First Paul Heyman shocked the sports-entertainment world when he drafted Kurt Angle to ECW. Then another mammoth defection occurred Wednesday night when Big Show turned on his WWE compatriots and ripped off his WWE shirt to reveal an ECW shirt. And now Heyman is looking to deliver another crushing blow to WWE, SmackDown in particular, by trying to lure World Champion Rey Mysterio to his brand. Following vs. ECW Head to Head, WWE.com reported that there were rumors that Heyman was actively pursuing the World Champion. Well, according to Heyman himself, the rumors are true.

“Yes, ECW is actively courting and pursuing Rey Mysterio,” said Heyman. “Mysterio could not get a break in the United States in 1994 and 1995 when he was without questions unparalleled. He was the greatest high-flyer on the planet, bar none, and yet no one would recognize him – not WWE and certainly not WCW. Who recognized Rey Mysterio? ECW recognized Rey Mysterio.”

If successful in luring away Mysterio, Heyman, having already drafted Angle, would have taken away arguably SmackDown’s two greatest athletes. But Heyman insists that he’s not trying to destroy the rival brand.

“Contrary to popular belief, I am not trying to screw over SmackDown,” said Heyman. “I actually like SmackDown more than I like RAW. I have no reason to like RAW. I was General Manager of SmackDown and each and every week I did everything I could to try and make SmackDown better than RAW. I have an emotional attachment to SmackDown, but I have an obligation to ECW, and Rey Mysterio is the World Champion. Whether he’ll be World Champion after Sunday or not, I’m not going to hazard a guess. Either the Championship or Mysterio himself can come to ECW.”

Mysterio will be defending the World Championship against Sabu at One Night Stand Sunday on pay-per-view. If Heyman can bring Mysterio to ECW, he will guarantee himself that ECW would be the new home of the World Championship.

“Is there a suggestion on the table that’s better than that? Win, I win. Lose, I win,” said Heyman. “Hey, ladies and gentlemen, let’s go to Vegas and gamble and you’re guaranteed that you win your money back. It’s the same thing here. Either I get the Champion, I get Mysterio, or I get both. It sounds to me like a win-win for ECW. Should Mysterio accept, you can’t blame me for making that move. Actually, I think I deserve a lot of credit for it.