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Paul Heyman Is the Key to Successful Feud Between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar
March 13, 2015
The two most critical pieces of the WrestleMania main event aren't Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, they're Paul Heyman and his microphone.
Lesnar's part-time schedule means limited confrontations with Reigns. In fact, the two haven't come face-to-face since the January 26 edition of Raw.
The lack of interaction between two top stars scheduled to compete in the WrestleMania main event usually signals doom. In this case, however, it's a blessing in disguise.
Heyman continues to do the best work of his career, providing a litany of reasons to watch. He feeds ongoing speculation of Lesnar's expiring contract while planting possible seeds of a future alliance with Reigns.
| Brock Lesnar's Last Five Matches | ||||
| Date | Event | Opponent | Result | Note |
| January 26, 2014 | WWE Royal Rumble | Big Show | Win | One of two WWE Superstars to defeat Big Show in a singles match on pay-per-view in 2014 (Rusev) |
| April 6, 2014 | WrestleMania XXX | Undertaker | Win | Undertaker's first WrestleMania loss |
| August 17, 2014 | WWE SummerSlam | John Cena | Win | Won WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| September 21, 2014 | WWE Night of Champions | John Cena | Loss (Disqualification) | First match featuring Lesnar with a disqualification finish since his return in 2012 |
| January 25, 2015 | WWE Royal Rumble | John Cena; Seth Rollins | Win | Pinned Seth Rollins to retain WWE World Heavyweight Championship |
| WWE.com | ||||
Reigns is still fighting an uphill battle to win over WWE's pesky meta audience and whatever's left of the Yes! Movement. A heel turn may be necessary.
Fans are treating Lesnar as a babyface through his historic run, filled with landmark clean victories over future WWE Hall of Famers. If Reigns turns heel, it will make sense through a mix of animosity toward stubborn fans and Heyman's relationship with the No. 1 contender that dates back to his childhood.
Heyman continues to exploit every relevant storyline and subplot pertaining to this match. Lesnar's schedule may be preventing him from regular confrontations with Reigns, but that's a good thing. This year, the money isn't in the actual match. It's in the drama.
With no physical confrontation between Lesnar and Reigns, Heyman is doing the heavy lifting on television. This follows a theme of the matches' most intriguing aspects being everything but the contest itself.
Reigns and Lesnar will likely have a good main event worthy of the most coveted slot in professional wrestling. Both are big and athletic and can work a WWE style that will captivate a large audience.
But between the vocal dissent among hardcore fans and Lesnar's questionable future, the wrestling is secondary. Seth Rollins possibly cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, whether Lesnar will re-sign, whether Lesnar will win and if Reigns will turn heel all take precedent over the otherwise intriguing showdown.
Heyman's ability to fan these flames keep this feud interesting.
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