Paul Heyman references Braun Strowman's WWE release on Talking Smack

By Danny Hart
Modified Jun 20, 2021 15:13 IST
Braun Strowman and Paul Heyman
Braun Strowman and Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman casually mentioned Braun Strowman’s WWE departure on the latest episode of WWE SmackDown post-show, Talking Smack.

Roman Reigns defeated Rey Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match on SmackDown to retain his Universal Championship. Heyman, who performs as Reigns’ on-screen special counsel, co-hosts Talking Smack with WWE interviewer Kayla Braxton.

Following Reigns’ win over Mysterio, Heyman listed several people who have failed to defeat The Tribal Chief during his 10-month title reign. When Strowman’s name came up, he said the recently released superstar is now “off of WWE.”

“The Fiend acknowledged Roman Reigns… off of SmackDown,” Heyman said. “Braun Strowman acknowledged Roman Reigns… off of WWE. Daniel Bryan banished from SmackDown at the hands of Roman Reigns. Edge is at home playing Mr. Mom because at WrestleMania he took a con-chair-to and the most declaratively dominant pinfall in the history of WrestleMania, and you haven’t seen Edge since.”

Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman and The Fiend in a triple threat match at WWE Payback 2020 to win the Universal Championship. As Paul Heyman referenced, the 36-year-old defeated Daniel Bryan and Edge in another triple threat match on the second night of WrestleMania 37.

Reigns also successfully defended his title against Strowman on the October 16, 2020 episode of SmackDown.

What else did Paul Heyman say on Talking Smack?

Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman became on-screen allies in August 2020
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman became on-screen allies in August 2020

Paul Heyman also spoke about Roman Reigns’ next Universal Championship challenger following his victory over Rey Mysterio.

The former ECW owner essentially issued an open challenge by saying Reigns’ “dance card is open” heading into next week’s episode of SmackDown. He also warned that “the suffering begins” when the next person steps up to face the Universal Champion.

While Reigns’ next opponent is currently unclear, it has been widely reported that he could face John Cena later this summer. According to the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, the match could take place at SummerSlam on August 21.

Please credit Talking Smack and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.