Paul Heyman doesn’t want WWE fans seeing him dressed like a regular guy, and he’s not joking about it. The Wise Man says it genuinely bothers him when people catch him wearing shorts and flip-flops because it ruins the image he’s spent years building.
While speaking with Graham Bensinger, Heyman was asked why he wears a suit and tie practically everywhere, even when he’s going out late at night. His explanation was simple — that’s what people expect from Paul Heyman. But unfortunately for him, there have been times when he’s been caught looking nothing like his WWE character.
“Yeah, it’s what people expect of me. I’ve also been photographed like this in flip-flops and shorts, running down to the local convenience store.”
Heyman explained that he’ll occasionally head to a convenience store wearing an old T-shirt and shorts, only for somebody to recognize him and ask for a selfie. And while he’d rather not be photographed looking like that, he’s not going to blow off a fan.
“Some truck will go by and the guy will stop and go, ‘Hey, Paul Heyman, how you doing? Hey, can we take a selfie?’ And I’m not going to say no. I’m not going to be rude.”
The problem is that those pictures end up online, leaving Heyman looking a whole lot different from the guy fans see every week on WWE television. He even joked about one of the more embarrassing possibilities.
“So, I end up with a selfie and it ends up on the internet and there I am, you know, with a pair of shorts with one testicle hanging out and flip-flops.”
When Bensinger asked whether that actually bothered him, Heyman said yes. And his reason had nothing to do with being embarrassed about his appearance. He simply doesn’t want fans seeing him out of character.
“Because I’m out of character. That’s who they pay to see. If you ask a fan of Paul Heyman, their image of me is I swim in this.”
Heyman even suggested that some fans believe he wears his suit around the clock, and he’d rather let them keep believing it.
“People think I shower in this. And I’m not going to deprive them of that image because this is what they come to expect of the Wise Man.”
So apparently, getting caught in flip-flops is a bigger deal to Heyman than most people would imagine. He’s spent decades selling the Paul Heyman character, and he’s not interested in ruining that image just because he needed something from the convenience store.
Heyman may not actually sleep in a suit, but he certainly wants fans to think he does. And if maintaining that illusion means dressing like he’s headed to WWE television every time he leaves the house, so be it.
Do you think Paul Heyman is going too far trying to protect his WWE image, or does staying in character make him more believable? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
