Backstage Note On The Roman Reigns-Paul Heyman Dynamic

WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns aligning himself with Paul Heyman, and turning heel in the process, is arguably the most compelling storyline that WWE has done in 2020. Although their pairing might have caught fans off guard, we noted earlier that the Reigns-Heyman alliance had been in the works for a while and was not something that had been thrown together after Reigns returned at last month's SummerSlam pay-per-view.

According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE's plan is to make the Reigns/Heyman dynamic drastically different from the Lesnar/Heyman alliance, which explains why Heyman does not refer to himself as the advocate or yell into the microphone the way he did for Lesnar.

While Lesnar was booked as a mercenary, who smiled at Heyman's promos, laughed at his jokes, and shared a real friendship with Heyman that dated back to 2002, it is the complete opposite with Reigns.

Unlike the Lesnar-Heyman dynamic, Reigns is not friends with Heyman and The Big Dog is in complete charge of his relationship with Heyman. According to storyline, Heyman was done in wrestling with Lesnar gone and had nothing left to offer until Reigns made the call to bring him back to the fold. As a result, Heyman is indebted to Reigns for saving his career.

Melter also noted that Heyman referring to himself as the "Special Counsel" to Reigns, "The Tribal Chief," is a takeoff on High Chief Peter Maivia's role in Samoan culture in the 1970s. This also explains why Reigns has been using his new, "This is my island" catchphrase.

Reigns will defend his WWE Universal Championship against his cousin, Jey Uso, at the upcoming Clash of Champions pay-per-view.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

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