Paul Heyman on WWE Hall of Fame speech: 'I'm going to wing this'

Paul Heyman is planning to let the Philadelphia crowd dictate the direction of his WWE Hall of Fame speech.

Heyman is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday, April 5. During a Wednesday appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Heyman was asked if he has his speech written out yet. Heyman claimed that he's going to "wing this" by taking the pulse of the live crowd and seeing what they want him to talk about:

No, I’m going to figure this out as we go along. I’m going to take the pulse of the room that night. I’m going to wing this. Because I don’t know really what the crowd itself is expecting from me. Is this a crowd that wants me to talk about the modern day WWE and Roman Reigns and The Bloodline and the WrestleMania main event of Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes? Is this a crowd that - in Philadelphia - wants to talk about ECW? Is this a crowd that’s looking for some inspiration and a speech about pursuing one's own dreams, etcetera, etcetera?

I really won’t know until I take the temperature of the room that night. And as you know better than I, you always have to know your audience. So once I feel the crowd, I'll pretty much know what I have to do to deliver for them.

While Heyman still feels like his body of work is incomplete, he accepted the WWE Hall of Fame induction this year after previously declining the honor several times. Heyman decided to accept the induction because this is Paul "Triple H" Levesque's first Hall of Fame class, because this is the 40th WrestleMania, and because he's being inducted in Philadelphia, which was the home of ECW.

The induction ceremony is taking place after SmackDown at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday, April 5. The ceremony will air live on Peacock starting at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

Bull Nakano, The U.S. Express (Mike Rotunda & Barry Windham), Thunderbolt Patterson, and Muhammad Ali have also been confirmed for the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class. Lia Maivia is expected to be inducted as well.

Heyman will be playing a key role in the main events of WrestleMania 40. The Bloodline's Roman Reigns & The Rock are facing Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins in the night one main event. Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will then headline night two.

Heyman's full interview on The Rich Eisen Show is available to watch below: