WWE Hot Take: Paul Heyman Will Turn on Roman Reigns and Try To Join Cody Rhodes

Lurking in the background of an all-timer of a storyline featuring Roman Reigns, the Bloodline, Sami Zayn and now Cody Rhodes is one man.

He's one of the best characters of all time and arguably the top talker of all time. And he's brilliant at staying out of the picture until the time is right for him to assume the spotlight—when it's time to pursue his best interests.

And his name is Paul Heyman.

Heyman is the one factor all of the speculation around the Bloodline angle forgets. While it focuses on how Reigns might split the belts over two nights, how Zayn might win, how Rhodes might win, the family dynamics of The Usos, whether The Rock might get involved and so much more, Heyman's there grinning in the background while plotting.

But it's Heyman who could change everything. He's not going to get in the ring physically, but he can once more exert the puppet-master-like avenues he has to his advantage. He can manipulate contracts, get into cahoots with other Superstars and so much more

We've been here before—there's no way a weasel-esque, power-chasing character like Heyman is going to go down with the ship. If fans see the writing on the wall about the fall of Roman's empire, rest assured he sees it and has been analyzing outs for himself for some time now.

Heck, we've been here before when Heyman seemed to flirt with the idea of betraying Reigns in the past (ultimately a ruse involving Brock Lesnar, etc., but it felt real enough).

So what's the out? With The Usos on unsteady ground, Solo Sikoa a question mark and wolves at the gate like Zayn and Rhodes, who does Heyman target next?

Conventional wisdom points a big, red, blinking arrow at Rhodes. The recent promo Heyman had with him invoking his father's legacy and so much more was amazing. In the manager's mind, Rhodes is the next Cena-type to run the company for a long time.

The only problem with that, of course, is Rhodes being Cena-esque means he would never align with Heyman. That could create a brilliant post-WrestleMania storyline in which Rhodes rebukes Heyman, who then without a home proceeds to go on a hunt for the next big thing—if he doesn't reunite with Lesnar.

Point is, Heyman is not some background character who will get swept away with the tide, and there's rich storytelling potential here. Maybe he goes back to Lesnar, but it might benefit him and WWE quite a bit more if he attaches to an up-and-comer, as he did Lesnar all those years ago.

The when of the actual betrayal isn't exactly as important. He could attempt it at Elimination Chamber when Reigns puts his titles on the line against Zayn, only for a dusty finish enabling the unified champ to retain anyway. At Mania itself in the main event would make more sense, provided it isn't the only reason Reigns winds up losing.

Either way, he's made it clear everything falls apart if Reigns loses those titles:

Saying "Without these titles, there is no Bloodline...there is no Roman Reigns" is a clever way to raise the stakes and keep fans pointed in the right direction of the storytelling. But it's also one of those comments in hindsight that will probably seem obvious based on what Heyman does soon.

For now, the conniving Heyman probably leans into that emotional promo he had with Rhodes recently and tries to use those themes to slide into a managerial or advocacy role with the new unified champion. While Reigns is on a revenge tour post-Mania, Heyman can go and hide behind his new champion, or at least attempt to until Rhodes puts an axe in it.

Heyman's future is one of those ripple effects that don't get a ton of publicity regardless. Zayn's position in the company, what Rhodes does with two titles, whether Reigns assumed a Lesnar-esque final-boss role with a reduced workload and so much more takes the spotlight. But Heyman's can be just as important as any of those, if not more so if he remains involved with Rhodes in some fashion before setting sights on another wrestler.

For 30-plus years, Heyman has been a pivotal fixture of the biggest moments for some of the biggest characters. That's not going to magically change over the next month or so. The Heyman betrayal is coming as yet another act of self-preservation atop the industry, and Rhodes is the likely first target.