With WWE Backlash rapidly approaching, Paul Heyman had one thing and one thing alone on his mind: getting The Bloodline‘s match with Kevin Owens and Randy Orton called off, but not for the reasons you might think.

But why? Does he want to avoid the risk of the faction taking a loss to a pair of former WWE Champions? Or is there something going on behind the scenes that fans weren't aware of, something to do with the “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns? Well, Nick Aldis found out soon enough, as Heyman approached him to state his case for why the match shouldn't happen.

“I don't know, for the sake of Kevin Owens? For the sake of Randy Orton? For the sake of SmackDown?” Paul Heyman declared. “You know what, I've tried and tried and tried with you, leave them in the s**N match as far as I'm concerned, okay? What happens to Randy Orton and Kevin Owens is no longer on my conscious, Mr Aldis. What happens to Randy Orton and Kevin Owens tomorrow night is on your conscious.”

“Is that by orders of the ‘Tribal Chief?'” Nick Aldis asked. “Well it's just all communications to The Bloodline and Roman Reigns must go through Paul Heyman. Are you in charge?”

“You know, there's a difference between being in charge and being in control. I haven't even spoken to Roman Reigns since WrestleMania,” Heyan noted as Aldis reacted in shock. “Roman Reigns did not pull himself out of the WWE Draft; I pulled Roman Reigns out of the WWE Draft. You have to understand what's going on here, I had no choice; I cannot subject Roman Reigns to the chaos that's going on within The Bloodline right now. And you can't subject Kevin Owens and Randy Orton to what awaits them at the hands of The Bloodline tomorrow night.”

Shocked by the development, Aldis laid out a solution that might just work for both parties.

“Well, you know what Paul?” Aldis asked. “If you can take it on yourself to pull Roman Reigns out of the draft, then why don't you try pulling Randy and Kevin out of that match at Backlash? You can try right now on the R-KO show, it's up next.”

Could Heyman save KO and Orton from a terrifying situation? Well, fans didn't have to wait long to find out, as the segment was, in fact, next and very interesting indeed.

Paul Heyman has seemingly lost control of The Bloodline.

After watching the crowd cheer on the R-KO Show's first-ever appearance, Paul Heyman marched out to the ring and, after sharing some French words he learned for the occasion, got down to the brass tacks of the situation.

“Mesdames et messieurs! Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. I am a WWE Hall of Famer, I am a raconteur, I am a bon vivant, I am a Boulevardier, and I am, without question, WWE's undisputed Wiseman. Therefore, tonight, I come out here with respect, with admiration, and of course, with wisdom. May I?

After being threatened with an R-KO, the deadliest move in sports entertainment, by Orton and KO, Heyman laid into the duo about the dangers of The Bloodline in 2024, as they aren't the same faction as years prior.

“I understand why you would doubt a man who has very little conscience whatsoever. However… More than you'll ever know, I want Roman, too. I came out here for a very simple reason,” Heyman noted. “I have great respect for you, Randy Orton. I have great respect for you, Kevin Owens. When you stepped into the ring with Roman Reigns, it was competition. There was a title on the line, and I understood just like you understood that whatever Roman Reigns had to do to defend his title, that's what Roman Reigns was going to do. But the rules, the rules with Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga are a whole lot different. Do yourselves, do SmackDown, do WWE, do these people, do your families a favor: Back out of this match, now. Please.”

Unfortunately for Heyman, Owens and Orton decided to protest his claim, and before they knew it, it was a full-on Bloodline beatdown, with Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga brawling with the former champions inside and out of the ring, with the segment apparently going so long it went through Cody Rhodes' promo with AJ Styles. If Heyman's goal was to chill things out before this huge battle, he might have just done the exact flippin' opposite.