The Run-In #6: #HeymanBack

Talk about a 180 – in the right direction. It was on these very pages where I broke down my disdain for what the WWE might do with the return of Brock Lesnar...then my “toldja so” regarding the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. After viewing a subpar Raw this week (which you can hear me chop up on this week’s blackrasslin podcast), which featured the return of Paul Heyman to WWE TV – as Lesnar’s legal representation, no less – I’m definitely not eating crow, but more patting myself on the back for (hopefully) helping sway WWE Creative into a path of proper thinking when it comes to Lesnar.



After last week’s escapade, many didn’t assume Lesnar would be on Raw this week. Behind the scenes, Lesnar is still on contract, but as we already know, his contract limits his number of appearances, so the twisting of Triple H’s arm last week was designed to do not only write Lesnar out of current TV storylines for the time being, but set up a potential money match against HHH down the line. Many speculated that it would be Summerslam, and with this bit of news on Paul Heyman, that’s looking more obvious as weeks go on:

Paul Heyman will be appearing on a semi-regular basis on WWE programming through Summerslam this August as part of a new storyline involving Brock Lesnar "quitting" WWE and being in a legal battle with the company. Plans to use Heyman reportedly came together in the last week as original plans did not include him. Heyman isn't expected to be joining WWE on the road full-time as of now and is only slated to be involved in the Lesnar storyline.

Note that this plan just recently got pulled together. Many thought that around the time Lesnar returned in April Heyman would be an obvious return as well, but he shot that down at the time. I know he has a book and HeymanHustle.com to worry about, but easy money as well as being able to work with Lesnar and see some of the talents he helped bring to the WWE, like CM Punk, seemed too good to pass up:

Heyman is being used as WWE has Lesnar signed for a limited number of dates. One idea discussed was to have Lesnar "sue" WWE for breach of contract and money owed, playing off the actual legal battle the two sides had years ago. This angle would include all sorts of viral campaigns, something Heyman is experienced with, that would help get it over as a legitimate issue between WWE and Lesnar.

Heyman is not expected to go on the road full-time with WWE and at last word, he was only involved in the Lesnar storyline and not working WWE creative.

While one of the reasons Heyman has returned is to work with close friend Lesnar, word is that he also returned to potentially work with CM Punk down the line. Heyman has much respect for Punk and will work with him on the upcoming Punk DVD release. Backstage reaction to Heyman at RAW on Monday was positive. He was warmly greeted by the younger talents as some of them knew him from their time in WWE developmental.

I’m assuming that, due to the way WWE Creative botched the whole Extreme Rules match/aftermath, guys like Vince made sure to get Heyman involved. Like many of us have said, Lesnar needs a coherent voice, one who knows how to push a monster like this, and I’d even argue that, without Heyman, Lesnar wouldn’t have had the impact back when he debuted for the company...



Hell, With Leather’s Brandon Stroud brought up a good point: just the way Heyman says Brock’s name is enough! This is going to be a win, trust. I’m hoping the WWE is wise and starts showing footage of Heyman and Lesnar from when Lesnar first debuted.

I don’t know about you, but I marked out when I saw Heyman walk to the ring. The crowd was probably too young to know who Heyman was, but I remember Heyman – from the brick phone and Dangerous Alliance days of WCW to running Eastern (then Extreme) Championship Wrestling to his work with the WWE. One of the best wrestling minds of today. Glad to have him back, and now I’m feeling so much better that he’s now in the fold.