Vince McMahon’s Involvement in Roman Reigns’ Heel Turn

During his recent appearance on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, Paul Heyman discussed the role Vince McMahon played in the creation of the Bloodline storyline, which saw Heyman align with Roman Reigns.

Heyman revealed that he was removed as the executive director in June 2020 and initially thought he had several months left on his contract with WWE. With limited options specified in his agreement, Heyman had clauses that allowed him to be paired with specific individuals who could benefit from his association.

“Vince removes me as executive director in June of 2020, and I thought I had a bunch of months left on my contract, and I was gonna ride it out, and we’ll see where we go from there. There were limited options in my agreement as to whom WWE could put me with.”

“When I had the leverage, I wrote that in because we had reached a point with the cachet of being Brock Lesnar’s advocate that anybody else you put me with could either make them instantly a star, or you’re watering me down, and ultimately hurting the other person, because they don’t belong with me. They don’t measure up to where you’re used to seeing my character bring someone down to the ring, which is either the main event of WrestleMania or close to it.

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One of the names on that list was Roman Reigns. Heyman believed that Reigns had the potential to become an instant star if paired with him, while also acknowledging that other potential pairings would not measure up to the level of his character’s presence.

“One of the few names on this list was Roman Reigns. Another was Brock Lesnar, obviously. Another was Ronda Rousey. Ronda Rousey was having a baby. Brock Lesnar wasn’t coming back with Saudi being down. That kinda left Roman Reigns in there.”

In August, Heyman received a call from Vince McMahon informing him that they were bringing him back to television. Heyman initially thought he might be assigned a commentator role, but McMahon had a different plan in mind. McMahon expressed his vision of pairing Heyman with Roman Reigns, which surprised Heyman. He felt that McMahon would never allow someone like John Cena to venture into the dark side in the same way.

“So Vince calls me in the middle of August and he says, ‘We’re gonna take you back into television. I’m thinking, ‘Oh, oh. He’s gonna make me a commentator and Jim Ross isn’t here. What is a commentator in 2020? How can I be disruptive? How can I be evolutionary in the process? How can I redefine this role because I don’t just want to settle in and do what’s been done already. Even by me, I want to do this differently. I said, ‘Okay, well, what do you got in mind?’

“He says, ‘I’m going to put you with somebody. ‘I’m thinking, ‘Has he read my contract?’ I said, ‘Well, you know Vince, the options are kind of limited in that.’ I’m trying to tiptoe into a delicate situation here where I’m about to butt heads with him. I’m thinking Ronda is pregnant. Brock’s not coming back with Saudi down. He’s certainly is not putting me with Roman and he goes, ‘I’m envisioning Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman.’ I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God. He’s gonna pull the trigger on this. He would never pull it with Cena. He would never have allowed Cena to come to the dark side.”

Heyman saw this as an opportunity to redefine his role and bring a fresh perspective to his on-screen character. He wanted to disrupt the traditional commentator role and find new ways to evolve the position.

Reigns had expressed his disappointment with the creative direction he had been presented before being paired with Heyman. The collaboration between Reigns and Heyman would go on to create the dominant and villainous persona of “The Tribal Chief,” revitalizing Reigns’ character and establishing him as a top star in WWE.

The strategic pairing of Heyman and Reigns has proven to be a pivotal turning point in Reigns’ career, propelling him to new heights of success and establishing him as one of the most compelling characters in professional wrestling today.

What are your thoughts on the revelations shared by Paul Heyman about the creation of the Bloodline storyline and his role in aligning with Roman Reigns? Leave a comment.