Paul Heyman: I Almost Lost My Job At WWE Advocating For Sandman’s Entrance At ECW One Night Stand 2005… Vince McMahon Didn’t Want To Pay For Metallica Song
Paul Heyman looks back at One Night Stand.
A conversation about ECW was struck up with the promotion’s founder, Paul Heyman, during his appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
Heyman spoke about when WWE hosted ECW One Night Stand in 2005. He stated that he almost lost his job while advocating for The Sandman to have his signature entrance with the ‘Enter The Sandman’ theme by Metallica. Heyman confirmed that Vince McMahon did not want to pay for the song.
“One Night Stand 2005 was a magnificent event that was as authentic an ECW presentation as we could put on in 2005, including but not limited to, but certainly highlighted by the Sandman’s entrance, which I fought for to the point of almost getting fired.” It was then stated that Vince McMahon did not want to pay for a Metallica song, and Heyman responded, “Right. When that music hit, everyone at the Hammerstein Ballroom knew, wow! This is a real ECW show. This is how it felt back in the 90s and in 2000.”
Sandman’s retirement match took place in April 2026 at Joey Janela’s Spring Break X.
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