Paul Heyman reveals why he’s yet to return to WWE SmackDown

Roman Reigns returned to WWE and declared war on Solo Sikoa. Paul Heyman is rumored to return to the storyline any time now, with rampant speculation on potential swerves and surprises officials can use to facilitate the comeback. The Wiseman has opened up with very revealing insight into future plans.

Heyman has been away since SmackDown aired live from Madison Square Garden in late June. He was destroyed by Sikoa and his Bloodline henchmen for failing to acknowledge The New Tribal Chief. Roman then returned at SummerSlam over a month ago and had been battling Sikoa's faction by himself until controversially joining forces with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.

The Original Tribal Chief is expected to welcome Heyman back at any point now, but there's been no confirmation on when that might be. Heyman recently spoke with Sam Roberts and was asked when fans might see the 2024 Hall of Famer back on WWE TV.

The former Paul E. Dangerously said there are three honest answers, and the first has to do with every veteran wanting the perfect exit as the last thing he wants is an un-glamorous one, which he felt after ECW One Night Stand.

The Special Counsel recalled how he and Brock Lesnar joked that they could have the perfect exit on top on the night The Streak was broken. However, the one moment he could look back on as the perfect ending to his career was the WWE SmackDown segment with Solo at The World's Most Famous Arena. Heyman then revealed the second answer.

"Number two... what I don't want to do is just be on television for the sake of being on television. Everything we do has to be relevant, that's the whole theory behind The Island of Relevancy. So, if I were to have come back at SummerSlam with Roman Reigns, it wouldn't have meant anything, there was nothing for me to contribute to that moment. If I had have come back last week on television with Roman Reigns, there was nothing for me to do. I could introduce him, OK, but that's a moment, and it's not a moment that extends," Paul Heyman said. [19:18 - 19:57]

He continued:

"It goes back to saying 'winning and losing matters,' and 'by orders of The Tribal Chief,'... when I come back to television, if I come back, when I do... that moment is going to set up a year's worth of storylines. I will come back when it's relevant for me to come back, when I'm needed to come back, when I can add to Roman Reigns and not just ride his coat-tails, and hang off his glory," Paul Heyman said. [19:58 - 20:33]

Heyman had a much shorter third answer. The 46-year industry veteran simply stated that if fans really want to know if and when he's coming back to WWE, they need to stay tuned because we haven't seen anything yet. It remains to be seen how Triple H and the creative team will decide to bring Heyman back.

Potential WWE return dates for Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman is expected to return to the WWE storylines at any time, now that Roman Reigns has been back for almost two months. The Wiseman himself has been teasing a comeback on social media.

Roman Reigns is not currently advertised for the final two SmackDown episodes before Bad Blood, but he could still appear as tag team partner Cody Rhodes is scheduled. Heyman could return at Bad Blood on October 5 in Atlanta to get involved in Reigns and Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.

The next event Roman is scheduled for after Bad Blood is Crown Jewel on November 2 in Saudi Arabia. WWE could hold Heyman's return off until then, or bring him back at any of the three SmackDown tapings in October between Bad Blood and Crown Jewel. Reigns is not currently scheduled for those tapings, but plans may change.