Just ahead of WrestleMania 40, Paul Heyman will be one of the 2024 inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame. It's a long-overdue honor for the manager, who has carved out his place in wrestling history several times. The "advocate" and "Wise Man" of WWE is more than willing to hear fans' praise unless you make the mistake of calling him "one of" the best managers, as I did.
Heyman was gracious enough to spend time talking to CinemaBlend ahead of the premiere of the "Roman Reigns" episode of Biography: WWE Legends. The doc is directed by Heyman, who highlights the things Reigns does behind the scenes that he doesn't get credit for, and talks about his life and journey to where he sits now as the Undisputed Champion. When I mentioned Heyman's role in all of it as "one of the greatest managers of all time," I was quickly cut off by him and told the following:
That's not…that's not a compliment, by the way. See, I mean, not to be nitpicky or, you know, to spank you publicly here, but ‘one of’ is not a compliment, and I don't know why people think it is, and I'll give you an example...So if your wife turns to you or your significant other turns to you in bed after a passionate night of lovemaking and says, ‘You are one of the greatest lovers I've ever had,’ are you buying your flowers in the morning or you're going to see a divorce attorney? A divorce attorney. ‘One of?! Bitch, I'm out of here.’ ‘One of them’ is not a compliment. Google it bitches. I'm the best. I'm the greatest there’s ever freaking been. I'm the GOAT in live and in living color, doing it now for your enjoyment.
You may think there's room for debate on whether Paul Heyman or Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, but for the love of all that is holy, do not say that in front of Heyman. Heenan, who passed away in 2017, would be one of the only people wrestling fans would argue stands as an equal to Heyman. With that said, the past decade has shown the latter is starting to enter a league of his own, especially after his storylines with Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns dominated the multiple WrestleMania main events.
At WrestleMania 40 in April, Paul Heyman will be ringside in not just one but possibly two main events. He'll be allowed ringside for the tag match in which The Rock and Roman Reigns take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, and should his guys win, he'll be ringside when Reigns defends his title against Cody Rhodes on Night 2. If they lose, however, the Bloodline will be banned from ringside. Given the Monday Night Raw teases about big-name superstars potentially showing up to aid Rhodes, I feel Heyman will be ringside on both nights.
It's hard to imagine the pro wrestling world without Paul Heyman, so it's a good thing the WWE manager hasn't considered leaving anytime soon. Even if Roman Reigns does drop his title in the main event, I can imagine it won't be long before Heyman is plotting and scheming with the Tribal Chief about a massive comeback. How hype would it be for them to disappear and re-emerge when Monday Night Raw debuts on Netflix?
Right now, it's a big "if" when talking about whether Roman Reigns will lose at WrestleMania 40. The Tribal Chief must retain his title if he hopes to break the record of Hulk Hogan's title run of 1,474 days. Reigns has currently held his Universal championship, which was combined with the WWE championship to create the Undisputed Championship title, for 1305 days as of writing.
It's the closest any champion has gotten to Hogan's run in the modern era, and it took over three years to accomplish. Much of that journey is highlighted in Biography: WWE Legends, which covers everything from fans revolting when Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble in 2015 to his eventual ascent to the top as "Head of the Table." I'd call it a must-watch, especially as we head into WrestleMania week and all the fun that comes along with it. The event goes down on April 6th and 7th.
Catch the "Roman Reigns" episode of Biography: WWE Legends when it airs on A&E on Sunday, March 31st at 9:00 p.m. ET. There's still plenty of time to sign up for a Peacock Premium subscription ahead of WrestleMania 40, and given all the teases of what's in store so far, I wouldn't advise skipping a moment.
