WWE Rumors: New Report Reveals Paul Heyman’s Supposed Plans For ‘WrestleMania 36’ Booking
According to Ringside News, former Monday Night Raw executive director Paul Heyman had his own plans for WrestleMania 36 and had suggested a number of matches involving some of the wrestlers he wanted to push during his time overseeing the red brand’s creative direction.
As explained by the publication, the rumors regarding Heyman’s plans for WWE’s biggest annual event came just days after Miro — who previously competed in the company under the ring name Rusev — claimed on Talk is Jericho that the industry veteran promised him a match at this year’s WrestleMania. Ringside News cited an unnamed member of the promotion’s writing team, noting that the Bulgarian wrestler was indeed supposed to be facing Bobby Lashley in a mixed tag team match. This would have had Lashley teaming up with Lana and Miro/Rusev partnering with Liv Morgan.
As further noted, Heyman reportedly had a few opponents in mind for his longtime on-screen client, Brock Lesnar. These included Drew McIntyre, who was ultimately booked to win the WWE Championship from “The Beast Incarnate” at WrestleMania 36, and Aleister Black. The former Raw creative head also had a backup plan for the Dutch grappler, as he intended to have Black face Andrade for the United States title in case management wouldn’t approve of the proposed bout against Lesnar.
While AJ Styles got to face The Undertaker in a Boneyard Match at this year’s WrestleMania, Heyman purportedly had someone else in mind — Seth Rollins — as an alternate choice to face “The Deadman” at the pay-per-view. Randy Orton was the originally intended opponent for the man who wouldn’t be facing The Undertaker, though as Ringside News stressed, Edge’s surprise return at this year’s Royal Rumble forced a change of plans for the would-be 14-time world champion.
As for Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, who backed up Styles during his encounter with The Undertaker, the duo — who has since moved to Impact Wrestling — was reportedly supposed to take part in a three-way contest with The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team Championships.
Before he was relieved in June from his off-screen role as the red brand’s executive director, rumors suggested that some of the aforementioned names, including Black, Andrade, and McIntyre, were among Heyman’s favorite wrestlers, thus possibly explaining why they were a key part of his planned WrestleMania booking. While McIntyre reigned as WWE Champion for six months before he lost the title to Orton in October, reports claimed that many of Heyman’s other pet projects would be losing their push as the company shifted its focus to established talents in hopes of improving its ratings.
