WWE: What Does Paul Heyman's Future Look Like Without Brock Lesnar?

When Brock Lesnar made his long awaited return to WWE programming this past April, it’s no stretch to say that it was a shock to most fans. Perhaps even more surprising was the return of Paul Heyman, the “Next Big Thing's" legal adviser and manager, just one month later.

Much like Lesnar, Heyman was thought to be someone who would never make a return to the squared circle after his tenure was over in late 2006. Heyman shot down talk of a WWE return on numerous occasions throughout the years, but as we all know, nothing is off-limits in the world of professional wrestling. 

Yet here we are today, less than 24 hours removed from Brock Lesnar “quitting” the company once again, and the question that many are wondering is, “What’s going to happen with Paul Heyman?”

There’s speculation that Heyman’s contract with WWE may be up and that last night may be the last we see of him for quite awhile. Somehow I’m not buying it, and thus I have decided to put together a “what if” article detailing some options that could be in store for Paul Heyman in the near future.

Find New Talent to Manage.

Just because Brock Lesnar is supposedly gone from WWE programming does not mean that Paul Heyman should not be utilized in a similar capacity to the role he’s most effective in.

There are so many legitimate and realistic options in terms of talent for Heyman to mold that it makes my head spin. The former “Paul E. Dangerously” could easily help the careers of fledgling Superstars or ones who have struggled to find their niche within the company.

Off the top of my head, there are a few fantastic options for Paul Heyman to get behind. We all know that Heyman has historically had success in managing genetic anomalies such as Brock Lesnar and the Big Show, so it’s easy to assume that he could produce similar results in getting behind a Superstar such as Ryback.

Ryback is cut from a damn-near similar cloth to that of Brock Lesnar, but he has not established himself as a quality promo-cutter just yet. Inserting Heyman as his mouthpiece could easily give the man who’s always hungry a boost.

Additionally, it’s no secret that Paul Heyman is a genuine fan of quality wrestling, so the possibilities of him getting behind Superstars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are endless. Think about the damage that Punk and Heyman could do together in WWE. The promos alone would make for some of the greatest television that the company could put together.

Need I also mention the effect that a duo like Paul Heyman and Wade Barrett could have. It’s obvious that Heyman loves “real” fighters, so a Heyman/Barrett Barrage could play nicely with Barrett’s gimmick of being a Bare Knuckle Brawler. Maybe that’s where Wade’s promos are heading? Could it be that Barrett’s Barrage is actually him and Heyman reigning down upon the WWE universe?

And if all else fails, he always has Big Show to go back to.

Take His Rightful Place as RAW General Manager

Paul Heyman loves power, but one thing he loves even more than power is his ability to get under the McMahon family’s skin. Is it even worth counting how many times Heyman has clashed, both kayfabe and behind the scenes, with a member of the McMahon family?

Developing a storyline where Paul Heyman utilized his wits and intelligence to screw A.J. and the McMahon family over in order to become RAW’s latest general manager could make for a compelling storyline.

This is no knock on A.J.’s abilities as GM; she’s actually been pretty great in her role thus far. But eventually her role as general manager of RAW is going to come to an end, and I could see it coming sooner rather than later.

If there’s one individual that makes obvious sense to take over the role, it’s Heyman. Even barring the idea of Paul Heyman weaseling his way into the GM position, another angle that would work would simply be Vince’s realization that Heyman is, in all actuality, the best candidate for the job. Paul’s eye for the world of professional wrestling is rivaled by few within the industry, so why not use such talent to completely redefine RAW?

Who knows? Maybe Heyman could even agree to drop his storyline lawsuit against the WWE if Vince agreed to hand over the proverbial keys to the RAW general manager castle.

Continue His Feud with Stephanie McMahon

This relates to the previous slide in which I mentioned Paul Heyman’s history with the McMahon family. It’s also an obvious option for Heyman, in terms of where his storyline has been with Triple H and Stephanie.

Paul Heyman is not afraid to take shots at the “Billionaire Princess,” and this includes the mention of her and Triple H’s children. This is enough ammunition in and of itself to keep this feud rolling.

And now that Brock Lesnar is out the door, this is a great time for Heyman to continue his storyline with Stephanie. These two obviously work extremely well together on television, so it’s interesting to ponder where else they could go.

There’s a lot of bad blood here as well, as many will remember when Heyman became Stephanie's successor as SmackDown! GM after No Mercy 2003—a role that Vince McMahon placed him in. Although nearly a decade later, Stephanie may still have a bad taste in her mouth over losing her coveted GM spot to, of all people, Paul Heyman.

Couple that with their recent encounter and we could be looking at a great way to pass the time for a few months before (I believe) Brock Lesnar makes his WWE return.

Form a Stable to Incite a "Revolution" in WWE

This is certainly my favorite option of the bunch. If I were given the opportunity to book Paul Heyman’s next move, I would opt to see the mad genius form the latest stable to turn World Wrestling Entertainment upside down.

The idea of a “Revolution” is something that we’re all familiar with; from the cryptic promos to the reveal that it was all part of the WWE’s marketing for its latest video game, WWE ’13, the talk of a revolution is all the rage at the moment.

That’s why now is the perfect time for an actual Revolution within WWE.

Here’s where things start to get really interesting. You see, the idea of a revolution—this truly perfect storm coming to WWE—just would not seem quite right without the inclusion of the Indy and IWC darlings. Namely, I’m referring to the established WWE main roster guys in CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.

I have already voiced my interest in Heyman teaming up with Punk or Bryan earlier in this slideshow, but it’s an idea that has far too much potential to only mention once. CM Punk is quickly becoming “the guy” in WWE, so why not provide Heyman’s backing much like WWE did when it attempted to make Brock Lesnar “the guy” a decade ago?

Let’s take it one step further, though.

Aside from these two obvious choices, I would also move to include fledgling and developmental WWE Superstars who made names for themselves on the independent circuit. This includes the newly minted United States champion, Antonio Cesaro (the former Claudio Castagnoli), as well as guys such as Seth Rollins (the former Tyler Black), Dean Ambrose (the former Jon Moxley) and Kassius Ohno (the former Chris Hero).

Heck, even placing guys like Evan Bourne or the recently signed PAC into this stable would be great for business. Bourne and PAC are, of course, guys whose claim to early fame came via the independent scene. If there’s a need for an enforcer within the group, bringing in Luke Harper (the former Brodie Lee) is an option worth entertaining.

If you’re not familiar with PAC, check out this video and prepare to be amazed at the spots this talent is capable of producing. Placing him and Bourne together in a stable in which the two set the standard for what it means to be a high-flyer in today’s wrestling world would make for some unbelievable moments. This is just my opinion, but it’s hard to discredit what great things these two could do while working together.

Aside from that, you have also got the fuel for a potential split within the stable down the road and within subsequent feuds, as Ohno and Cesaro could reform as a spinoff of their “Kings of Wrestling” tag team days to feud with Bourne and PAC over the tag team titles. Actually, feuds between any of these guys in WWE would be highly entertaining.

Jumble this all together and place Paul Heyman front-and-center as the mouthpiece of this stable and we could actually be seeing the kind of revolution that the WWE universe and IWC has been hoping for.

With a near-cranium caving kick to the back of Jerry Lawler's head last night (don't take that literally), CM Punk is almost a full-fledged heel, so why not put him together with Heyman, Bryan and the rest of these talents? If there’s any stable that could help to break down the walls within WWE and erase any ideas that every stable has to be like Evolution, it’s this one right here.

Paul Heyman, as both a manager and highly capable wrestling mind, has the potential to take any of these guys to the next level of super-stardom in WWE. As a combined front, there’s little that this group could not accomplish together.

The idea of this stable has been discussed quite often on Bleacher Report, but there's merit to the talk, as it's a great idea.

How do you feel about these options? What other ideas would you have in mind for Paul Heyman? Sound off in the comments section below!