Backstage News On Paul Heyman’s Raw Promo – What He Said That Annoyed People Backstage

With Roman Reigns revealing his leukemia diagnosis and taking a leave of absence from wrestling, WWE will be crowning a new Universal Champion at Crown Jewel.

WWE announced on Raw that Brock Lesnar will battle Braun Strowman for the vacant Universal Championship on November 2 at WWE Crown Jewel (at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). Strowman and Lesnar were originally scheduled to challenge Reigns for the Univeral Championship in a Triple Threat Match.

Paul Heyman appeared on Raw and praised the now-former titleholder (“It is humbling to … have been in the presence of such courage and such greatness”) before arguing for Lesnar as the WWE Superstar who could best carry on the legacy that Reigns brought to the title — both in the ring and, potentially, the Octagon. That drew out Strowman, who took exception to the notion that he isn’t Lesnar’s league. Strowman promised that he would be the one to defend the title on a weekly basis and that Reigns would be first in line for an opportunity when he returned. But for now, the only thing awaiting Lesnar at Crown Jewel would be “These Hands.”

Heyman spent a considerable amount of time talking about Reigns because he really likes him. Due to his admiration, Heyman invested significant effort in helping get Reigns over, especially when feuding with Lesnar.

On another note, there were people backstage who were annoyed about Heyman saying the “Octagon” during his promo. While Heyman has referenced the UFC several times in the past on Raw, this time it was an unscripted line.