Paul Heyman Went to Extreme Lengths for Messy Look in Iconic WWE SmackDown Segment

On the June 28th episode of SmackDown, Paul Heyman refused to acknowledge Solo Sikoa’s leadership and ended up being power-bombed through the announcer’s table. While fans remember the intense moment, they also remember Heyman’s messy and stressed appearance during that time and now Heyman has revealed how he went above and beyond to perfect that look.

While speaking on Logan Paul’s ImPaulsive podcast, Paul Heyman explained the reason behind his messy appearance. With his hair unkempt, stubble, and tired, red eyes, Heyman’s look reflected the stress he was experiencing under Solo Sikoa’s control.

“But Solo just kept bullying me. I’m falling apart, I’m not dying my hair, my hair is growing is grey, I’m showing up more unshaven each week, my tie is not straight, my pocket square is crooked, my suits are not pressed. Oh man, this many is falling apart a little more and a little more.”

To make his character’s breakdown feel real, Heyman changed his habits and appearance. He stopped dyeing his hair, let it go grey, didn’t shave, and wore wrinkled suits with crooked ties. He also didn’t sleep much, sometimes getting only 90 minutes of rest. He ate unhealthy food that upset his stomach, didn’t wear makeup, and wore clothes that didn’t fit well to show his character’s stress.

Heyman stated all this made it easier for him to feel the emotions needed for the scene. When he had to cry and tell Sikoa, “You’re not my Tribal Chief,” it felt genuine because he felt awful physically and mentally. The live crowd’s energy helped him give an even better performance.

“Now, if I had a good night’s rest, had a nice meal in the morning, got a little sweat going on in the afternoon and I warmed up, I’m clean shaven, my suit fits perfectly, you just feel right walking out there in Madison Square Garden. I’m Sinatra, I feel great. That’s hard to cry. But if I’ve been up for an entire night and a half, or if I only got 90 minutes sleep and I intentionally woke myself up. That’s what I did, oh yeah.

Didn’t shave for several days, didn’t wash my hair for several days. Again letting the greys more grow in, took the stuff that washes the dye out of your hair so that more greys show. I wanted the ageing process for a week to be really defined. Ate like s*** all week, ate stuff that would upset my stomach. If there are spices that don’t agree with you, I ate those. My skin colour was off, wore no make-up, intentionally wore a suit that didn’t fit me as well.

I wanted people to go ‘Oh come here a minute. You’re ok right?’ So when it’s time for me to say ‘You’re not my Tribal Chief’ and I’m in tears. I’m bawling. It’s easy for me because I feel awful, I feel like crap out there. Then you feel the adrenaline rush from the audience and you feel, ok, we got them, give them everything I’ve got.”

Paul Heyman’s hard work shows how far wrestlers go to make their performances feel real. By pushing himself to physical and mental limits, Heyman created a powerful moment that fans really connected with.

Nonetheless, Heyman has been back with WWE since the November 22nd episode of Friday Night SmackDown, and fans are always interested in what he does as they respect him because he puts in so much effort for his role in WWE and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

What do you think of Paul Heyman’s commitment to making his breakdown feel real? Do you believe these extreme measures helped elevate his performance, or do you think there’s a better way to achieve the same result? Share your thoughts in the comments below—we’d love to hear your take!

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