5 Top Contenders to be Paul Heyman's Next Client

Over the years, Paul Heyman has often been associated with the absolute best in the wrestling world. Some of those names were the best way before Heyman ever came into the equation, while others were boosted to a whole other level just by merely being associated with the former Paul E. Dangerously.

In terms of huge names, Heyman has managed the likes of Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Kurt Angle, The Big Show, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, “Stunning” Steve Austin, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Austin Idol, and a fella by the name of “Mean” Mark Callous – although you may know him better as The Undertaker. That’s only the tip of the iceberg, but those names alone read like a list of wrestling royalty.

The point being made is that whomever Paul Heyman is involved with is more often than not a huge deal in the wrestling world. Curtis Axel aside, of course.

With Brock Lesnar having now departed the WWE – at least temporarily – to focus his immediate attention on a UFC return, many are speculating as to what Vince McMahon’s company will do with Heyman. And more specifically, those people are wondering which wrestler could be the next to be positioned as Heyman’s client.

Roman Reigns at one point seemed like a good fit for such a role, but the recent reunion of The Shield has thrown a spanner into those particular works. So with that in mind, here are five other top contenders to be the next person to be put under the managerial wing of the legendary Paul Heyman.

#5 Samoa Joe

Right now, Samoa Joe has been regularly proving himself to be one of the very best talkers in the WWE, as he’s set his sights on taking AJ Styles’ WWE Championship. In an ideal world, Joe would be a main event staple of the WWE for the next few years, but there’s always the worry that Vince McMahon may change his mind on the former TNA World Champion at a moment’s notice.

Throughout his time managing Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman always played up the legitimacy of his client, the toughness of his client, and the fact that his client could decimate any superstar on the roster whenever he saw fit. Now, imagine Heyman spouting that same rhetoric about Samoa Joe? Good fit, right?

You wouldn’t necessarily need to have Joe stay mute – ala the majority of Lesnar’s WWE appearances over the past couple of years – but you could have him at times play the silent assassin sort of role; menacingly lurking in the background while Heyman talks about how much of a killer he is. Then, when Joe does talk, it means more, it has everyone listening, and it makes the rest of the roster stand to attention.

Samoa Joe doesn’t need Paul Heyman, but it would certainly be one way of keeping Joe in the top tier spotlight going forward.

#4 Tommaso Ciampa

Currently, Tommaso Ciampa is arguably the single greatest heel performer in the entire WWE. Since turning on DIY partner Johnny Gargano, Ciampa has blown fans away by just how intensely he’s embraced the role of being a bad guy.

Over the past twenty years or so, it seems as if very few people in mainstream wrestling/sports entertainment are willing to truly be a full-blown heel. Following the formation of the New World Order back in the ‘90s, it all of a sudden became about being a cool heel; basically, a bad guy that would still get cheered, would sell vast amounts of merchandise, and would effectively neuter any babyface that they were up against.

That is something that’s still in place throughout the wrestling world, yet Ciampa has done all that he can to position himself as somebody who you can’t do anything but hate. There’s the fact that he has no entrance music, there’s his refusal to have any merchandise on sale until only a week or so ago, there’s his exemplary use of social media, there are his constant references to himself as a “sports entertainer”, and so on and so forth.

Unfortunately for Ciampa, however, there’s always that doubt of just how well a talent can transition from NXT to the main roster; with there being plentiful examples of huge NXT stars who were completely mishandled when called up to Raw or SmackDown. So, how better to keep the full momentum behind Ciampa’s heel act and to instantly mark him out as a big deal, than by pairing him with Paul Heyman upon his eventual switch to the main roster.

#3 Ronda Rousey

Despite some being wary of just how she’d cope in the “sports entertainment” business, it’s fair to say that Ronda Rousey has silenced any doubters. While she’s clearly still a work in progress, Rousey has been phenomenal in everything that she’s done under the WWE umbrella so far.

The former UFC star’s in-ring performances have been stunning, and her mic work has gotten better with each passing week. But still, Rousey is nowhere near what you’d label “good” on the mic just yet. And that’s, of course, where Paul Heyman could come in and work wonders.

Heyman’s time with Brock Lesnar clearly saw Brock’s real-life amateur wrestling and UFC antics utilized in a way to make him feel like a truly one-of-a-kind, special talent, and Paul E. could pull from that exact same playbook for Ronda Rousey; instead focussing on Rousey’s Olympic judo background in addition to her UFC successes.

If Rousey and Heyman were to link up, chances are that would require a heel turn for Rowdy Ronda. Given how receptive the WWE fan base has been to Rousey so far, it doesn’t look like a heel turn is on the cards any time soon. Then again, if handled correctly, just such a turn could easily materialize before 2018 is out – Rousey becoming the no-nonsense, silent, ass-kicking new client of the maniacal Paul Heyman.

#2 Shayna Baszler

As alluded to elsewhere in this article, Ronda Rousey has been getting hugely positive reactions from crowds across the globe since joining the WWE earlier this year. If the plan is to keep Rousey as a badass babyface who takes on all-comers, logic would suggest keeping her away from Paul Heyman. That said, that doesn’t mean that Paul E. couldn’t link up with one of Ronda’s fellow Four Horsewomen.

Shayna Baszler has been taking names and kicking ass in NXT for the last year or so, and with the prospect of a Four Horsewomen vs Four Horsewomen match on the horizon – potentially as early as this year’s Survivor Series PPV – it seems only a matter of time before the Queen of Spades leaves NXT behind as she looks to find a permanent home on the Raw or SmackDown brand.

Throughout her NXT run, Baszler has been nothing if not dominant, decimating opponent after opponent before finally dropping the NXT Women’s Championship to the Pirate Princess, Kairi Sane. Upon her eventual move to the main roster, pairing Baszler up with Heyman could prove to be a masterful move, particularly if the plan is to at some point get to a Baszler vs Rousey feud.

Added to this, Baszler is still a little rough on the mic at times, and so Heyman’s words accompanying her utterly badass presence could prove to be the perfect package.

#1 Kevin Owens

Okay, let’s just get it out there already: Kevin Owens does not need someone to cut promos for him.

One of the benefits of Paul Heyman being attached to a client, is that the former ECW head is able to talk for the talent in question, helping to use his own exquisite promo skills to legitimize his client and make them feel like a big deal. But then again, CM Punk never needed anybody to do his talking for him, and his pairing with Heyman was absolutely fantastic.

You have guys like Curtis Axel or Cesaro who Heyman was paired with in order to vocalise for them, but the addition of Heyman to Punk’s act was a masterstroke in terms of complimenting the Straightedge Superstar and only further pushing how much of the real deal Punk was at that point. So with that in mind, maybe the same could happen to Kevin Owens.

There’s no doubting KO’s in-ring work, and there’s no doubting his ability on the mic, but for whatever reason, the WWE management are yet to really go all-in on Owens. Granted, he was given a run as the Universal Champion, but even then he often felt like an afterthought on the Raw brand.

How better to thrust the Canadian back into the main event spotlight and to have him once again looked at as a major player, than by having Heyman – and the credibility that comes with the former Dangerous Alliance founder – at KO’s side.