Paul Heyman: I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Vince McMahon

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Originally published at Paul Heyman: I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Vince McMahon

Paul Heyman heaped praise on Vince McMahon in an interview released last night, stating that McMahon will “never get the credit or understanding that he truly deserves.”

Heyman was speaking on the MackMania podcast, less than two weeks after McMahon retired amidst a WWE board of directors’ investigation into multiple non-disclosure payments made to former employees.

The payments included a single settlement of $7.5 million for a former female talent, who alleged that she was coerced into performing oral sex on McMahon prior to her demotion and eventual release.

When asked about McMahon’s departure, Heyman said (transcription courtesy of Fightful.com):

I think there is a locker room and an office filled with fabulously wealthy people thanks to the 22-hour work day of Vince McMahon for the past 40 years. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Vince McMahon.

What a hypocrite I would be to say anything less than extraordinarily complimentary (things) about that man. His work ethic, his willingness to put in 20, 22 hours a day, every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for 40 years is why we are all fabulously wealthy. He’ll never get the credit or understanding that he truly deserves and he earned.

Heyman also offered his support to the new creative team led by Paul Levesque, stating:

Everyone right now, who is steering this ship, was prepared to steer this ship from Vince himself, which makes me very comfortable in their vision and their hopes, dreams, desires, and their new vision, which should not be Vince’s vision, it should be their vision because Vince’s vision wasn’t his father’s vision. It was his vision. He created a universe in an image that he believed in.

Those who are now running the show will create the progression of that universe, into the next generation of that universe based on the things they agreed with and the things they disagreed with. Hopefully, the things they disagreed with, they will make better and the things they understood was an absolute taught by Vince, they will carry on that tradition. It’s going to be fascinating to watch.

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I guess there is no room for nuanced discussion on the pros and cons of all of everything that encompasses Vince McMahon: including (but not limited too) making many people wealthy, being a hypocrite himself, and paying to make workplace sexual assault “go away” (at least for a time).

I get how Heyman’s working the media/PR game here but it seems like there should be room to commend, criticize, and condemn McMahon’s career, actions, behaviors, issues, and impact in the same breath or space. You can say the guy made me and a bunch of other people fabulously wealthy, while also admitting that he is for all intents and purposes and walking shitbag. Like, it’s possible. lol.

I guess workers are always gonna work, and the old school remain, well, the old school. It is what it is.

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I think the one sentence “I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Vince McMahon” changes the context of the rest of Paul’s statement. It’s easy (if not sketchy/disingenuous) to only comment on Vince’s contributions to the business. But it all still comes off as a tacit – even if unintentional – approval or disregard for the elephant in the room.

I know that it’s a pending legal issue and that you’re probably not going to get much on that topic from a current WWE employee (especially somebody as savvy as Paul Heyman). But every statement about VKM that doesn’t address it is incomplete and somewhat unsettling.

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