Paul Heyman was recently a guest on The Masked Man Show, where he spoke about CM Punk's newfound career in AEW.
āI think what will be interesting is, what happens when the novelty that heās back wears off? Both for the audience and for him. Iām sure for him this is still like āI canāt believe Iām back! Iām actually walking into an arena, holy shit.āā
āI think itās still very fresh for him. What happens a year from now? Howās he going to feel? How will the audience look at him and accept him in a year? If he can continue to drive himself, to being a progressive, compelling, riveting character on the cutting edge that presents himself in a different manner than anyone else can present, then heās going to be a fascinating character to watch.ā
āIf he doesnāt, then heās going to be someone that came back, rode a wave of nostalgia but didnāt progress into the future when he as a rebel was always looking forward in the business and never trying to live off what the business had already accomplished or what he had already accomplished in the business. So the fascinating thing for me to watch is his mindset is his vision for that character, for that persona, for himself as a performer a year from now. Weāre still in the honeymoon period.ā
Heyman went on to discuss Roman Reigns.
āWhere does Phil Brooks want to take CM Punk? Itās the same thing, itās the same conversation I had with Roman Reigns before we debuted in public together. Itās again, itās taking the āBig Dogā and moving him into the role of the āTribal Chief.ā Everything that youāve done only leads up till now. That was just the appetizer. And now youāre going to be the main course.ā
āI told Roman āyouāve had four WrestleMania main events and you have to look at that as just the audition to be the Tribal Chief. Itās just the lead-up to it. Because everything youāve done before now is just the lead to the moment you emerge as the Tribal Chief. This is where your legacy gets crafted. This is your Hall Of Fame run. This is what you will be remembered for. And everything before was just getting you here. Including four WrestleMania main events.āā