Logan Paul and his brother Jake Paul have become two of the most famous personalities, not only in the United States, but the world as a whole. Rising to fame on the now-defunct Vine and later YouTube, the Paul brothers have amassed an avid fan base of millions who follow their every move and buy into whatever they’re selling through their many platforms. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the WWE wanted to get onboard, but what might be surprising is Logan Paul’s run at the top.
The structure of WWE championships isn’t always clear, especially to more casual followers of the company, but most fans would raise an eyebrow at a wrestler – who’s extremely new – getting a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in only his third match and in the same year as his WWE and wrestling debut.
Sportskeeda details Paul’s draw to the fans, including his commitment to keeping the intrigue going far from the ring. He’s been on Twitter, the podcast Impaulsive, and WWE broadcasts building up the profile of his upcoming fight with Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel 2022. While he’s wrestled well enough, most are expecting a reality check for ‘The Maverick,’ as are many for Jake, which may then nudge both Pauls into the WWE.
Logan’s entry to the WWE
In April 2021, Logan Paul made his first showing in the WWE, in a promo with Sami Zayn. Later, Zayn visited him and his brother in Miami for a sparring session with Paul going to WrestleMania 37, where he got a Stunner from Kevin Owens for his troubles. He made a few more appearances as a guest throughout 2021, eventually signing on as a wrestler earlier this year.
In April 2022, Paul made his WWE wrestling debut, teaming up with The Miz to take on Rey and Dominik Mysterio at Night 1 of WrestleMania 38. The debutant and his teammate performed well and handily beat the father-son team, but the good times weren’t to roll past the victory. The Miz betrayed his new teammate, planting him on canvas with a ‘Skull Crushing Finale’ to pave the way for Paul’s second outing.
At SummerSlam 2022, on July 30, Paul and The Miz met in the ring to settle the rivalry heated up by the ‘A-Lister’ and his actions at WrestleMania 38. This time, Paul came out on top, pinning The Miz following an impressive Frog Splash from the ring onto the announcers’ table. Having been booed relentlessly against the Mysterios, Paul garnered some cheers for his acrobatics against The Miz this time out.
Next, just two events in, Paul has made his way to the upper echelons of the company, being permitted to stare down arguably the highest profile persona of the WWE, Roman Reigns. Reigns has had a difficult relationship with fans over the years, who called for him to stop being pushed so hard, but his heel turn in 2020 cemented his place as as must-watch TV and even raised his popularity to new heights.
Now, Paul will have to face this immensely popular wrestler at another major event, WWE Crown Jewel. In Las Vegas, CCO Triple H announced that the two would go one-on-one to headline the overseas event. Reigns boasts one of the longest spells atop the WWE world in its history, so Paul is expected to be brought down a peg or two in Saudi Arabia, but that won’t stop him from being a big seller for the company.
Undeniable draw of bringing in the Pauls
This isn’t the first combat sport that at least Logan Paul has sought to make his way into. He did a similar manoeuvre into boxing. The only one of his fights classed as a professional bout came against debutant Olajide William Olatunji (YouTuber KSI), which Paul lost by a split decision in November 2019. This was the rematch for the two online personalities, with KSI winning the first white-collar bout by majority decision the year prior.
In June 2021, he took on former world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr in an exhibition match and went the eight scheduled rounds. He never won in the boxing ring, but unlike to those who participate in the sport professionally, that didn’t matter. What did matter to Paul and some promoters in the sport was that his match with Mayweather Jr sold one million PPVs, and the first KSI match garnered 1.2 million concurrent YouTube viewers at $10 apiece.
Logan boasts 23.6 million YouTube subscribers, which is the source of much of his potential draw. His brother, Jake, has a similarly hefty following of 20.4 million on YouTube but claims to be dedicated to boxing. In his match against former mixed martial artist Ben Askren, DAZN reports Paul claiming that 1.5 million purchased the PPV, earning $75 million on the night.
Jake could lose his next fight, opening him to the WWE
Jake Paul has also dipped his toe into the WWE limelight, commenting on and attending events tied to Logan. Still, his focus is on boxing for now. With a 5-0 “professional” boxing record built against four boxing novices, he now faces a similarly green boxer, Anderson Silva. However, the UFC legend does boast a 2-0 record since returning to the sport in 2021, with the 47-year-old beating 36-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr on his return.
Now, scheduled for eight rounds, Paul meets his toughest opponent yet in ’The Spider’. The platform 888sport for Canadian players, which is hailed for delivering a great sports betting experience and a variety of regular promotions, sees Paul as the narrowest of underdogs at 19/20 to win. Anderson Silva is favoured at 5/6, with most backing his history as a combat sports elite compared to Paul’s distinct lack of experience against competent boxers.
Once again, Paul is expecting huge viewing figures for the fight. Reportedly, his rematch with Tyron Woodley last time out failed to spark his usual massive audience. This time, Paul is expecting 600,000 or more viewers. Should he lose in this, his most challenging fight to date – but also against a 47-year-old – or if the view count and returns dip, he could be swayed into wrestling. After all, he’ll be at the Crown Jewel and hasn’t directly ruled out joining Logan in the squared circle at some point.
Logan and Jake Paul are huge draws in the sporting world, veritable one-man promo teams and grand sellers of PPV events. Having them both in the WWE would present some interesting lines for the company, including an All-Paul tag team and even a potential rivalry down the line.