Paul Heyman made headlines on the first night of WrestleMania when he aligned with Seth “Freakin” Rollins and turned on both CM Punk and Roman Reigns, adding another twist to a storyline that began with The Bloodline. Michael Cole, who has been a member of WWE broadcasts since 1997 and calls Monday Night Raw and other premium live events for the company, articulated to the Hall of Fame manager that he should win an Emmy Award for his work. Outside of his on-screen persona, he is involved in writing and working with the talent involved, and Cole conveyed that his work is incredible during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Heyman, who has been managing Reigns for the last five years, discussed the events of WrestleMania during a lengthy interview from WWE World from the Las Vegas Convention Center. Upon hearing Cole deliver his praise, he thanked him for the kind words and stated that he agreed with the assessment he made regarding the Emmy Awards.
“I challenge the Emmy Awards to finally open their eyes and understand exactly what’s going on in front of them,” Heyman said. “It’s not like we’re bicycling tapes anymore in syndication. We’re on Netflix, we’re being covered by ESPN. We are consistently the No. 1 videos on YouTube, we are consistently the No. 1 guests on any podcasts that has us on, so with that kind of global recognition and acceptance of the beautiful performance art known as professional wrestling, one would think that the Emmy Award people would open their eyes to what’s truly going on in entertainment.”
Heyman continued by explaining that the public will “sooner than later” speak up to a degree where it becomes impossible for the Emmy Awards not to recognize the WWE for its contributions to entertainment. McAfee divulged that he hopes this is the case, averring how Heyman and Cole have contributed to the entertainment within his life more than any other broadcast company. Cole proceeded to share that the WWE recently completed a 12-hour offseason and would be on the air again with Monday Night Raw.
“Boston” Connor Campbell mentioned how Netflix is going to premiere a new 10-part docuseries this summer through which fans can evince the creative process and view other elements of the production. As the audience gains a more comprehensive picture behind the proverbial curtain, Heyman thinks that it will give the company and its creative team more publicity and further bolster knowledge surrounding the product. Rather than having disdain for this access, he accepts it and recognizes how the business has deviated from adhering to traditional fundamentals of storytelling related to heroism and malevolence.
“Do I like walking through the curtain and there’s a camera right in my face documenting how I come out of the character that you see on TV? No, I don’t like it,” Heyman said. “Am I going to fight against it? No, I’m not going to fight against it because those camera are going to be there whether I like it or not, so I’m accepting of the fact that this is the change in the industry, and I better figure out how not to capitalize on that, and I better figure out how now to capitalize on that, how to expand from it and how to be a part of it or it’s going to leave me behind.”
The docuseries, which is titled WWE: Unreal, is produced by Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports and World Wrestling Entertainment. Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ross Ketover, Lee Fitting and Marc Pomarico are among the executive producers listed on the project being directed by Chris Weaver and Erik Powers. Heyman understands that it is essential to participate and not be reluctant to shine in the spotlight as he watches the business further progress.
“You can go with the train into the future of this industry or you can stay behind like these old timers and then go, ‘You know, back in my day, back in my day. This isn’t how we did it,’” Heyman said. “It ain’t your day anymore, and it ain’t your day because you refused to go into the future with the industry that is moving at a rapid pace that way.”
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