Paul Heyman was not just selling drama on WWE RAW. He was apparently fighting through a brutal real-life medical mess while still showing up for television.
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Heyman revealed that his viral RAW “crash out” moment with Jey Uso last year happened while he was dealing with multiple kidney stones, a cut urinary tract, a spreading infection, a catheter, and a PICC line. Yeah, that is a lot.
“I was competing with Braun Breakker as to who could look more ridiculous with the self-tanner that we were employing. Actually, the time that I did that, I needed it because I looked God awful at the time.”
Heyman said he knew exactly which RAW segment Van Vliet was talking about, because fans turned it into a meme after Jey accused him of betraying Roman Reigns. According to Heyman, the emotion in that moment was not fake at all.
“It’s like, no, it’s always my fault. It’s always me, me, me, but not this time. I’m not the one. I’m not the betrayer. I’m not the double-crosser. And that crash out was very real to me.”
Heyman explained that he usually gets sick after WrestleMania because he runs himself into the ground, but this time it got ugly fast. He said several kidney stones led to one cutting his urinary tract, which opened the door for an infection that spread into his prostate and through his system.
“The last place you want an infection like that is in the urinary tract because it’s tough to get rid of. So now the urinary tract in flames presses up against the prostate, irritates the prostate. The infection now starts to spread. And now the infection is in the urinary tract and in the prostate, and it’s spreading through my system.”
That landed him in White Plains Hospital, where Heyman said doctors were bringing in infectious disease specialists because he is allergic to penicillin and the antibiotics were not working. His temperature was rising, the infection was getting worse, and he still had one thing on his mind: getting to RAW.
“I end up in the hospital. Shout out to White Plains Hospital because, wow, they took wonderful care of me. I end up in the hospital and all I’m asking is, you know, I have to be out of here by Sunday night because I have to be on the jet on Monday to go to RAW.
They’re looking at me saying, ‘You have a very serious infection.’ I mean, they’re bringing in people from infectious diseases because I’m allergic to penicillin, number one, and number two, any antibiotics that they’re giving me, none of them are working. The infection’s getting worse. My temperature is rising and the effects of the infection are taking hold, but I won’t miss work.”
Then Heyman pulled a move that sounds insane even by wrestling standards. He said he checked himself out of the hospital on Monday morning, chartered his own jet to RAW, worked the show, flew back on the WWE jet, and checked himself right back into the hospital without telling anyone.
“So I checked myself out that Monday morning. I chartered a jet on my own to RAW, did RAW, flew on the WWE jet back to White Plains, checked myself back into the hospital, didn’t tell anybody.”
The wildest part? Heyman said he did that RAW segment, and several weeks of television afterward, while still dealing with a catheter and PICC line. When Van Vliet asked if he meant while he was actually on TV, Heyman confirmed it.
“Meanwhile, when I did that scene and for a couple weeks afterwards, when I would jet myself to RAW, take the jet back home, check myself back into the hospital, when I did that scene, I had a catheter and a PICC line.”
Heyman admitted the whole thing was miserable, even comparing the catheter experience to trying to book ECW’s 2006 revival. Still, he said he was not going to miss work because The Vision had just launched, and disappearing from television would have hurt the storyline.
“There was work to be done and I wasn’t going to miss work, especially because we had just launched The Vision, and to miss television then would be abdicating my responsibility to that story.”
Heyman said he felt accountable to Bron Breakker, the audience, Paul Levesque, and even his own health. In his mind, going to RAW helped him more than staying in the hospital bed because he loves the work that much.
“Going to RAW was better for my health than just lying in that hospital bed getting the medications put in me. The 18 hours that it took to travel to RAW, perform, and travel back did more for me than any medication that was fighting off the infection because I love what I do. Going to work was the greatest medicine that I could possibly inject into my own system because I love what I do.”
Paul Heyman has built his career on showing up, surviving chaos, and talking people into believing every word he says. This time, the chaos was not just storyline drama. He was flying from a hospital bed to RAW with serious medical issues, all because he refused to let The Vision’s story stall out.
What do you think about Paul Heyman working RAW while hospitalized with a catheter and PICC line? Was that legendary dedication, or did he take it way too far? Leave your feedback below.
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