WWE Raw: Analysing and grading each segment (5 March, 2018)

#9 Paul Heyman responds to Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns will meet Brock Lesnar face-to-face next week

Storyline: Roman Reigns won the seven-man Elimination Chamber match to become #1 contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal title. The following night, Reigns claimed Lesnar no-showed Raw and, in his greatest promo to date, he called his WrestleMania opponent “an entitled piece of c**p who hides behind his contract”.

Segment: The war of words continued when Paul Heyman claimed that the Universal Championship is simply Lesnar’s “b****” and that there’s every chance “The Beast” could hold both the Universal title and the UFC Heavyweight title at the same time this year. Reigns hit back, once again getting the crowd on his side, by demanding that Lesnar “shows up for work” next week on Raw, where he wants his rival to “dress not for a promo segment, but for a fight”.

Verdict: This was one of the best promos from Heyman in a while. He blurred the lines between storyline and reality numerous times and, like Reigns last week, made the WrestleMania main event feel a lot more interesting than it previously did.

Grade: A-