In the city that defined much of his career, Paul Heyman will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
WWE and Heyman confirmed to the Associated Press on Monday that Heyman has been named the first member of the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class. The ceremony is being held at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center after SmackDown on Friday, April 5.
Philly, the home of ECW, has been a special place to Heyman throughout his decades in pro wrestling. That's only going to continue over WrestleMania week. In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, Heyman will play a key role accompanying The Bloodline at WrestleMania 40. The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins is headlining night one of the event on April 6. Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will then main event night two on April 7.
Paul "Triple H" Levesque tweeted:
He’s been a promoter, a manager, an executive, a 'Wiseman,' and now, a @WWE Hall of Famer. There’s more to say about @HeymanHustle, but as always, it’s best to let him say it himself… with a live microphone in Philadelphia. #WWEHOF
Heyman told the AP that, even though he's being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, he still feels like his body of work is incomplete. Heyman said there are still things he wants to accomplish:
I consistently feel like I’m just getting started, and I’m just figuring this out. To me, what is an incomplete body of work, because there’s still things I want to accomplish, I never felt comfortable accepting that is a reflection upon an entire career.
Heyman spoke about the legacy of ECW:
The extreme in ECW stood for the work ethic involved, the passion that was necessary and the extreme connection to an audience to whom and for whom we were always obsessed with underpromising and overdelivering. The legacy of ECW is firmly rooted in the very simple concepts of paying attention to the cultural curve and obsessively trying to stay a few steps ahead of it.
When asked about the allegations that have been made against Vince McMahon, Heyman told the AP that it's "an exceedingly difficult situation to process."
The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is expected to air live on Peacock/WWE Network on April 5. Additional inductees will be announced in the coming weeks.
More must-reads: