Former Extreme Championship Wrestling owner Paul Heyman has accused Rihanna of hijacking the 1998 album cover for ECW: Extreme Music, an album that features Megadeth, Motörhead and White Zombie. The album was part of a campaign to promote ECW. Heyman's website claims that he was the "owner, operator, and creative force" behind the project, which earned Motörhead a Grammy nomination in 2000.
There are similarities between the covers of ECW: Extreme Music and Russian Roulette, Rihanna's new single. Both Rihanna and the Sandman, the professional wrestler on the cover of ECW, are pictured with their right arms extended up and with patches over their eyes; both are wrapped in barbed wire; both have shaved pits. However, where Rihanna is wearing black latex, the Sandman has a bare chest, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, blood running down his forehead, and a tattoo on his arm.
(The tattoo is of himself.)
Heyman is tweeting about the stunt, with such proclamations as "Heyman Vs. Rihanna on Idolator" and "FRONT PAGE NEWS IN THE UK SUN Heyman Rips into Rihanna!"
"I listened to a lot of R&B and reggae music," Rihanna says on her homepage. She doesn't mention a love for heavy metal or for professional wrestling.
that is the sandman. and paul heyman is not a wrestler. he is a promoter, foolish people who wrote this
October 22, 2009 at 10:06 p.m.
Ben
The wrestler is Sandman. Paul Heyman was the owner/promoter of ECW at the time. That is NOT Paul, dumbnut. Way to get your facts straight. A little research next time eh?
October 22, 2009 at 10:06 p.m.
Raheem Sadiq
That's not Heyman on the cover. That's the Sandman. Also, Heyman isn't/wasn't a professional wrestler. He was primarily a manager.
I guess anyone can be a journalist nowadays.
October 22, 2009 at 10:06 p.m.
Hunter
Nice research, that guy on the cover of the ECW CD is The Sandman, and Heyman is the former owner/booker of the first ECW.
October 22, 2009 at 10:06 p.m.
Hire An Editor
You guys should prolly do some research before you post a story, good lord. First, there's no death metal on this album. Second, it's spelled Megadeth not Megadeath. Third, that picture isn't of Paul Heyman.
October 22, 2009 at 10:07 p.m.
Nigel
Jesus...do some research. The man on the cover is NOT Paul Heyman it is former Extreme Championship Wrestling Superstar The Sandman, infact the the track that Motorhead got nominated for was Enter Sandman. The song used by The Sandman who again is the person on the cover. Paul Heyman as you start at the start of this article IS NOT nor ever has been a wrestler. Paul Heyman was the booker and owner of ECW. So in conclusion I say again DO SOME RESEARCH!
I like that six different dudes decided to point out the exact same thing. Congratulations, you all know the same useless bit of information, and none of you mention the sad, attention-grab your boy Heyman is pulling by mentioning his name with Rihanna's.
But, in an effort to reach out, I offer some suggestions:
1. The word is spelled probably. Prolly sounds like a disease we cured in the 20s.
2. "...as you start at the start of this..." begs for a lesson in word choice.
3. "in" and "fact" are two different words.
4. I'm pretty sure a booker isn't a thing.
5. "nor ever has been" is not, in my experience, how people in the English-speaking world put those words together.
6. The name of the site is Prefix, and the name of the author is Jenna. Neither go by the name "good lord" as the ironically named Hire an Editor implies with their poor command of grammar.
That's a good start. I'm just saying, if we're going to criticize accuracy, let's start at home fellas.
all 6 of those dudes was banger, commenting anonymously.
October 23, 2009 at 1:29 a.m.
Drmgiver
Jenna, check your resources. No...... really, go check them....... No, no you didn't, go check your resources.
October 23, 2009 at 1:29 a.m.
chris brown
i dont really see it being close to a 'hijack' of cover albums. does heyman think that noboby can use barbed wire on the cover of a cd?
October 23, 2009 at 1:30 a.m.
Jake
Yeah I'll echo what everyone else was saying... even wikipedia would have shown you that Heyman is a much older, balder, fatter version of the wrestler on the cover. yeesh.
dis is da werst music site evah. use wikipedia dummies!
October 23, 2009 at 10:05 a.m.
d
Paul Heyman was just making a humorous observation. He's not suing anybody!
October 23, 2009 at 10:05 a.m.
Kevin
And to think, this site turned me down for reviews because I "used a different style". Apparently my style of checking the facts-aside from all of the above, Sandman is not wearing an eyepatch-and spelling correctly-she spells it Heyman in her first pass, then Hayman the next, then Heyman-is not the way to go at Prefix. I don't know what's worse, the way this is written, or that no 'editor' caught the glaring flaws. Pay more attention in English 101 this morning, Jenn. Yes, I am far better off not being associated with this mess. Thanks for the laugh.
October 23, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.
mike
Daba has "da werst comment evah"! Use a effing english dictionary dummy! No one gives a crap about ECW!
October 23, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.
only1
yeah... here's the thing... while the 6 first responses echoed similar statements, they were not all the exact same thing. one of them, for example, pointed out the genre of music on the ECW cd did not contain the genre of music mentioned. None of the others mentioned that.
A "booker" is the person who runs a wrestling show, deciding the matches, what order they will go in and who will go "over." Or, *GASPSHOCK* who will win. That's right, not all wrestling fans believe it to be real. In fact, the majority know it to be staged entertainment. The "fake" word is still off limits, though. If you want to say it's fake, ask Martha Hart, Owen Hart's widow. Ask Shawn Michaels who was out of the ring 5 years with a broken back due to an injury suffered during a match. Why is the person called a "booker?" They hold the "book." In years past, a physical book for all the decisions was carried by the guy in charge.
I love how the 6 responses pointing out the article author's inaccuracies are belittled for what they know about pro wrestling (oh, and grammar... always the last bastion of the weak on the internet who prey on grammar mistakes)... but not a single person could say why Heyman could be wrong in his claim. Not a one defended Rihanna. Idiots. I've never heard of Prefix magazine. I doubt I'll be to the site again. I wonder just what in the hell "prefix" has to do with music anyway and what the name is derived from. Is it a play on "prix fixe"... the French term meaning "fixed price" used by restaurants describing a certain menu type? It's the only thing I could think of that's even close.
October 23, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.
mike
NO ONE CARES THAT SHE GOT THE PERSON WRONG EXCEPT THE 1 PERSON USING 10 DIFFERENT SOCKPUPPET COMMENTS
October 23, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.
lolnah
prefix readers also enjoy ECW.. i guess i've missed out on being a true hipter
No, real prefixers like TNA better. They like the inherent racial forwardness of having a wrestler named "Samoa Joe." As far as Kevin goes, sounds like someone's got a case of the :(
the guy just want publicity its not a big deal that rihanna took that nice cover the guy should be thanking her instead of tweeting about her stealing a 11 year old cover
Rihanna »
that is the sandman. and paul heyman is not a wrestler. he is a promoter, foolish people who wrote this