5 WWE Superstars Paul Heyman reportedly planned to push (and what happened next)
WWE has surprisingly announced that Bruce Prichard will now lead the creative writing process on RAW and SmackDown, with Paul Heyman no longer overseeing the creative direction of storylines on RAW.
One year ago, Paul Heyman began combining his on-screen role with a behind-the-scenes position as the Executive Director of RAW, while Eric Bischoff had a similar responsibility on SmackDown before his departure in October 2019.
Over the last 12 months, several reports have given WWE fans an insight into Paul Heyman’s vision of what he wanted to see on RAW, including which Superstars he was keen to push.
In December 2019, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer even gave a list of five WWE Superstars who Paul Heyman wanted to push on the red brand in 2020.
As we approach the halfway point of the year, let’s take a look at how well those five Superstars have fared on Monday nights over the last few months.
#5 Aleister Black
After initially joining WWE’s main roster as part of a tag team with Ricochet in February 2019, Aleister Black began to appear in backstage segments following WrestleMania 35.
The former NXT Champion did not compete in any matches on WWE television for three months between April 2019 and July 2019. Then, two weeks after Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff started their new roles, Black defeated Cesaro at Extreme Rules 2019 and went on a 22-match televised winning streak.
Around the start of 2020, “The Dutch Destroyer” was involved in his first meaningful singles rivalry on RAW with Murphy, which saw the two Superstars go head-to-head in three matches in the space of four weeks.
Black won all three encounters against Murphy and it gradually became clear as the months went on that Paul Heyman was indeed attempting to push the 35-year-old.
Since his rivalry with Murphy ended, Black has faced high-profile Superstars including Seth Rollins and AJ Styles, while he defeated Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 36.
Granted, he did not reach main-event status during Paul Heyman’s time on RAW, but Black’s position in WWE has still gotten stronger and stronger in the first six months of 2020.