Jim Ross recalls that Stephanie McMahon’s real-life heat with the WWE HOFer led to backstage drama

Stephanie McMahon oversaw the creative direction of RAW in 2004 while Paul Heyman served in the same role on SmackDown. Jim Ross, a WWE commentator at the time, recently spoke about a disagreement the two had backstage.

In late 2004, Stephanie McMahon hosted a conference call with other members of the RAW creative team. It later emerged that Heyman called and heard part of the call even though he was not invited. As a result, the WWE Hall of Famer lost his job as SmackDown’s chief creative officer.

talking to Al-Shawi JR Host Conrad Thompson, Ross explained the reasoning behind Heyman entering the call without permission:

“Well, from her point of view, Conrad, Paul betrayed Stephanie’s trust. I don’t disagree with you (that Heyman overhearing the meeting didn’t matter). You would think that the head writer on the show being taped would be informed the next day of what was happening. It seems that Stephanie has a cage match planned for RAW, and well, that would give Heyman the opportunity to decide whether to do the cage match again or do something. Well, maybe the logical answer would be to do something else.” (29:53 – 30:36)

Heyman went on to work for WWE’s revamped ECW brand in 2006 before leaving the company. After an absence of six years, he returned in 2012 as an on-screen character.

Jim Ross defends Paul Heyman after Stephanie McMahon dispute

When meditating, Jim Ross He sees no problem with a member of the creative team listening to plans for another WWE show.

The legendary broadcaster believes Stephanie McMahon’s ego played a role in this Paul Heyman He was removed from his position on SmackDown:

“He should have listened anyway, but he wasn’t welcome,” Ross continued. “They wanted to break up, and they had a rivalry and all this other stuff. It’s weird. It shouldn’t seem weird, Conrad. It’s very weird! It’s egos and politics and all those dogs* *Heyman was lucky he didn’t get fired. (30:42 – 31:07)

In the same episode Ross introduced him Honest reaction To Corey Graves’ recent wrath after he was demoted to NXT.

What are your thoughts on the Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon issues in 2004? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

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