Paul Heyman Talks About How Much Of His Promos Are Scripted, What He Lets The Backstage Crew Know

Paul Heyman appeared on the SI Media Podcast recently, and opened up about his role within WWE. Host Richard Deitsch spoke to Heyman about his promos, and the level of improvisation that occurs with them on WWE TV.

When asked if his promos are scripted for him, Heyman said to an extent, but only to the level in which he knows what he's there to promote.

"What is being promoted is written for me, in the sense of 'this is the subject matter you're talking about.' Always," Heyman explained. "What are we promoting here today? We have the Brock Lesnar 'Go To Hell Tour.' Am I promoting Brock's theory of tonight? Yes or no? Am I mentioning the Stone Cold Podcast? Yes or no? I know we're pushing his Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar. Am I pushing that this all leads to WrestleMania? Yes or no? What am I promoting here?"

See Also: Rob Van Dam Talks WWE Status And Future, Working With Paul Heyman, Relationship With Sabu

Heyman was also asked how much of his promos are ad-libbed, and how much he plans before hand. Heyman said that he doesn't really let the crew backstage know too much about his promos, but they know when to hit Lesnar's theme.

"Once I'm given those parameters, it's really up to me to put it together and deliver it. How much is ad-libbed? I have a beginning, a middle and and end. I have a turning point sometimes. I'll let them know where I'm going right off the bat. All I'll let them know is my turning point. I'll let them know my final line, so they know when to hit Brock's music," Heyman said.

WWE is known for meticulously scripting many of their promos, something Heyman said doesn't work for him. He mentioned that the writing team pretty much knows to not even ask him to do it anymore, because he doesn't operate in that manner.

"They learned to stop asking me to do this. What's your first line? What's your second line? What's your third line? What's your fourth line?...If you're looking for me to go 1-2-3-4-5, you're not letting me to feel the live crowd, and you're asking me to be pigeonhole myself into memorizing a script, and it will not work. I like to interact with the audience," Heyman said.

You can listen to the full podcast at this link.

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