raw episode that is 2 hours.

Heyman is the reason ECWS legacy still lived on 10 years later in TNA.

in conclusion Heyman is the shit and would have carried TNA to the top

 

[huegtoad]

in regards to wrestling and booking and stuff, people got to remember there are two paul heyman's. The Paul Heyman in charge ECW mess that depending on who you ask was either far better than WWE/WCW mid to late 90's product. Then there's the Paul Heyman that actually made Smackdown the "A" show in the early 2000's during the early period of the brand seperation/extension. I don't know which Paul Heyman gave that interview, but here's what i do know, I don't want Paul Heyman having free reign. Someone can reign him in and let him in his own words, "accentuate the positives" and "hide his weaknesses" then i am all for him, but give himfree reign, he is far too reckless

 

[ctln4rko]

i would love to have heyman in tna, but it's too late. hogan and bischoff are there, and a tna wrestler, i think nash or sting said, tna has recreated the nwo, in a horrible fashion, and thus the end of wcw. the problem is the storylines. the wrestlers are so talented, but so many of the gimmicks and storylines just dont make sense and ramn together.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

I dont know if Heyman could do anything with TNA. Yes his words seem like he knows what he's doing but he really has nothing behind them. Present it differently? Ok that sounds good but how? Knowing Heyman he would probably try to go the MMA route but who knows if that would every work for wrestling. He said wrestling is a diminishing market and from my point of view MMA is picking up the slack in that department, plus Heyman is huge into MMA so I think he would try and go in that direction with disastrous results.

He also said he wanted to take time to build the roster. TNA has a decent roster with established stars, including two of the biggest stars of all time. TNA's roster isn't the problem its the bonehead utilization of the talent and the fact that they CENTER around two 60 year old men that makes their product shit.

Then he says he wanted to spend time "exploiting" the roster. What the fuck does that even mean? Is he talking about build up? Is he talking about storylines? IDK and if anyone does please share. We all know that Heyman is a great "big picture" guy but his execution is not a strong suit.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure Heyman's plan is much much more detailed than the little tidbit that we got. But what can you really say about his five year plan from what we currently know about it? Not much thats for sure. But hey whatever he was planning probably would've been better than the horseshit we are subjected to now.

 

[Carpathian Florist]

If Heyman has such a surefire plan for success and he's the saviour of wrestling, how come he hasn't got his own promotion again?
He had quite a large role in WWE over the years, surely he must have made a fair bit of money so why did he just quit wrestling altogether when the McMahons began driving him nuts? Surely if he was that dedicated and had all the ideas to make it huge, why didn't he just invest in a new company that he could run exactly how he likes? If he was fresh off of WWE stardom I'm sure some network would take a gamble on his show, especially if he had a 5 year plan for that company.

Seems to me he's just lazy and wanted a promotion handed to him on a silver platter, which is what he wanted from TNA. If he's so wonderful why hasn't he done anything himself? People wanna talk about Bischoff and Hogan leeching off TNA to pad out their retirement funds, I suspect Heyman is guilty of the same thing.

 

[VencomHardcore]

I have to address the HEYMAN HATERS first.

As someone else said. There are two Heymans. So to say that he would try to recreate the attitude era IS COMPLETELY WRONG ! He says in his own words that MMA is hot and cool. Therefore logic shows that he wouldn't be going attitude era but some NEW TYPE of wrestling not done before. Like ECW when he did the first gay storyline, the first triple threat match, catered to the alternative rock and hip hop crowd.

SO if he is looking at a new presentation. Obviously he has a new style that would be done in order to make TNA look fresh and different. And The attitude Era or NWO 2.0 isn't fresh , new or ground breaking.

If there is anything Paul Heyman does better than Bishoff or Hogan ever could do is HE IS A GENIUS AT MAKING ANY WRESTLER LOOK GREAT ! That is what he is meaning by building talent - Taking those wrestlers that have weaknesses and working on strengthening them in those areas while finding their strengths and exploiting them.

Another thing HEYMAN GENIUS - PROMOTION. Say what you will but he markets the hell out of Brock Lesnar. And he knows how to build a brand out of anyone. That is something Bishoff / Hogan or Russo are not good at doing. They may know how to appeal to wrestling fans but they are not able to BRAND as well as Heyman in an era where MMA is kicking wrestling butt at every PPV.

Research the numbers. Plus MMA makes more money because each ticket for a show is higher at the gate than what WWE and TNA charges. So if Heyman only raised the perceived value of TNA in order to get a higher door fee. That is better than the FREE admission and lost of revenue they are getting at the impact zone.

Second a higher perceived value for TNA will allow the house shows to make more money and do better cities. TNA is a redneck brand right now. Look at where they travel too. Half the cities I have to look up on a map because I have never heard of them. TNA has not ever come to Baltimore where I live yet WWE comes here 3 Times per Year and sell out. Hell, MCW [ Maryland Championship Wrestling ] is doing more people than IMPACT every month and they are on Cable Access. So the money is out there.

So I would be interested in Heyman's detailed plan. Would I put him over the money ? NO. But I would take his plan because they seem more in tune to the future than what TNA is doing now. NWA/WCW style of wrestling is not going to cut it against MMA . Vince knows it , Dana White Knows it and So do I...lol

And I have heard Jim Ross, Brock Lesnar and Dana White say that Heyman is a marketing genius that is ahead of his time. That is a big endorsement.

Can I hold ECW's demise over his head ? NO. Because WCW died also. And people learn from their mistakes. Most millionaires have failed at least twice in business before becoming successful according to several books on the subject and research.

But I DO KNOW he would have made TNA appear COOL and HIP against WWE and spread the word better than they are doing now because even with hogan and bishoff they still can't sell out a second tier ciity. And are reduced to the Redneck Circuit.

 

[farlance]

If anyone on this thread knows anything about strategy, it starts with a vague 5 year plan with several bullet points, and goes from their. The tactical planning is when you start getting into detail about how the plan will unfold. Who in their right mind would go into explicit detail about their plan to the media or to a potential employer without securing the job first. How smart would that be? Here is my entire plan for you to steal and use, and not hire me.

Shattered Dreams, you say TNA strategy should be put on the best week to week? Thats the problem. They go week to week not knowing what they are going to do next. Thats why storylines have such huge holes and make no sense.

 

[VencomHardcore]

If Heyman has such a surefire plan for success and he's the saviour of wrestling, how come he hasn't got his own promotion again?
He had quite a large role in WWE over the years, surely he must have made a fair bit of money so why did he just quit wrestling altogether when the McMahons began driving him nuts? Surely if he was that dedicated and had all the ideas to make it huge, why didn't he just invest in a new company that he could run exactly how he likes? If he was fresh off of WWE stardom I'm sure some network would take a gamble on his show, especially if he had a 5 year plan for that company.

Seems to me he's just lazy and wanted a promotion handed to him on a silver platter, which is what he wanted from TNA. If he's so wonderful why hasn't he done anything himself? People wanna talk about Bischoff and Hogan leeching off TNA to pad out their retirement funds, I suspect Heyman is guilty of the same thing.

WHY ? Because he was probably burnt out ! And it's easier to make more money as a change artist than running the show.

Question My Friend ? Why didn't Eric or Hogan start a new promotion since they loved the business so much..... [ birds chirping ]

They both robbed Ted Turner and had the money and influence to create a new promotion. They didn't but are in TNA running the show.

Heyman is in MMA making more money than dixie would be willing to pay him right now. He's made Brock Lesnar a huge MMA star to the point other WWE wrestlers want that same noteriety. So he knows what he is doing.

 

[RVDisTNA]

To me it sounds as if he would try to make it a UFC-style of company. Which, in my opinion would be awful. I'm a WRESTLING fan. There is a difference between wrestling and MMA. I hated the 6-sided ring. It sounds like, to me, Paul Heyman would have made it 8. lol.

 

[Kitten Cutter]

Some quick points:

1. Hogan and Bischoff DID try to create their own promotion several times. The Fusient deal that fell through, the tours with The Big Show and Flair in Australia. The problem wasn't money; the problem was they could never secure a TV deal until TNA welcomed them.

2. Paul Heyman was definitely burned out from the WWE. Why wouldn't he be? Smackdown is a tough show, especially when answering to Vince McMahon, who we've all heard is no day at the beach.

3. Heyman is a master promoter. Because of him, we know who Raven, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, and Brock Lesnar are, because those are his most mainstream stars. In addition, no matter how it got done, ECW is a cult favorite. WCW isn't. NWA isn't. No one does Smoky Mountain reunions. People know who and what ECW is because of Heyman and all parties involved.

4. We can't say Hogan and Bischoff don't have a plan, but Heyman I seriously doubt would have done any NWO ripoffs/facsimile storylines. Maybe he would have done the EV2 vs. Fourtune storyline (although I doubt Sabu would have been brought back) but the X division would be stronger for sure, and his five year plan would have involved marketing a face the way Cena and Lesnar were built up from Smackdown, and how the ECW heroes and villians were built, and I'm basing this solely on past booking history.

5. No way Heyman should reveal his plans for TNA. Anyone could copy it and use for their own, even if they varied it up somehow.

 

[BillAlfonso]

I think any involvement Heyman should have in any company is strictly with booking, everytime I've heard of on of the major reasons that ECW failed is that Heyman couldn't manage finances. The issue is that there is no single booker in TNA.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

None of us could honestly tell for sure what Paul E would do, but due to his track record, he'd probably come up with something better than current TNA (a bunch of kids with downesyndrome could do better).

I mean people are quick to credit him with Smackdown's success in the early 2000's. But he wasn't the only guy in charge of creative there. On top of that, look at what happened when he scored the TNN deal, they watered down his show (thank God they still had the syndicated show).

That being said, I remember the first time I watched ECW. It seemed to blur the reality/fiction line. Gave us something we haven't seen before. And that's what is missing in wrestling right now. Would Heyman try to model TNA after UFC? I tend to give him more creative credit than that, but I bet you he'd definitely try to bring in some MMA fans.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

I think any involvement Heyman should have in any company is strictly with booking, everytime I've heard of on of the major reasons that ECW failed is that Heyman couldn't manage finances. The issue is that there is no single booker in TNA.

That wasn't really Heyman's fault though. How do you keep a roster that is getting paid crappy when as soon as the wrestlers got over, they'd turn to Vinnie Mac or Bischoff/Turner and get a big payday? So he was forced to compete with that. On top of that, he had to acquire more production expenses to make the product appear on the level of WCW and WWF. He basically was forced to make bad financial decisions.

 

[marker]

So Heyman says that he would need basically 3-5 years to "improve" tna? Why not 3 months or 1 year? The reason I ask is because many people seem to complain about Bischoff/Hogan in TNA and they have been only in tna for 10 months. Maybe we should wait 3-5 years and then judge Bischoff/Hogan influence on TNA.

Also, some people say that he would direct TNA toward MMA? This is stupid, I don't want MMA. If I wanted to watch MMA I would watch it. I like wresting and I don't want to see any wrestling-MMA fusion.

 

[fenfool]

I still have yet to see evidence of Heyman being capable of running a national company with any success. When they got a TV deal for ECW, it was the beginning of the end, he couldn't handle it, people didn't get paid, Vince bought the scraps that were left. Having a plan is wonderful, and I wish TNA actually had one and stuck to it, but executing it is certainly another.

The plan is so general, you can't really say it would have or wouldn't have worked. He lays it out very simply, but if the fans don't support it, the plan fails. I have been a fan of TNA since the beginning, and am getting frustrated with the current product and wish they would focus more on making new stars, or pushing the ones they have made...I would hope Heyman would have more faith in their 'homegrown' talent, but I don't really think it would have had that much of an effect on ratings and attendance at this point.

 

[SpecialFNK]

To me it sounds as if he would try to make it a UFC-style of company. Which, in my opinion would be awful. I'm a WRESTLING fan. There is a difference between wrestling and MMA. I hated the 6-sided ring. It sounds like, to me, Paul Heyman would have made it 8. lol.

I agree with this. as a wrestling fan, do you really want a mixture of wrestling and MMA? I don't watch MMA so I can't say for sure what all happens there, but MMA is real actual fighting yes? no story lines, but just real fighting? that is not wrestling. even wrestling isn't just wrestling, there are story lines and acting. wrestling is like a soap opera, always continuing with story lines.

Heyman had a 5 year plan. 18 months of building the roster. 18 months of exploiting the roster. after 5 years, he was done and wanted to leave. there's no guarantee he would have left TNA with it any better than what Hogan/Bischoff could have done.

I don't know what happened with Heyman in ECW, never watched it. Hogan/Bischoff haters seem to bring up that WCW went out of business (which was not directly because of Hogan or Bishcoff), but ECW also went out of business.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

i dont think that heyman was planning a MMA version of wrestling, maybe he was referring to how make it look more realistic or cool.

that could be more down to earth storylines, less typical-wrestling gimmicks, yes sounds like attitude era, it very well could be.

But as one of the guys said before, heyman made smackdown the A show for a couple of years. And thats something that nobody else was able to do since SD exists.

Lets not see heyman as the father of the extreme wrestling, because when he was given the chance, he became the best writer and booker of SD! history.

 

[RVDisTNA]

To me, it just seems hes more interested in an MMA type atmosphere. Any interview you see with him, he talks about how wrestling isn't "Cool" anymore and how UFC is. I can appreciate a solid wrestling organization, but i'm sorry... I need some storylines and stuff too. Thats half of it's charm. I think thats why ROH isn't bigger./ Its a strictly "Wrestling" promotion. To me, thats not a very marketable product. A good wrestling product should have it all. Great Wrestling. Great promos. Hard workers. Interesting storylines. etc. And to me, TNA is the closest to having that. WWE SHOULD be, but I'm just not seeing it. And ROH I'm sure is a great Live event. But, T.V. wise, i just don't see it working. Hell, even ECW had its share of storylines and crazy characters. But it was a product that was based mainly on the wrstling too.

 

[blackmetalbuick]

I still have yet to see evidence of Heyman being capable of running a national company with any success.

You make a really good point here. It's easy to get swept up in this belief that Heyman is incredible because of what he did with ECW, etc. But was he ever really a top level player in the business? Could he really be successful in the mainstream? We don't really have any proof of that. We have a guy who certainly made a lasting impact with his ECW product, and kudos for him to that, but I don't know if that really makes him such an amazing person to deserve all this hype. I'm not sure anyone could really save TNA.

But, with that said, his ideas certainly sound interesting. He's right, wrestling is still "uncool". Despite the fact that it's no more "fake" than any other fictional show on TV, and the athletes really do require skill and experience real pain, it's still shunned. I don't know too many people who would be open about their interest in wrestling.

So if he really had an idea on how to make wrestling more acceptable, I would have been interested to see it. Like others have said, if he would just try to turn it into an MMA ripoff, it might have sucked. But certain aspects from the MMA/UFC world, I would welcome. Making it seem more "real" overall, showing the competitors training and preparing for their matches, actual finishes to matches instead of constant BS endings, etc.

TNA is the epitome of "rasslin", cheesy storylines, terrible acting, dumb gimmicks, and poor booking. It's no wonder a lot of people wouldn't openly be a fan of it. Regardless of if it's Heyman or someone else, if anyone could make some changes and do something interesting with professional wrestling in general, I'd be all for it. It might fail, but sometimes you have to take a chance.