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As the Sportskeeda staff gathered their laptops to review what was seemingly a very ordinary episode of WWE SmackDown heading into WWE Payback, the unthinkable happened during the final few moments of the current broadcast featuring Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns, two of WWE's top performers. Paul Heyman, a man who has been a name associated with Brock Lesnar until recently showed up from out of nowhere to align with Roman Reigns, a man who made a triumphant return to WWE at SummerSlam 2020, leaving us with more questions than answers for WWE Payback.
Here is Sportskeeda's own Greg Bush stating the obvious, as he is known to do on most occasions.
Once again, this is not an article that pretends to have inside knowledge on what is happening behind closed doors in WWE but instead, is an assessment of the situation based on the current situation in WWE. And as a result, you too are welcome to voice your thoughts and opinions about the current development in the comments section.
Do you think that Roman Reigns is the new Paul Heyman guy as we head towards WWE Payback, and where does this leave Brock Lesnar?
#5 Major cliffhanger heading into WWE Payback this weekend
How excited would you have been had 'The Empire Strikes Back' released only a week after 'A New Hope' or if the second Godfather movie had come out only a week after the first, members of the WWE Universe? People need time to digest new developments, and therefore, the fact that WWE Payback is airing only a week after SummerSlam is a big reason why a lot of people may not necessarily be interested in the event per se.
But this cliffhanger is enough to hook a lot of people in, and make them watch WWE Payback.
#4 An association with Paul Heyman explains the newfound aggression of Roman Reigns
No, it wasn't the same Roman Reigns we've come to know and love, the real-life Superman that we are so very fond of, that we saw at WWE SummerSlam, dearest readers of Sportskeeda. It was a more aggressive Roman Reigns, and if he truly is allied with Paul Heyman, it would explain why he was so very 'extreme'. After all, Paul Heyman was the brains behind ECW, a promotion with 'extreme' in its very name. Some have suggested that Roman Reigns is going heel, following his association with Paul Heyman, which may very well be the case, but even a more aggressive big dog is money.
Vince McMahon has long been under the impression that a clean-cut babyface is the right way to go but older fans, in particular, gravitate towards characters with an edge and the current version of Roman Reigns is certainly a step in that direction. Roman Reigns is a better promo than he used to be, but Paul Heyman is in a league of his own, granting him an even bigger edge.
#3 The coalition with Paul Heyman is the only change in Roman Reigns' character over so many years
Until Roman Reigns showed up at WWE SummerSlam recently and allied with Paul Heyman on this week's episode of WWE SmackDown, he had pretty much played the same character for many years. Look at Seth Rollins, a man whose career has spanned the entire length of time on the WWE main roster as Roman Reigns, and how he has gone from the Kingslayer to the Beastslayer to the Monday Night Messiah, and compare his career trajectory to Roman Reigns, who has been the same guy from the first day.
WWE believes that any performer, be it Roman Reigns or someone lower down the card, is over as long as the audience cares about cheering for him/her or booing him/her. As long as they are indifferent towards the said person, he/she will not get over. This was the risk they ran if there wouldn't have been a shift in the personality of Roman Reigns and thankfully, the coalition with Paul Heyman serves this purpose.
#2 Because of the history that Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns share
Roman Reigns was involved in a long and interesting rivalry with Brock Lesnar that stretched out for many months. We all remember the segment on WWE RAW, where Paul Heyman sprayed Roman Reigns in the eye with mace. And one has to believe that from a storyline perspective, this is the point where Roman Reigns developed a deep admiration for Paul Heyman and his methods. And it was because of the same that Roman Reigns decided, on one fine day, to become a client of the man who refers to himself as 'The Advocate'.
Look at how many former Champions have been 'Paul Heyman guys'- from CM Punk to The Undertaker, from Brock Lesnar to Stone Cold Steve Austin.
At the end of the day, you make a deal with the devil when you want riches and success beyond comprehension. Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman have signed a pact and the future is going to be very interesting for one and all.
#1 It is a great way to keep Paul Heyman on TV until Brock Lesnar shows up
We spoke about how Roman Reigns' character has been the same for a while, but the same could be said of Paul Heyman as well. He has played many roles over the years in WWE and in other promotions, but Paul Heyman has only been associated (at least on-screen) with Brock Lesnar in recent years, and honestly, the act had grown stale. Now that's changing heading into WWE Payback.
One way to keep Paul Heyman on WWE television is to have him participate in silly segments such as these and honestly, it is a waste of someone who is probably the greatest orator of our generation. On the other hand, Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns are one of the most intriguing coalitions in recent memory and for them to be allied as a unit is a pretty good thing, quite honestly heading into WWE Payback.
And when Brock Lesnar does eventually show up, Paul Heyman could be torn between his two clients and we could have the recipe for a clash between the two biggest box office draws in recent memory. Things are shaping up nicely for WWE Payback.
