Jim Ross believes Roman Reigns has already built a career worthy of the WWE Hall of Fame, but he is not convinced the Tribal Chief will ultimately be remembered as the greatest professional wrestler of all time.

The WWE Hall of Famer discussed Reigns during the latest edition of Grilling JR with Conrad Thompson, with the conversation also turning to the enormous influence Paul Heyman has had on some of WWE's biggest stars.

The subject followed comments Thompson recently made on 83 Weeks, where he argued that Reigns was heavily pushed by WWE rather than initially being embraced organically by fans. Thompson also suggested Reigns' career reached another level once Heyman became part of his presentation.

Ross did not go as far as Thompson, but he had no hesitation in praising Heyman's ability to elevate talent.

“Paul Heyman is invaluable to getting talent over. He’s the Bobby Heenan of this generation, as it relates to bringing a focus to the individual that he’s managing.”

Ross believes there is also a reason Heyman is usually paired with carefully selected singles stars rather than spreading himself across several acts.

“You notice we talked earlier about tag teams and priorities and who you hire. Heyman hasn’t managed a tag team of any sincerity in years, because he knows that his time well spent is with a single, like Brock Lesnar, for example, or Roman Reigns.”

According to Ross, much of Heyman's value is never actually seen by WWE viewers. His work behind the curtain, particularly when it comes to promos, psychology and presentation, can be just as important as what happens when the cameras are rolling.

“What he does off camera and behind the scenes with his talents and with other talents is, we’ll never know. I know a lot more than a lot of people because I’ve worked behind the scenes, but he contributes mightily to the build of his talents. He helped Brock Lesnar immensely.”

However, Ross was also quick to point out that Heyman has traditionally been working with performers who already possess exceptional qualities.

“But you’re not dealing with a raw piece of clay either with Lesnar. He was special. There’ll never be another Brock Lesnar. You look at the listing of his accolades, Conrad, it’ll never be topped ever. And Heyman made sure that he stayed special, because the more special Lesnar is, the more money Heyman makes. And I know Paul Heyman very well, and he really does like to make money, and he’s good at it.”

Ross added that having Heyman available as a sounding board can make an enormous difference to a wrestler.

“He helps those guys so much with their promos and their psychology, or try this, or I don’t think you should do that. It’s amazing. It’s a gift to have him in your corner.”

When the conversation returned specifically to Reigns, Ross offered plenty of praise but stopped short of predicting that his name will eventually sit at the very top of wrestling's all-time hierarchy.

“Now, as far as Roman is concerned, I love the kid. I think he’s great for the business. I think he’s great for WWE. He looks like a champion. He represents well, but I don’t know what you mean by the greatest of all time or whatever. I don’t know he’ll ever be considered greatest of all time, but he’s always going to be considered as someone that had a great run, and has had a Hall of Fame career without question.”

Ross' assessment notably differs from the argument that Reigns was simply manufactured by WWE or that his success depended entirely on Heyman. Instead, JR presented Heyman as an important ingredient who helped maximise an already established main-event talent.

Reigns and Heyman's partnership dates back to 2020, when Reigns underwent the transformation that would completely reshape his WWE character and lead into the historic Tribal Chief era. Heyman himself was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024.

Reigns most recently retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins in the main event of SummerSlam Night Two.

Do you agree with Jim Ross that Roman Reigns may fall short of the GOAT conversation, or has his run already earned him a place alongside WWE's greatest ever stars? Let us know what you think in the new WNS comment section.