WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman is one of the greatest of all time, whether that's in regards to his mind as a booker or what he's capable of on the microphone.
His partnerships with WWE Superstars like CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns have seen him become an instrumental figure in the company both on screen and backstage. His creative input has helped them and plenty of others; with Vince McMahon gone, he's become a key partner to Triple H.
Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Wiseman shared his take on WWE's surge in popularity. "Before COVID, it was a boutique industry, it was niche, it was a guilty pleasure, and then it became a multi-billion dollar guilty pleasure and a multi-billion dollar boutique industry, and now, with the distribution on Netflix, it’s no longer boutique, now it’s certified main street," he told the trade.
The report notes that making WWE relevant to younger audiences has become "an obsession" for the company. The Netflix deal is a big part of that but, back to Heyman, the WWE Hall of Famer talked in detail about Roman Reigns' evolution into the Tribal Chief.
"Everyone else around us looked at the limitations that COVID had placed on the performance, because the whole concept of pro wrestling is interactivity with the audience, and there’s no live audience," Heyman said. "So you’re either a lead singer without a band or a band without a lead singer...we came into it from the mindset of 'these are not limitations, these are opportunities.'"
He'd go on to explain how cinema played an important role in shaping the character.
"When Roman Reigns and I came up with the character, I had Roman study Apocalypse Now, because the initial launch of the Tribal Chief to me was Colonel Kurtz. [Marlon] Brando. All things on the island of relevancy flow through the tribal chief Roman Reigns, we all rely on him."
"We all look to him for the answer, and at the end of the movie, when Martin Sheen has fulfilled the directive of the United States military’s covert operation, to terminate Kurtz’s command with extreme prejudice, he opens up the book written by Kurtz," Heyman continued. "He sees what Kurtz has written, 'drop the bomb.'"
"The burden of leadership, the burden of the worship, the burden of the expectations, the burden of, let’s call it the acknowledgement, is so heavy on Kurtz that he resents everyone around him for relying on him to this extent, though his power and his entire character is designed for that very purpose."
Reigns' record-breaking WWE Championship reign (no pun intended) ended at last year's WrestleMania when Cody Rhodes finished his story. The OTC has since feuded with Solo Sikoa's new Bloodline and now finds himself mixed up with Seth Rollins and CM Punk.
Reflecting on Reigns' loss at the Show of Shows, Heyman explained why it was all part of the plan.
"We walked into Wrestlemania weekend with the knowledge that this was the time for the chapter of Roman Reigns as champion to end, we had taken it as far as we possibly could, we needed new things to sink our teeth into," Heyman explained. "It was the longest heavyweight title reign in WWE in 40 years, and with good reason, it’s very difficult to keep the champion’s run that interesting for that long."
"It’s just a different era. But we managed to do it, and we knew, 'Let’s get out while the get was good,' and it was time to anoint Cody," he added. "We had a two-year storyline with Cody Rhodes, and this is where the payoff had to happen."
Now, Heyman looks set to find himself sandwiched between Reigns and Punk heading into this year's Show of Shows. It remains to be seen where his loyalties lie, though it has all the makings of another compelling storyline with the Wiseman at the centre of it.