Paul Heyman on Stephanie McMahon confrontation: I hope it was real

This is only going to feed into the general perception of Paul Heyman as a creative genius in pro wrestling.

Back at Raw 1000 on July 23, 2012, deep into the Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H feud, Heyman got into it with "The Game" and brought up his children. This led to Trips' wife, Stephanie McMahon, coming on down and cutting a big promo on Heyman, bringing up a lot of issues that didn't seem to have anything to do with anything within the storyline.

Like Heyman's shortcomings in ECW and his perceived failings compared to Vince McMahon.

Word quickly circulated that Stephanie's promo was real and she meant every word she said, as opposed to simply saying it get heat for the pending match between her husband and Heyman's client. In a recent interview with Peter Rosenberg, Heyman commented on the subject saying he hopes it was real.

"When I had the confrontation with Stephanie McMahon -- and I know that there's a lot of people out there saying, 'Oh, everything Stephanie said she meant and it was real' -- I hope so! I would want it to be that way. I wouldn't want it to be any other way because if she's going to deliver -- and she delivered her message phenomenally -- that's great. It's riveting. This is my goal. We did a segment on television on Raw 1000 and I can't imagine that you'll ever have a career retrospective on Stephanie McMahon and not include that clip. If it takes Steph using her personal feelings about me to bring it, then bring it! I hope she meant every word that she said."

Considering the strained relationship between Heyman and the McMahon family, it would make sense that Stephanie was being legit. However, considering the creative implications for all involved, it makes just as much sense for Heyman to be fine with it.

Everyone wins.

Here's the complete interview Rosenberg conducted with Heyman: