Paul Heyman Discusses Potentially Running SmackDown Live on FOX, Brock Lesnar’s Future

It’s been a busy few days for Brock Lesnar. The former WWE and UFC Champion made his first WWE appearance since WrestleMania at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, where in a matter of seconds he ascended a ladder and claimed the Money in the Bank briefcase. The following night his advocate Paul Heyman called out both Universal Champion Seth Rollins and WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, saying both should be incredibly paranoid now that Lesnar has a free shot at either man’s world championship whenever he wants. By the end of the night, Heyman convinced Lesnar to return to Monday Night Raw this week to reveal which world championship he plans on going after.

Heyman spoke with ComicBook.com later in the week, where he gave a clue as to what fans can expect from “The Beast” on Raw.

“This Monday we plan, as of now, coming out on television announcing which champion will have the Sword of Damocles over his head with Brock Lesnar, the greatest assassin in WWE history, holding a literal contract on their title reign,” Heyman said. “If the one champion gets a reprieve, then the other champion title reign gets a death sentence.”

When Lesnar’s latest Universal Championship reign ended at WrestleMania 35, there were still reports that he would be making a return to the UFC for a title fight against UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier. However, UFC president Dana White stated in late April that the match was off and that Lesnar was effectively retired from the sport of mixed martial arts.

Heyman said White’s claim was “100% accurate,” before adding that Lesnar has effectively moved on from MMA as a whole.

“I would suggest that Brock Lesnar moved on the day he informed Dave White and the UFC that he was retiring from UFC and MMA,” Heyman said.

Heyman’s own future has been a widely-discussed issue as a late. On a recent episode of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray campaigned for the idea of having Heyman take over as the head of creative for SmackDown Live when the Blue Brand makes the jump to the FOX Network in October. Heyman was previously SmackDown’s head writer in the early 2000s, and for a time managed to help SmackDown beat Raw in both ratings and popularity.

Surprisingly, Heyman seemed receptive to the idea of a return.

“I have interest in anything that serves the product and whether that’s performing with Brock Lesnar, or producing Brock Lesnar, or working with Ronda Rousey, or any of the new talents that are about to explode in 2019 and 2020,” Heyman said. “I serve at the pleasure of the WWE audience and so that every one knows I’m not just paying lip services with that statement. Please note, I didn’t give the politically correct, public relations statement of ‘I serve at the pleasure of the WWE Universe.’ I meant what I said, I serve at the behest and the pleasure of the WWE audience.

“Anything that I can do to deliver to them a better product, a more forward thinking presentation, a more innovative approach to what WWE and or sports entertainment should be in 2020, 2021, 2022 etc., moving forward, that’s what I’m interested in being involved in,” he added.

When Lesnar made his return at Money in the Bank, fellow former UFC fighter and current NXT star Matt Riddle once again made the bold claim that he intends to retire Lesnar.

Heyman stated he things Riddle is a smart man for calling his shot.

“I think Matt Riddle is a very smart man because he knows Brock Lesnar’s the biggest box office attraction in WWE and Matt Riddle is looking to pick a fight and make a lot of money with Brock Lesnar,” he said.

“… Brock Lesnar is the biggest box office attraction that could walk between these two universes, not only today, but in history,” he continued. “I applaud Matt Riddle and everyone else for calling out Brock Lesnar’s name because if you called out anybody else’s you’re automatically starting at second best.”

This week’s Raw will take place at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Photo courtesy of WWE