Paul Heyman Talks Sneaking Into A NWA Production Meeting, Dusty Rhodes Catching Him

Paul Heyman is often revered for his one-of-a-kind promo work, and is also highly regarded for his creative ideas as it pertains to booking. However, Heyman wasn't always granted all-access as he is today. On Fox Sports' The Buzz, Heyman spoke about sneaking into an NWA production meeting in the early 1980s

"I snuck in early, sat in the back row with a baseball hat on so I wouldn't get noticed, because I wanted to learn. I was 18 years old," Heyman said in a story he partially told on his DVD documentary.

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Heyman then mentioned that he was caught by the late Dusty Rhodes, who pulled him from the meeting to speak with him privately.

"Yes, he noticed me and called me outside the room. He said 'what are you doing here?' and I said 'I'm here to learn from you.' He said 'You picked the right person, because I'm a super genius baby,'" Heyman said. "He told me to go back in the room. He went to the bathroom, and then came back and continued the production meeting."

This wasn't Heyman's last interaction with Rhodes that day, as "The American Dream" made sure to ask Heyman what he learned during the meeting.

"I noticed the way you formatted the show. He liked it and said the next time I was at one of the events to feel free to join his production meetings. I wasn't there all the time because they weren't based out of New York, and I was. But I would try to make it any time they had a pay-per-view or TV. I grabbed the bull by the horns and ended up sitting in the front row," said Heyman.