Former WWE Star Ronda Rousey Opens Up About Paul Heyman's Creative Influence

WWE fans around the world are still coming to terms with the events of the June 28 "WWE SmackDown" where Paul Heyman was brutally attacked by Solo Sikoa and the rest of The Bloodline for not acknowledging Sikoa. With Heyman gone from WWE for seemingly the foreseeable future, fans and wrestlers alike are looking back at the career of the WWE Hall of Famer and doing something he wouldn't do for Sikoa, acknowledge him.

One person in particular is former WWE star Ronda Rousey, who revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated how much Heyman not only helped her during her first year in WWE, but encouraged her to be more creative. "He's one of the few people who really encouraged me creatively," said Rousey. "He showed me I'm so much more than just what my body can do. That's how so many people see me, as an athlete, as a fighter. It's all about performing, being on camera, focusing on what I can do physically — but it was different with Paul."

Since leaving WWE, Rousey has published her second memoir titled "Our Fight" in which she had some scathing things to say about some people in the company. However, she only had nice things to say about Heyman in her book. "It was Paul Heyman who said, 'What do you want your movie to be?'" said Rousey. "Paul produced my segments during the second half of my first year in WWE, and he really worked with me on being able to write my own promos and deliver them. I'd wrote before, two memoirs, but not creatively. He encouraged me to create outside of myself. Paul was my first mentor as a writer, and he saw that in me."