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Though Roman Reigns has been back in the WWE Universe for a few weeks now, making his triumphant return at SummerSlam and appearing on both episodes of SmackDown since costing Solo Sikoa the WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes, one aspect of his presentation has been sorely lacking: “The Wiseman” Paul Heyman.
Now granted, this is almost certainly by design, as the “OTC's” storyline is practically centered around going up against the new Bloodline alone, with reinforcements almost certainly coming in time for WarGames at Survivor Series this fall, but Heyman isn't some wrestler who is going to even the odds against Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, or especially Jacob Fatu, but instead a manager who helps to convey a message.
Fortunately, Heyman was asked about his absence in a special appearance at Fanatics Fest in NYC and told fans that he has very specific intentions regarding his future television appearances.
“What I don't want to do is just be on television for the sake of being on television. Everything we do has to be relevant. That's the whole theory behind the island of relevancy. If I were to come back at SummerSlam with Roman Reigns, it wouldn't have meant anything. There was nothing for me to contribute to that moment. If I had come back last week on television with Roman Reigns, there is nothing for me to do. I could have introduced him, okay, but that's a moment, and it's not a moment that extends. It goes back to saying ‘winning and losing matters.' ‘By orders of the Tribal Chief,'” Heyman noted via Fightful.
“When I come back on television. If I come back on television. When I do, that moment is going to set up a year's worth of storyline. I will come back when it is relevant for me to come back. When I'm needed to come back. When I can add to Roman Reigns and not just ride his coattails and hang off of his glory. I love Jimmy Hart, I really do. I have so much respect for Jimmy Hart, but I don't want to be Jimmy Hart carrying the boas for Hulk Hogan. I want to do something that contributes so much to the act that you sit there and say, ‘I love Roman Reigns, but my God, I love him so much with ‘The Wiseman' Paul Heyman. If you really want to know if I'm coming back and when I'm coming back, stay tuned b**ches, you ain't seen nothing yet.”
Welp, there you go, folks; while Heyman won't say the exact time or place he is unquestionably returning to the WWE Universe at some point in the not-too-distant-future, and when that day comes – especially if he brings Jimmy and Jey Uso along – it will be absolutely magical.
Paul Heyman believes the future of pro wrestling is incredibly bright
Elsewhere on his mid-year break from WWE television, Heyman stopped by Newsweek to talk all about the sport he loves and how increible it is to have worked his entire professional life in the business he loves.
While WWE and the industry at large are currently in the middle of a boom period, Heyman doesn't believe this is some flash-in-the-pan moment that will quickly go away before fans know it but instead momentum that's built to last, as he believes the sport has learned all of the “right” lessons from the past and other leagues.
“An era more of continued transparency. Intelligent discussion of the product itself. Authenticity, in terms of the characters. And just great stories. What's next for professional wrestling is the same thing that built wrestling's greatest highs in the attitude era, in 1984 with the expansion, in the '70s when the territories were on fire, in the '50s on the DuMont network, dating back to 1905 with Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt,” Heyman told Newsweek.
“It's the same thing that broke the Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry. The Lakers and the Celtics. The Chicago Bulls and everybody in the NBA in the 1980s. The Pittsburgh Steelers against the Dallas Cowboys. Who are these people? Why are they fighting? Why should I care enough to pay to see it? You answer those three questions, you have a viewer. You have a ticket buyer. You have a network subscriber. You have a t-shirt purchaser.”
With WWE routinely selling out both RAW and SmakcDown tapings and drawing record PLE numbers all over the world, it's safe to say Heyman is correct that the business is absolutely on fire. If, however, Paul “Triple H” Levesque and company have built the sort of rivalries that can keep fans engaged long-term remains to be seen, as the Attitude Era seemed unstoppable too until it… stopped.
