Paul Heyman Addresses Criticism of His Time As WWE Raw Executive Director

Paul Heyman was relieved of his duties as Executive Director of WWE Monday Night Raw back in June, a tenure which was marked by both praise and controversy. While some felt he did shine some new light on underutilized talent, others felt he was hard to work with and relied upon past glories in the business rather than having fresh ideas. There were reports that everyone from the wrestlers themselves down to the merchandising department had become frustrated on the Monday night brand.

One of the most notable critics of Heyman’s tenure as head creative on Raw was AJ Styles. When Styles’ good friends Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows were released, Styles was vocal about his feeling that Heyman didn’t go to bat for them. Styles subsequently requested to be sent to Friday’s WWE SmackDown brand because he didn’t want to work alongside Heyman.

However, Heyman eventually wound up on Friday nights alongside Styles when he became Roman Reigns’ new manager. Predictably, Styles was sent back to Raw in the WWE Draft.

During an interview with Bleacher Report, Heyman was asked about his controversial run as Raw Executive Director. He didn’t reveal all that much, keeping his own thoughts close to the vest.

“In the 50 or so weeks that I was the executive director of Monday Night Raw, I never discussed being the executive director of Monday Night Raw, and the reason why is because when you’re in that position, you’re privy to the top echelon, inner-sanctum of the inner workings of WWE,” Heyman said. “Along with that position comes an expectation of confidentiality and secrecy. I never violated that confidentiality or secrecy while executive director, which is why I didn’t do any interviews while executive director.”

He continued, “I won’t discuss anything I did as executive director, whether it’s something worthy of praise or criticism, because I will respect the responsibility that I had to keep everything that I did as executive director secret or confidential, whether that’s in the face of criticism or praise that has been bestowed upon me.”