Paul Heyman has turned down a Hall of Fame induction in the past, but he will finally be honored as part of the Class of 2024. The ceremony will be held in Philadelphia, the home of ECW, which means a key part of Heyman’s legacy.
Speaking with John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Paul Heyman was asked to describe what it meant to hear the words “Hall of Famer”.
“Old. I’ve avoided it for a long time,” Paul Heyman said. “I was offered it a couple times so far in the past, and I just didn’t want to do it while I was still active and still relevant and still putting together a body of work of accomplishments. Because I always felt that the Hall of Fame is a lifetime achievement award and, ‘Thank you, goodbye.’ But it’s WrestleMania 40, it’s in Philadelphia, which is the birthplace of ECW.
“It’s an acknowledgment, all puns intended, of a body of work that is not yet complete. But it’s a perfect storm. I think it would be disrespectful to what we accomplished in Philadelphia, what we started in Philadelphia, what was born out of Philadelphia, if I didn’t accept it in Philadelphia.”
Paul Heyman Calls WrestleMania 40 A Perfect Storm
Paul Heyman was then asked whether it was finally the right moment because the ceremony would be in Philadelphia. He reiterated that Philadelphia was part of it. Heyman also stated that he did not want to disrespect Triple H by turning him down.
“Yeah, that’s why, because it’s in Philly, it’s WrestleMania 40,” Paul Heyman said. “Plus, it’s Paul Levesque’s first year of choosing the Hall of Fame. Tto come to me and say, ‘I want you to be the first person that I name as a Hall of Famer and headline the first class,’ it would be disrespectful to Paul Levesque if I turned that down. I have great respect for Paul and what he has been doing as the head of creative since he took that over. So not wanting to disrespect Paul, wanting to respect Paul, and it’s in Philadelphia, and it’s WrestleMania 40. All the stars are aligned for this.
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