Ronda Rousey Recalls Paul Heyman Supporting Her During Time in WWE

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Ronda Rousey spoke about working with Paul Heyman backstage in WWE and how he supported her during her time there. Rousey left the company last year. Here are highlights:

On working with Paul Heyman: “He’s one of the few people who really encouraged me creatively. 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.”

On Heyman helping her during her WWE run: “It was Paul Heyman who said, ‘What do you want your movie to be?’ 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.”