Paul Heyman Reveals Disney Was In Negotiations To Invest In ECW
Paul Heyman battled plenty when he ran ECW. But on last night's "Authentic, Untold Story of ECW" presentation, the former owner of the company said that he almost had some major backup for Extreme Championship Wrestling.
According to Heyman, Disney nearly bought in to ECW, something he thought would have helped the fledgling wrestling company get pay-per-view money they were owed, and back on PPV in general. ECW was having issues gaining PPV deals after being compared to the controversial Ultimate Fighting Championship.
"We almost had a 49 percent interest purchased by — and PPV distribution handled by — Disney," Heyman said. "This was a very real discussion, a very serious discussion that moved up very fast, to where Disney was going to buy 49 percent of ECW through this new subsidiary they were going to run in paid television and become our PPV distributor, which means they'd have no problem collecting on the PPV debt. It got all the way up to the vice chairman who at the last second said 'Not this product. Just a little too non-Disney for Disney.' But my god, we were close."
It wouldn't have been the first time Disney had a hand in pro wrestling. World Championship Wrestling taped Worldwide, Pro and Prime at Disney-MGM Studios from 1993 to 1997.
You can see the full "Authentic, Untold Story of ECW" on the WWE Network.
