Paul Heyman Opens Up About Vince McMahon's Work Ethic, 'Ruthless Pursuit Of Success'
Even before his sex trafficking scandal, Vince McMahon's life was marred by controversies, but nobody has ever been able to deny his absurd work ethic. Paul Heyman, who worked under him for years, has shared his thoughts on McMahon's drive and expressed what it felt like to be around him professionally during an interview on "In Depth with Graham Besinger."
Heyman recounted McMahon's early childhood, noting that he was the illegitimate son of Vincent J. McMahon, and how a series of step-fathers led to years of abuse. By the time McMahon was 12, he found out who his father was and then spent years trying to prove himself to Vince Sr.
"[McMahon] had to overcome [dyslexia], had to overcome his own personality, had to overcome a complicated mother, had to fight for his father's love, and didn't like the universe that he was in, so he created his own universe in which no one could ever hurt him," Heyman said. "His ruthless pursuit of success was, at the very same time, very psychological, and over compensatory behavior from being a child, and that it was a ruthless pursuit of becoming Teflon; of becoming invincible."
Heyman attributed McMahon's success to these factors and noted that it also made him someone that other people wanted to be around, which only further added to his personal struggles.
'Never have I met anyone that works as hard as Vince McMahon'
"He expects you to keep up with his work ethic and that's impossible," Heyman started off by saying, adding that McMahon's work ethic was so intense that he'd miss life milestones of the people around him and that he never took vacations either. "Never have I met anyone that works as hard as Vince McMahon, and it is both inspiring and it is paralyzing, because trying to keep up with him is absolutely impossible."
Heyman described McMahon's work ethic as being a "slave to the cause" of WWE, while corroborating past claims by others that McMahon would ultimately have unpredictable expectations, especially when anyone showed talent or drive, which McMahon ended up using to further WWE instead. "He's riding that vehicle until the wheels fall off — you're the vehicle and it's your wheels that are falling off! What's the best part of [working for McMahon]? Everything I just said," he proclaimed.
While Paul Heyman seems to admire the way Vince McMahon worked, it's not something everyone has had good things to say about. Former WWE writers even once described working for McMahon as being in a "kingdom ruled by fear," expressing how demanding he could be.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "In Depth with Graham Besinger," and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.