Paul Heyman to cost Roman Reigns the WWE Royal Rumble match this year for a major reason? Exploring the possibility

Paul Heyman opened the latest episode of SmackDown, where he heaped praises on Roman Reigns and declared him as the “Only Tribal Chief” after Reigns regained his Ula Fala by defeating Solo Sikoa clean on RAW’s debut on Netflix in the Tribal Combat Match. However, there is a possibility The OTC may soon face a heartbreaking betrayal.

The Wiseman also declared that The OTC was now focused on regaining the title that he lost last year at WrestleMania 40. To achieve that, Reigns will be officially entering the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble to earn a title shot.

In a shocking turn of events, Paul Heyman could cost Roman Reigns his Royal Rumble match. Later, The Wiseman might reveal that he was forced to cost the OTC the match as he owed a favor to CM Punk, which he asked Heyman to repay by helping him win the Royal Rumble and main-event 'Mania. In the process, the Hall of Famer needed to cross Reigns.

Following this jaw-dropper of a betrayal, the Stamford-based promotion could move forward in the direction of building a massive feud between Roman Reigns and CM Punk. Some earlier reports suggested that the creative team leaned towards the idea of booking a major bout between Punk and Reigns at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. With The Rock seemingly out of the picture, The Second City Saint would be a perfect match-up for The Original Tribal Chief.

That said, the proposed angle above is speculative at this point.

---

Paul Heyman opens up on preparation for his being booted out of The Bloodline last year

Last year, Paul Heyman was booted out of The New Bloodline by Solo Sikoa and the rest of his heel faction after he denied acknowledging Sikoa as his Tribal Chief at Madison Square Garden.

Paul Heyman got massive praise for his presence during the segment, as he looked naturally depressed and terrified. Recently, while speaking on Logan Paul’s Impulsive podcast, Heyman opened up about his classic performance and how he prepared for it. He revealed he ate unhealthy food and slept less to look like a derailed older man.

"If he [Solo Sikoa] just spiked me, and then Jacob Fatu splashed me, that's everybody. But taking somebody who is obviously pushing 60 and out of shape like I am, taking someone who shouldn't go through that table, and violently putting me through that table, and those guys knew I want to go - this has to be violent. This has to be shocking. You got to sit there and go, 'Someone is going to save him, right?' [...] It's what the story calls for," Heyman said.

It will be interesting to see what plans Triple H-led creatives have in store for Roman Reigns with Royal Rumble 2025 on the horizon.