5 Ways Paul Heyman Could Get ‘EXTREME’ on ‘Raw’ Tonight
Paul Heyman has never been a shy person -- whether it's a microphone in the ring, or using on social media, Heyman has always shared his piece of mind any chance he could get.
Last night, he tweeted, "#2EXTREME4WWE I like the adjective #EXTREME. So does my client. Hint hint for tomorrow's @WWE #RAW".
There are few who can work the "hype man" gimmick better than Paul Heyman, and this cryptic tweet is proof. What does Heyman have up his sleeve for Raw tonight? Which client does he mean? Let's the five ways Paul Heyman can get "extreme" on tonight's 'Raw.'
- 1
The Shield Tear the Roof off 'Raw'
WWE's newest faction, The Shield, has been making a huge splash since the end of 2012. They've beaten up nearly everyone on the WWE roster, and some who aren't even technically on the roster at all (Tommy Dreamer, Undertaker, etc). They've powerbombed their way onto the scene by putting Ryback through a table, but tonight they may taking things a bit further.
Paul Heyman has been shown to clearly be affiliated with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, so The Shield could be the client Heyman was tweeting about. If so, what could he have them do?
This could be a 2010 Nexus situation, all over again. In 2010 WWE had a competition called "NXT" where guys like Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett competed for a spot on WWE TV. When the show ended, all the contestants, which also included The Ryback as Skip Sheffield, tore the entire Monday Night Raw set apart. If Paul Heyman has his way, The Shield could be doing far more damage, with far less people.
Let's just hope, if this is the case, Michael Cole gets Ryback'd through the announcer table.
- 2
Brock Lesnar Picks on Someone His Own Size
There would be nothing "extreme" about Brock Lesnar going out and destroying a bunch of WWE Superstars in the ring. It's nothing out of the ordinary, as he's already gone well past the point of no return by crushing HHH's pals, The New Age Outlawas (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), on a recent episode of Raw.
What would Heyman have to be referring to for Brock to be going "extreme"? Is he going to break someone's arm? That's nothing for Brock, he's broken a bunch of arms in the past year -- HHH, HBK, HHH three more times -- and that's not exciting enough for Heyman to bother teasing.
What if Brock Lesnar decides he's going to be a monster who eats other monsters? Picking a fight with WWE alum isn't showing much from this form UFC powerhouse, and perhaps now it's time Lesnar went head-on with some dudes like Mark Henry and The Big Show. Who doesn't want to see The Great Khali catch an F-5? That would be one of Raw's top moments of the year, and could possibly even break the ring, with such titans shaking the Earth.
With the way things are being booked, Dolph Ziggler may just be the guy Brock Lesnar takes it all out on, but I'm hoping things get a little more "extreme" if Brock Lesnar is the fella being teased.
- 3
CM Punk Pulls the 'Best Swerve in the World'
WWE recently took CM Punk off of TV, then out of advertisements for upcoming events, and what if it's all just a part of the show? Chances are, CM Punk's injury is as legit as possible, but that doesn't mean he can't cut promos until his health returns.
Tonight on Raw, we could be in for what looks like your run of the mill HHH/Lesnar/Heyman segment, and then all of a sudden Mr. Straight Edge comes out of the crowd with a sledgehammer and demolishes Triple H. It's CM Punk with his hood up, and he goes straight for raising Brock Lesnar's hand, post-beat down.
This could work a lot like Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan worked as double managers for Ric Flair back during his early 90's WWF run. Lesnar comes out once in a while, destroys someone, and we all get to enjoy Punk and Heyman playing off on another as Lesnar's ringside comic relief.
I know there are rumors of Punk being a face when he inevitably returns, but let's hope WWE isn't ignorant enough to turn their greatest heel in decades. Sticking Punk with Lesnar creates a sort of "dream team", while also giving Punk an easy heat magnet while he's injured.
- 4
'Mr. Monday Night' Rob Van Dam Returns to Monday Nights
The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw Paul Heyman tweeting about his client getting "extreme" on Raw was Rob Van Dam. "RVD" was recently spotted at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremonies during WrestleMania weekend. He went on to hint at a possible WWE return, and tonight's show would be as good as any other to bring back "Mr. Monday Night."
Rob Van Dam has been absent from Vince McMahon's company because he's been working for the competition. Since 2010, Rob Van Dam has been going through the motions, collecting a paycheck from the sinking ship that is TNA Wrestling. His run wasn't very memorable, despite an early world title run, as TNA booking never quite knew what to do with Van Dam. Instead of using him like WWE uses Chris Jericho, as a veteran to get younger guys over, it seemed Rob Van Dam was mainly just around to boost their name recognition, instead of helping to create buzz around new names.
There's an endless amount of chores that WWE could use Rob Van Dam for, and making Extreme Rules a more interesting PPV is going to be step one. The whole show looks to be pretty bland, and an infusion from one of the kings of "extreme" would do wonders.
Now, if only WWE would let him cut loose, and have Rob Van Dam jump kick some chairs into people's faces. That would be "extreme".
- 5
Brock Lesnar Injures Stephanie McMahon
The most likely candidate being prophecized about in Paul Heyman's tweet is Brock Lesnar. As fun as it is to make up other scenarios, chances are the "extreme" happening on Raw tonight will feature Brock. Might as well increase my chances of making a correct prediction and add another Lesnar scenario.
Obviously, Paul Heyman is going to refer to Lesnar as, "Barrack", but that's hardly out of the blue, or extreme. I think they'll take things up a notch when the UFC Champion goes "full bad guy", and starts putting his hands on Triple H's lady, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsely.
Lesnar doing something horrible to Steph would be "insta-heat", as the crowd would be booing like crazy. It almost seems like common sense to have this happen, as I'm typing it, but Stephanie would have to be willing to take a pretty rough bump, which she has nothing to really gain from.
Imagine if they use this as a time to kick off that Heyman dream stable. The Shield could be holding Triple H back, as Brock Lesnar does something brutal to his wife. Has Stephanie ever been put through a table? Tonight could be a fun first.