In a candid and surprising revelation during his appearance on SI Media, WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman shared details about a career detour he almost took in 1993—one that could have seen him trading promos for punchlines as a New York morning radio host.
Coming off his run in WCW and before taking the reins of what would become the revolutionary ECW, Heyman nearly launched a head-to-head radio show against none other than Howard Stern.
“In ’93, I was out of WCW. I was not yet in ECW, and I was actually on my way to doing New York radio head-to-head with Howard Stern,” Heyman said. “When I left WCW, I signed with the William Morris Agency. There was a huge desire in New York radio to find someone—anyone—who could take on Stern. A deal was made with Hot 97, which was a hip-hop station, to give me a morning show to challenge Stern directly. It was going to be my show, built however I wanted.”
The concept raised a few eyebrows, even for Heyman. “You’d think, wait a minute—how does a Jewish guy from New York end up hosting mornings on Hot 97? It didn’t seem to line up demographically or culturally,” he admitted. “And yet years later, Peter Rosenberg did exactly that. But hey, Rosenberg, Sam Roberts—all of them are just Paul Heyman wannabes anyway.”
Despite the buzz surrounding the project, the radio deal never came to fruition. Just before the contract was finalized, Heyman took a different path—one that would change the course of pro wrestling history.
“Right before the deal closed, I ended up going to Philadelphia,” Heyman recalled. “I became the booker, head writer, talent coordinator—whatever you want to call it—of this tiny bingo hall promotion called Eastern Championship Wrestling. We had a 6 PM time slot on Tuesday nights on Philadelphia Sports Channel. That was ECW.”
The rest, of course, is history.
Heyman’s decision to step into the creative leadership of ECW launched one of the most influential wrestling promotions of all time, forever altering the industry with its gritty presentation, hardcore matches, and rebellious spirit.
