On WrestleMania Saturday, Paul Heyman shocked the world by turning on both CM Punk and Roman Reigns to align himself with Seth Rollins and aid him to a victory against his two longtime adversaries in a triple threat match to close the show.
The shockwaves continued into the Monday Night Raw post-Mania as The Visionary and his new advocate closed the show to address their new alliance. This address would be very short lived, as the Second City Saint hit the ring to take the fight to his rival. After Rollins took him out, the OTC came down to target his former Shield brother and gave his former wise man a superman punch.
Seconds away from taking Heyman out with a spear, Reigns was blindsided by a spear of his own. By none other than Bron Breakker.
Breakker and Rollins embraced and stood tall with Heyman signifying a new and dangerous alliance that looks ready to take the WWE by storm.
Many have compared this new group to Evolution, or the pseudo-relationship between The Shield and CM Punk back in 2012 and think this stable is far from their final form. So I decided to take a look at some candidates that I think would fit in well to complete this stable of certified Paul Heyman guys (or gals).
Ethan Page
The post-Mania season is always focused on NXT call-ups, and there’s been no personality that has shined brighter on the developmental brand in the last year than “All Ego” Ethan Page. He’s a natural on the mic, entertaining in the ring, and has that 2014 Seth Rollins vanity and ring aggression.
He was featured in a NXT New Year’s Evil segment alongside The Rock, obviously gaining the attention of a respected member of the WWE hierarchy.
And I think he’d fit along well as the up-and-coming talent to take the tutelage of Paul Heyman. And the fit alongside Rollins and Breakker also makes sense, as all three share the lineage of being former NXT champions. I think those three would ransack the WWE locker room, and do it with a smile.
Trick Melo Gang
Speaking of former NXT champions, Carmelo Hayes entered last year with some very high expectations. He was the number one overall pick for Smackdown, participated in Money in the Bank, had intense battles with Andrade and Cody Rhodes, and has now closed out the WrestleMania season as the winner of the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.
However, compared to his fellow call-ups from last year (Bron Breakker, Lyra Valkyria and Tiffany Stratton) he’s distantly behind them in terms of main roster success. But this time last year, he was main eventing Stand & Deliver against his former brother, Trick Williams.
Williams has taken the past year and has gotten as popular as ever. From a lovable babyface to now a confident, and sometimes arrogant, tweener, Williams has been compared to Hayes by his friend-turned-rival Je’Von Evans. And this new side of Trick Williams may be more similar to Carmelo Hayes than he thinks.
A reunion of two proven stars to take on the tag division under Paul Heyman. And these are also two men who held the NXT Championship. It would be interesting to note the dynamic between Hayes and Breakker though, as Hayes defeated Breakker at 2023’s Stand & Deliver to take the title from him.
Fraxiom
Speaking of taking on the tag division, Axiom and Nathan Frazer have hands-down been the best tag team in the WWE over the last year. Their ring work speaks for itself, putting on classic after classic in the ring as NXT Tag Team Champions over their cumulative 356 days.
They’re extremely popular, extremely talented, and more than ready to be called up full-time. But one dynamic they haven’t played on NXT is the role of heels. However, Nathan Frazer was trained by Seth Rollins. And in terms of playing that youthful Randy Orton role, Axiom is only 27 and Frazer is only 26.
Getting these guys to dominate the tag division on the main roster and fully embrace their roles as the best tag wrestlers in the business and KNOWING it would be a very dangerous addition to this faction.
Austin Theory
Feeding into the Evolution archetype, I think Austin Theory can really shine as the youthful calling card to invest in for this stable. Theory had a pretty hot start on the main roster, winning the Money in the Bank briefcase, holding the United States and Tag Team Championships and even a WrestleMania win over John Cena.
Theory and Rollins also have a lot of history together. Prior to his full-time solo run, Theory was once a “disciple” of Seth Rollins during his Monday Night Messiah era, something they can easily call back to in this stable. But Theory also had an intense feud with Rollins, including an unsuccessful cash-in attempt on his United States Championship, and ultimately defeating Rollins in a triple threat match at 2022’s Survivor Series event.
Though he’s been on the main roster for four years now, Theory is still only 27 years old and has the talent in-ring but needs the booking behind him to get fans to buy back into him as a threat. The fans have been clamoring for him to finally break up with Grayson Waller, and ditching your partner to align with Paul Heyman is a no-brainer for a career move.
Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair has been one of the brightest spots in the women’s division over the last five years. She’s put on classic matches, had dominant championship reigns as both a singles and tag wrestler, and prior to this past Sunday was undefeated at WrestleMania.
And somehow in the build up to WrestleMania, the fans turned against her. So what better way to embrace the hate than the EST of WWE aligning with the greatEST manager to ever do it?
Frankly, Belair has been playing the babyface since 2020 and unlocking a heel side, turning against the fans that turned against her and truly embracing that same spark that made Belair the original EST.
Becky Lynch
This one is a bit too obvious to pass up. Becky Lynch is the wife of Seth Rollins. And in case you missed it, this past Monday on Raw, Lynch betrayed Lyra Valkyria and turned heel for the first time since 2022.
The Man carries all of the keys that Paul Heyman looks for in a client, fearless, aggressive and the mentality that they’re the best in the business. I think a heel Becky Lynch moves a lot of needles for the women’s division and having her realign with her husband for the bigger goal of causing chaos screams box office.
Jordynne Grace
But what if we wanted to give the Randy Orton role to someone in the women’s division? Jordynne Grace is only 29 years old and already a household name in the wrestling industry, even if she’s just now getting her feet wet in the WWE.
When she officially signed her contract with WWE in January, many thought she was already main roster ready, and I think she can prove that in this stable. She’s a powerhouse, eager to make an impact and can gain a huge boost to her credibility by being the designated Paul Heyman girl in this alliance.
If the goal here is to make a future megastar by sticking them beside established vets, The Juggernaut is very hard to pass on.
Who fits this new stable the best in your opinion?
***
Click here for more wrestling content.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Follow Fantom Sports on X!