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WWE has surprisingly announced that Bruce Prichard will now lead the creative writing process on RAW and SmackDown, with Paul Heyman no longer overseeing the creative direction of storylines on RAW.
One year ago, Paul Heyman began combining his on-screen role with a behind-the-scenes position as the Executive Director of RAW, while Eric Bischoff had a similar responsibility on SmackDown before his departure in October 2019.
Over the last 12 months, several reports have given WWE fans an insight into Paul Heyman’s vision of what he wanted to see on RAW, including which Superstars he was keen to push.
In December 2019, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer even gave a list of five WWE Superstars who Paul Heyman wanted to push on the red brand in 2020.
As we approach the halfway point of the year, let’s take a look at how well those five Superstars have fared on Monday nights over the last few months.
#5 Aleister Black
After initially joining WWE’s main roster as part of a tag team with Ricochet in February 2019, Aleister Black began to appear in backstage segments following WrestleMania 35.
The former NXT Champion did not compete in any matches on WWE television for three months between April 2019 and July 2019. Then, two weeks after Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff started their new roles, Black defeated Cesaro at Extreme Rules 2019 and went on a 22-match televised winning streak.
Around the start of 2020, “The Dutch Destroyer” was involved in his first meaningful singles rivalry on RAW with Murphy, which saw the two Superstars go head-to-head in three matches in the space of four weeks.
Black won all three encounters against Murphy and it gradually became clear as the months went on that Paul Heyman was indeed attempting to push the 35-year-old.
Since his rivalry with Murphy ended, Black has faced high-profile Superstars including Seth Rollins and AJ Styles, while he defeated Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 36.
Granted, he did not reach main-event status during Paul Heyman’s time on RAW, but Black’s position in WWE has still gotten stronger and stronger in the first six months of 2020.
#4 Ricochet
While Aleister Black’s WWE singles push came several months after he separated from Ricochet, “The One and Only” received a push on RAW in the weeks leading up to Paul Heyman being confirmed as the brand’s Executive Director in June 2019.
Excluding the 24/7 Championship, the first RAW title change of the Paul Heyman regime actually saw Ricochet lose the United States Championship to AJ Styles at Extreme Rules.
The 31-year-old feuded with Styles, Samoa Joe and Drew McIntyre in the summer of 2019 and he remained a regular presence on RAW in the final few months of the year.
When the new year began, Ricochet defeated Mojo Rawley, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to put together a five-match winning streak ahead of one of the biggest matches of his career against Brock Lesnar at Super ShowDown.
Sadly for the former United States Champion, he suffered an 88-second defeat in his WWE Championship match against Lesnar in Saudi Arabia and he has struggled to gain any momentum since.
In hindsight, yes, Paul Heyman did push the high-flyer at the start of 2020, but was it really worth it?
#3 Murphy
Prior to 2020, Murphy’s WWE character lacked direction ever since he left 205 Live and joined the SmackDown roster after WrestleMania 35. The Aussie was hardly used on the blue brand, with the exception of a small role in the Roman Reigns ‘Whodunnit?’ storyline, and he did not get a chance to show what he can do until he began working with Paul Heyman on RAW.
Speaking to talkSPORT in February 2020, Murphy explained how Paul Heyman believes he can one day become a “mega star” in WWE.
“Paul has been awesome to work with. He has a lot of belief in me and I don’t want to let him down. The Aleister Black performances and whatnot, I want the ball and I want to run with it. I believe – and Paul believes – I can be a mega star for this company.”
Murphy has not reached “mega star” level yet, but he is undoubtedly one of WWE’s biggest breakout Superstars of 2020.
Moving forward, it will be fascinating to see how his character progresses without the storytelling and guidance of Paul Heyman as RAW Executive Director.
#2 Charlotte Flair
As you can see in the video above, Paul Heyman boldly claimed in April 2017 that Charlotte Flair would be the first female WWE Superstar to headline WrestleMania one day.
At the time, there had not been a one-on-one match between two female Superstars at WrestleMania in 10 years and it seemed unrealistic to predict that WWE’s Women’s Evolution would lead to an all-female main event at the company’s biggest show of the year.
Paul Heyman does not give “predictions”, however, he gives “spoilers” – and Flair ended up headlining WrestleMania 35 just two years later against Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey.
Fast forward to 2020 and it hardly came as a surprise when reports emerged that Paul Heyman wanted to push Flair in the months leading up to WrestleMania 36.
“The Queen” added to her list of accomplishments in the first month of the year by winning the 2020 Royal Rumble, while she went on to defeat Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Regardless of Paul Heyman’s behind-the-scenes WWE role, you can bet that Flair will remain a key figure on television for the foreseeable future.
#1 Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre told Sportskeeda’s Gary Cassidy recently that Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon have allowed him to work without a script at times on WWE RAW.
"I mean, inevitably, it comes down to Vince McMahon being cool with everything and, if it's working, he's going to be cool with it. I think, like, a Paul Heyman knows exactly who I am, what I'm capable of and what I was doing outside of the company, and was maybe looking for that opportunity to let me be myself, to allow Mr. McMahon to see that."
McIntyre had been involved in prominent roles on RAW since returning to WWE’s main roster in April 2018, but he did not become a top babyface on the brand until Paul Heyman’s time as Executive Director.
The Scot remained a villainous character for the majority of 2019 before transitioning into the top babyface on RAW around the turn of the year – just in time to win the 2020 Royal Rumble.
Since then, McIntyre has defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career, while he is currently preparing to defend his title against Bobby Lashley at WWE Backlash.
