WWE's Paul Heyman Describes His Reluctance to Manage Anyone After Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman shocked the world last summer when 'The Tribal Chief' returned from [...]

Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman shocked the world last summer when "The Tribal Chief" returned from his hiatus, turned heel and aligned himself with the advocate of Brock Lesnar. Heyman has since taken on the role of Reigns' "special counsel" and while their onscreen relationship is much different than the one Heyman had with Lesnar he's still bringing in world-class promos to hype up each of Reigns' matches. Heyman explained in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week that he was hesitant to manage anyone else after Lesnar, but that Reigns star power convinced him otherwise.

"I cannot begin to convey how reluctant I was to ever do anything in this industry after the eight years, let alone the 18 years, that I put together with Brock Lesnar," Heyman said. "Look at our accomplishments: a 500-day run as champion, multiple world championships, the single biggest, most historic victory in sports entertainment history in the conquering of 'The Streak.' There was very little chance of me ever returning on-screen."

"For me to pursue, in front of the camera, life after Brock Lesnar, the only lure that could seduce me to even attempting such an impossible goal was to do it with someone that would live their life in the pursuit of achieving that impossibility, and that's Roman Reigns," he later added. "And that's why someone, that's why anyone and that's why everyone should watch Roman Reigns. Every micromoment he's in the frame, you are witnessing the pursuit of the all-time greatest career in the annals of sport, in the annals of entertainment and in the annals of sports entertainment."

Heyman later explained why his approach and deliver regarding promos has also changed over the years.

"My job is to create an enthusiasm regarding the items that I am entrusted with hyping," Heyman said. "That has never changed. The way that I strategize, that has changed. That's been a constant since 1987. What worked for me during the Dangerous Alliance era in WCW would not have worked for me in front of an ECW crowd. The rabble-rouser, cult leader, pied piper of the revolution in ECW would not have worked as Brock Lesnar's advocate. Brock Lesnar's advocate would not have worked as the 'voice of the voice of the voiceless,' and none of those would have worked for the special counsel for Roman Reigns or the cohost of Talking Smack. These are all distinctly different roles, and I would be doing a disservice to people if I treated it otherwise."

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