Paul Heyman on Roman Reigns, Nick Bockwinkel, and Striving to Set The Standard

“I figured if he walked away without slapping me, it was a victory”

Professional wrestling is as much about the past as it is the present.

Viewing the industry through that lens, is it worth exploring: has any act ever reached the heights that Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns have successfully climbed?

It is difficult to compare to prior generations because of the changing nature of pro wrestling. Bruno Sammartino did not have the benefit of performing on FOX. Had Terry Funk appeared on Netflix, there is no doubt the versatile legend would have become a megastar.

Reigns and Heyman project a rare presence. Equal parts skill, experience, and charisma, they blazed their trails from two strikingly separate worlds–yet their respective paths brought them together on the biggest stage of the business.

MORE: Paul Heyman Turns On Trademark Charm And Shares Secret To His Success

But are there any historical parallels? What about Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan?

Even without the WWE machine behind them, the legend of Heenan and Bockwinkel continues to breathe air long after their deaths. Their partnership began in 1974. Half a century later, their names still evoke passionate memories.

Who better to ask than Heyman himself? Reigns’ “Wise Man” is also a living, breathing encyclopedia of pro wrestling knowledge.

So, Heyman was asked, are he and Reigns a modern-day evolution of Bockwinkel and Heenan?

“The only comparison I make to other acts is whether the greatness we seek puts us over and above the greatness they achieved,” said Heyman. “Instead of comparing, I prefer to strive to set the standard. In the end, that leaves everyone else comparing themselves to us.”

Yet that is not to imply Heyman was without a memory about Bockwinkel. The soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer, known for revolutionizing the industry with Extreme Championship Wrestling, has continued to evolve and make magic long after the revolution ceased. That is directly related to Heyman learning from the giants of a bygone era, one in which Bockwinkel played a starring role.

“I knew Nick as a kid when I was a photographer,” recalled Heyman. “Even though I knew Nick, I didn’t get a chance to work with him. I was breaking in when he was getting out. He was in WCW after I was gone.”

Heyman and Bockwinkel were, however, together briefly in the AWA.

“I remember on one of my first episodes of the AWA on ESPN, Nick was on commentary,” said Heyman. “And I was thought it was my time to seize the moment. I walked over to the commentary position and said, ‘I know why Greg Gagne gets to commentate on ESPN, but exactly who are you related to?’ It was an off-script, impromptu line.

“After the show, Nick came up to me and said, ‘Young man, it took a lot of balls to challenge my position that way.’ I thought he was really pissed. I said, ‘Yes, sir. Seizing the moment, sir.’ And Nick looked at me and said, ‘I admire the gumption it took to do it.’ And then he walked away. I figured if he walked away without slapping me, it was a victory.”

Tonight, Biography: WWE Legends, Heyman will share more of the riveting insight only he can provide. And the topic of tonight’s episode is an area where he possesses a copious amount of expertise: an examination of the career of Reigns, reflecting upon his ongoing journey before he teams with The Rock on Night One of WrestleMania 40–and then headlines the Night Two against Cody Rhodes.

☝🏽#WWEOnAE @HeymanHustle https://t.co/HAWhIsJB7M

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) March 30, 2024

Heyman executive produced and directed the episode, adding an extra flair to the team at A&E.

“Roman Reigns is the most innovative, transformative, disruptive superstar in the history of pro wrestling/sports entertainment,” said Heyman. “The reason why I can accurately make that statement is because Roman Reigns employs two tenant mantras of show business. One, he reads the room. Two, he knows his audience. That’s why he would fit into any era–whether it’s in the 70’s against Sammartino, the 80’s against Hulk Hogan, the 90’s in the Dangerous Alliance, the Attitude Era against Stone Cold and The Rock and DX, the John Cena era of The Doctor of Thugonomics, or now in the tenure being enjoyed by Roman Reigns, in his own era he created, when he lifted the whole industry out of the pandemic and into unfathomable heights that no one could have imagined or dreamt of back in August of 2020.”

Of course, Reigns was a top star before he became aligned with Heyman. Yet he never reached this kind of rarified air of superstardom until he partnered with Heyman.

“I will accept that compliment with great humility, but that’s not for me to say,” said Heyman. “We have a great amount of trust in one another. One of the reasons this collaboration works so well is because we also can each veto an idea if we don’t like it. If something doesn’t sit well with him, I move on to an alternative idea. If something doesn’t sit well with me, he doesn’t assert his authority. When that happens, we come up with something different. We both love the creative process so much, and have mutual respect and admiration for one another, and we love to create together. That’s what allows us to create so freely.

“That’s why this A&E biography is so worthy of everyone’s attention. You’ll get to see that collaborative process.”

With no historical peers, Heyman is eager to highlight the brilliance of Reigns–and reveal what it is like to have a first-hand view. Viewers will get a chance to see Heyman and Reigns together behind-the-scenes, putting their fingerprints on what has been one of professional wrestling’s most memorable runs of all-time.

“The most important component to the application of wisdom, especially for a wise man, is to know what you don’t know,” said Heyman. “To accept the fact that, no matter how wise I might be today, I will look ignorant today when I look back on myself tomorrow. So I need to be wiser tomorrow than I was today, and wiser two days from now than I am tomorrow.

“The only way for me to achieve that is to understand I can learn as much, if not more, from Roman Reigns than he can from me. And that’s the lesson I am teaching Roman as his Wise Man.”