Paul Heyman is now a WWE Hall of Famer, and fans won’t forget his induction speech any time soon. The same is true for those within the company who witnessed his speech.
Brock Lesnar has been all but erased from WWE history at this point. The company did not even show him in the highlight video package for Heyman before his time on the show. That did not stop Paul E from mentioning the 1 in 21-1 several times. WWE realized who they were inducting, and where the ceremony went down as well.
After a day has passed since Heyman’s speech, I have been told that many within WWE are considering what Paul E did as one of the greatest promos in WWE history.
Internal Reaction to Paul Heyman’s WWE Hall of Fame Speech
I reached out to ask about Heyman name-dropping Brock Lesnar so much after WWE has made obvious efforts to not mention him. I was told by a tenured member of the creative team that Paul Heyman had a bit of “free rein.”
Prior to Heyman’s speech, several members of the creative team were told that, “We’re inducting Heyman in Philly, and we know what the audience is going to want, and we’re going to let Heyman give it to them.”
Some within the company consider Heyman’s speech to be the greatest Hall of Fame speech, if not the greatest promo, in WWE history. It was viewed as “insane” by many, in a very good way.
I was additionally told that what struck many people backstage was that Heyman wasn’t cursing just for the sake of it; he used profanity strategically to emphasize his points, which made it all the more effective.
Heyman’s control of the audience was also praised as “a master class in psychology,” where “the ebb and flow of his promo resembled the structure of a public speech or rally unlike anything seen before in WWE.”
I will have more in an exclusive on @sescoops soon, but concerning Paul Heyman's #WWEHallOfFame speech:
Members of the team were told: "We're inducting Heyman in Philly, and we know what the audience is going to want, and we're going to let Heyman give it to them." pic.twitter.com/U4XLE325C6
— Aaron (@AaronVarble) April 7, 2024
Paul Heyman’s induction was first on the night, so more people would see it. Those props that Heyman used were also legit, as they added even more legitimacy and nostalgia to his speech.
In the end, nobody had anything bad to say about any portion of Heyman’s speech, even his mention of Brock Lesnar. If anything, Heyman is seen as more of a GOAT than ever at this point.