Paul Heyman recently spoke with Screen Rant for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.
In the interview, the pro wrestling legend discussed The Bloodline and Roman Reigns, most overlooked matches in ECW history, today’s wrestling product and more.
The following are highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics.
On The Bloodline and Roman Reigns: “The concept of the Bloodline is something that Roman Reigns and I discussed seven or eight years ago. Several years before the actual inception of the Bloodline this was already a discussion between us. At the time, he was still fleshing out his persona in front of the WWE fan base, and doing so well in the main event multiple times of WrestleMania, which is extraordinary to think about. I was at the side of Brock Lesnar, and we were in the middle of an exceptionally hot run as well.
So, the timing for Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman joined together was just never with all the stars aligned. It just was never the right time. Then, in 2020, COVID shut down the world. Brock Lesnar went home to Saskatchewan to farm. Roman Reigns was not appearing anymore because there needed to be certain COVID protocols in order to keep him safe. Also, his wife had just given birth to a second set of twin boys, so there were now five kids running around that household, and finally, he was pretty fed up, and he’s been very articulate about this. He was pretty fed up with the creative here, and he felt that his character had plateaued and he wanted to elevate not only his character, but the entire presentation of what we as performers do at WWE and how WWE presents its performers, and nothing that he was being pitched was to his liking.
At the same time, I had just been removed as executive director of Monday Night Raw, and was literally sitting at home being paid every week. So when the suggestion came up of, “God, what are we going to do, just put you guys together?” Yes, that’s the answer that we’re both looking for, put us together, and once we got the green light on that, we started, Roman and I started comparing notes as to what disruptions of the industry we had both envisioned during this COVID period, and I think we both saw the opportunity for a different presentation within the restrictions of what we had because we had no live audience, and we understood what a detriment that was to the product.
We also understood what an amazing opportunity that presented to us in terms of being able to do different scenes that you could never do while a live audience is there. So in terms of the inception of the Bloodline, my contribution was: everything was discussed between Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns because we were on a daily basis trying to create a new genre out of the performance arts that had been presented for so many years.”
On the most overlooked ECW matches: “One way, it’s Rob Van Dam versus Jerry Lynn. I think AEW is RVD. I think anybody who watches AEW is witnessing a style that emanates from Rob Van Dam versus Jerry Lynn in the style. And also Dean Malenko versus Eddie Guerrero. I think if you look at any Dean Malenko versus Eddie Guerrero match from ECW, or Rob Van Dam versus Jerry Lynn match from ECW, you see exactly what the concept is that was employed by AEW in their style.
I also think we get so much credit. We, being ECW, got so much credit for the popularity of a three-way match, And I don’t think there was a three-way match in history that was nearly as exciting as the series that was put together by Super Crazy versus Tajiri versus Little Guido, who later became known as Nunzio in WWE. I would suggest those three-way matches are the most underrated, the most, underappreciated. And just because they were on the supporting part of the card for, at the time, big title matches that we were presenting and really pushing as the centerpiece of the promotion, people, just in terms of history, have lost sight of how influential Super Crazy versus Tajiri versus Little Guido was. And the quality of the matches that they put on stands the test of time.
I don’t spend a lot of time looking back, and I spend even less time looking at footage looking back. But I have stumbled across a couple of their matches, and I end up watching them from start to finish, and I rarely ever do that. I just marvel at them. If that match had been taken to a bigger platform, that match would have ended up on WCW or WWE pay-per-views. They would have gone down to some of the greatest matches in the history of the genre, without a doubt.”
On today’s WWE product and creative aspirations: “I don’t have any vision of having absolute creative control. I am a fan of what Paul Levesque is doing right now and love the fact of how many talents have elevated to the main event status since he took over the creative. When Paul Levesque took over the creative, Roman Reigns was it. I mean, Roman Reigns was the sun around which all the other planets would orbit. And now we have multiple top stars.
We have Cody Rhodes who’s a very worthy champion. We have Gunther, who’s a very worthy champion. We have Bron Breakker who is just coming up the ranks faster than anybody I’ve ever seen. We have CM Punk back. We have Seth Freaking Rollins putting on a clinic every single time he steps into the ring. How can you turn on WWE TV and not just be enthralled by everything Rhea Ripley does? How can you watch WWE TV and not be mesmerized by the level of performance that Liv Morgan has put on in the past year, let alone, Nia Jax’s improvement and what a character she’s become. And then you look at everybody, you look at the rest of this roster, and now they’re just scratching and clawing into that main event. Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, Street Profits, Bronson Reed…
I mean, my god. Has anyone become as understood by the public and become as respected in terms of his ability and yet vilified by the public because of what he does quicker than Jacob Fatu? And Solo, who was a mute before WrestleMania, takes the mic in his own hands and has become the greatest challenger that Roman Reigns has ever faced, to the point where Solo comes out wearing the Ula Fala and declares himself the tribal chief, and people are angry at him because they know that he has a valid claim to being so. Who would have ever imagined that? That’s all under the creative direction and the content coordination by Paul Levesque.
So, while I appreciate the question, I have no desire to have full creative autonomy because I think what we’re presenting right now, and I think the box office and the ratings and the numbers and the merch sales and everything else will support this: I think this is the best the product has ever been. In terms of future developments, Seth Rollins versus CM Punk is a dream match. Roman Reigns versus Solo is a dream match. Roman Reigns versus Seth Rollins is a dream match. Roman Reigns versus CM Punk is a dream match. Roman Reigns versus Jacob Fatu is a dream match. CM Punk versus Jacob Fatou is a dream match. Seth Rollins versus Jacob Fatou is a dream match. Bronson Reed, when he recovers from his injury, stepping into the ring against Jey Uso, to me, is fascinating. Seth Rollins versus Jey Uso, CM Punk versus Jey Uso, The Usos versus the Tongans, The Usos versus Bronson Reed and Jacob Fatu. And I’m just talking about matches that are within our circle.
Look at the rest of the roster. Look at the dream matches that you’ve yet to see. Bron Breakker versus anybody. To me, it’s an interesting match. Look at what Gunther does. Look at the championship matches that Gunther has offered on television in the past few months. Look at the rise of Damian Priest. Give me an opponent for Damian Priest and tell me that you’re not interested. I’ll say that you’re a liar. And then, of course, we get to the female end of the roster. And my god, the dream matches that we have to offer from that side now is mind-boggling.
So, I think we have the blessing, the opportunity to pursue new matches, new main events, and matchups, in different coordinations that have never been seen before and more of them than have ever been made available to us or for the public to see.”
For the complete interview, visit ScreenRant.com.
