3-time Champion says he talked to Paul Heyman for WWE Royal Rumble return

Former WWE United States Champion MVP was a guest on the latest edition of SmackDown Live announcer Corey Graves' "After The Bell" podcast, and opened up on how his WWE return came about.

MVP revealed that he wanted to give his son a memory he would remember forever, and that led to a talk with RAW Executive Director Paul Heyman.

"It arose from a conversation with Paul Heyman as a matter of fact. My son is five years old now, and he's become a massive wrestling fan. As he calls it, 'WW wrestling'. First, it was 'daddy fight. This is daddy fight.' Then 'daddy fight' became 'WW wrestling', and I look at like, 'Hey man, where are you getting this from? Where are you learning this?'

"But he's got WWE rings and action figures so with the Rumble being in Houston, where I reside. I'm from Miami. Miami will always be home, but I live in Houston. I thought what a great opportunity to give my son the memory of a lifetime, and I talked with Paul Heyman. It all came together."

Also read: AEW star reacts to Scott Dawson's jibe on critics of tag team wrestling

MVP was a mainstay in WWE back in 2005-10, and is a two-time WWE US Champion. He made his return during the 2020 Royal Rumble match this past weekend, and was almost immediately eliminated from the free-for-all by WWE Champion Brock Lesnar.

MVP wrestled Rey Mysterio on RAW the next night, and later revealed that it was his final WWE match.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar