Paul Heyman on Lesnar's Future After WM 34, Ronda Rousey, Goldberg, Would ECW Work Today?

WWE personality Paul Heyman recently spoke to The New York Post.

Q: Do you think [this] Sunday will be one of the last times you walk Brock Lensar to the ring as his advocate, at least for a while?

A: It’s most likely the answer to that is yes. The reasons are rather public. Brock is eyeballing a return to the octagon. He’s made no secret about it. He’s out in Las Vegas at the UFC offices taking a selfie with Dana White wearing a UFC T-shirt. These are not secret negotiations.

The fact that both our contracts are coming due is not a secret, either. Is this the last time that Brock Lesnar goes out to the ring in WWE, I truly don’t know that answer because what we’re focused on at the moment is … Brock is very laser focused on the task at hand. That’s always been his way, since he grew up on a dairy farm in Webster, South Dakota as a kid.

[At] 5 a.m. milk the cows, 8 a.m. get the eggs from the chicken. Everything is task oriented. Right now our task is to deliver a memorable main event with Roman Reign with the Universal title on the line. That happens April 8th.

Once we’re done with that task then we’ll focus on what happens after April 8th. It’s just the mindset that Brock Lesnar has and it’s worked for him every since he won an NCAA Division I heavyweight championship.

Q: If you were advocating for Ronda Rousey right now, what advice would you give her as she is starting out her wrestling career?

A: Well I’m not yet advocating for Ronda Rousey and if I ever do, my advocacy comes with a very high price. So I don’t know why I would offer free advice in New York’s number one newspaper to Ronda Rousey for her and anyone who Googles this interview to see.

Q: You’re inducting Goldberg into the WWE Hall of Fame next weekend. Why do you think he has always been so revered despite people’s criticism of his in-ring abilities?

A: Goldberg is authentic. What you see is what you get and he’s a wrecking machine. He was a wrecking machine on the football field and he made the transition into WCW. At the time WCW could not brag about one homegrown superstar on a global basis.

They inherited Ric Flair from the NWA days. They inherited Sting from the NWA days. The Steiner Brothers from the NWA days, but Goldberg was the only homegrown WCW superstar and rightfully so.

He looks the part. He walks the part. He talks the part. He is the part. He is a legit, American-born, tough-as-nails badass. Goldberg was as close to a cultural icon as WCW ever produced.

Q: If you were to start some semblance of ECW today. What advantages would you think social media would give you, but would there be disadvantages with where the culture is today with concussions?

A: Number one, I wouldn’t start up an ECW today. I don’t think an ECW can be launched today. And if an ECW were to be launched today, the nature of the word extreme would have to be exemplified and personified by the artistic display of the performers far more than putting people through flaming tables, swinging barbwire baseball bats, tables, ladder and chairs.

The hardcore aspect of this industry is a thing of the past. It has to be. It just has to be. You can’t responsibly promote a style that lends itself to head trauma. You just can’t. It’s just not applicable.

In terms of social media today, social media is the current form of communication, especially in today’s society to where it’s the preferred method of delivering news to the country by the President of the United States.

Socially media has truly, completely taken over as the form of communication preferred not only by kids, but by the government. So, there are always upsides and downsides to it. The job of promoter is to exploit the advantages of social media to a degree that helps presents and promotes your product.