Ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman and professional wrestling is his business. He is an advocate, a mentor, a friend and a businessman. Paul Heyman has a unique and highly valuable ability to take a struggling superstar, place him or her on a more solid foundation, point them in the right direction and completely turn them around. Essentially, Paul Heyman is capable of making chicken salad....out of chicken sh*t.
CM Punk, Tommy 'Wildfire' Rich, Arn Anderson, Cesaro, Big Show, Dudley Boyz, The Samoan Swat Team, Sabu and of course Brock Lesnar are just a few of the clients who have worked under the tutelage of Paul Heyman. Now, let's be clear, not all who summon the services of Paul are destined for great things.
In fact, there's been a select few who just cannot put the winning pieces together, even with a living legend like Heyman in their corner. Curtis Axel was one of the most recent superstars to fail under the leadership of Paul Heyman.
Moving on...as we all know, we are in the midst of a brand new era. The rosters have split, NXT stars have made their presence known and Raw and Smackdown Live are both running live shows each week, rivaling one another for the title of flagship program of the New Era.
With all of the changes that have taken place, we are now asking the question, which of today's New Era superstars would benefit from the services offered by Paul Heyman? That brings us to today's column. Let's take a look at five superstars who can be the New Era "Paul Heyman Guy."
#1 Braun Strowman
It's not secret that this New Era is focused heavily on smaller guys. However, there are a select number of superstars who could be considered "monsters" of the New Era. Strowman is undoubtedly one of those who fit that label.
With the recent brand-split, Braun Strowman was left on the outside, looking in, when it comes to the Wyatt Family. Now, this doesn't mean the Black Sheep won't one day be welcomed back into the Family, it simply means that as of right now, he must focus on himself and so far, he's done a fine job of that.
Just like Baron Corbin, Strowman also struggles on the mic and while he could survive without a good talker on his side, it certainly wouldn't hurt matters to have a Paul Heyman backing him.
Strowman is still developing his overall ring skills and working hard to hone his craft. This guy is still relatively green, so yes, being a Paul Heyman Guy would absolutely propel Strowman into a whole new realm of success.
#2 Baron Corbin
Baron Corbin is one of those guys who are seemingly on the verge of doing something great. This is a guy who has such a high ceiling, yet just cannot seem to find all of the pieces of his own proverbial puzzle, for one reason or another. He has the size, the in-ring presence, the intimidation factor and a great look. But, for some reason, he just can't seem to get everything synced up.
Baron also has a huge chip on his shoulder. Now, this can be a good thing, but not in this case. Corbin just has a bad attitude and it has held him back in recent years in NXT. With that said, he has addressed the attitude issue and from what I can tell, he's gotten better with it. This was apparently one of his biggest problems during his NFL stint, ultimately contributing to his demise in football.
One of Corbin's biggest problems is his inability to be effective on the mic. Simply put, the guy is terrible with his promos. Thankfully for him, Paul Heyman is one of the best talkers, not only of this era but of all-time. If Corbin was to seek the services offered by Heyman, he would indeed have one of the greatest mouthpieces at his disposal, allowing Corbin to focus on taking care of business in-between the bells and stack up wins, courtesy of the End of Days.
#3 The Ascension
This is a unique pick and one that some may disagree with. However, I'd like for you to think back to the NXT run that these guys had. The Ascension is arguably the best tag team in NXT's brief history. Viktor and Konnor have an unbreakable level of chemistry and a solid in-ring arsenal.
The problem these guys ran into wasn't necessarily of their own fault. The problem they faced, was poor booking. Once WWE creative decided to have The Ascension start mocking the Road Warriors and all the other legendary tag teams, they immediately became a laughing stock amongst fans everywhere.
I'm not suggesting that Viktor and Konnor go through some sort of repackaging, I just think they need to go back to destroying tag teams, just as they did in NXT and if they had Paul Heyman doing the smack talking, they could focus on just that, becoming a legitimate threat in the tag team division.
#4 Luke Harper
Let me first say that this selection all depends on the return of Luke Harper. He's made some recent posts via social media, which hint at a possible retirement, but until something is confirmed, I'm not buying it. With this said, the injury he sustained was fairly significant.
Back in March, Harper dislocated his patella and tore his medial patellofemoral ligament, (say that ten times fast) which put him on the shelf for at least 5 to 6 months, which means IF he comes back, he could return in the next couple of months.
Let's say Luke does in fact return. Imagine Luke Harper as a Paul Heyman Guy. Heyman likes these freak athletes and I have no doubt whatsoever that Paul could do great things as an advocate for Harper.
Luke Harper is already a solid in-ring performer. If he had Heyman by his side, it could potentially be something very unique and very special. This could be the long shot of this list, but what does he have to lose? He surely has a world to gain.
#5 Bobby Roode
While Bobby Roode is still technically on the NXT roster, it's important to understand that this guy is going to turn 40 next year AND he won practically every title TNA had to offer, including the TNA World Championship, which he held twice. Roode is not a permanent fixture on the NXT roster, at least he shouldn't be.
Let's just say Roode gets a main roster call-up by years end. Sure, he's a true veteran and has a laundry list of accomplishments. However, both RAW and Smackdown have stacked rosters, full of quality talent, all of which have their eyes fixed on championship gold. With a limited number of titles to go around, how can Roode get noticed, quickly? Well, he has to come in and make a statement right away. How can he go about this? Having Paul Heyman accompany him to the ring would be a fantastic start.
Bobby Roode doesn't necessarily need a mouthpiece, but he can certainly use the rub that comes with being a Paul Heyman Guy. The WWE Universe isn't entirely familiar with Roode, despite his accolades. Having Heyman as an advocate gives him instant relevancy and respect from the fans, translating into a much easier path to the top.
