Paul Heyman has opened up about why he was abruptly removed as one of the hosts on Talking Smack earlier in 2021.
The Special Counsel to Universal Champion Roman Reigns, hosted the panel show alongside Kayla Braxton from November 2020 until July 2021. At the time there was no explanation given for Heyman’s exit, he simply stopped appearing on the show.
He was initially replaced by SmackDown announcer Pat McAfee, before Jackie Redmond and Matt Camp were given hosting duties.
There was speculation in the summer that Heyman’s move would only be temporary, but it was quickly reported that it was a permanent decision, made for “no real reason.”
Paul Heyman’s time on Talking Smack produced some of the more memorable moments in the show’s history. His verbal sparring sessions with the likes of Edge, Roman Reigns, Big E and Kevin Owens being lauded by fans.
Speaking in a new interview with Ariel Helwani, Heyman has now revealed the thought process behind removing him from the show. The former ECW boss explained that it was tied in to fans returning to WWE shows.
“The culture here (WWE) is ‘do it yesterday’. So the moment someone realized, ‘Oh, wait a minute. If we’re going to do live crowds again and Roman’s going to always be in the dark match main event, we need Heyman for that.
So we can’t do the show there, has to be in the studio, and Heyman can’t be in the studio, you know we only have 3-4 weeks of Heyman on Talking Smack before we have to do something different…’ (Vince says) – ‘Get rid of him now.’ ‘Wait a minute, we still have 3-4 weeks to decide… ‘ (Vince says) – ‘Get rid of him now. That’s the decision. Start replacing him now,'”
Freed from his duties on Talking Smack, Paul Heyman has continued to guide the career of Roman Reigns, most importantly being ringside as he maintains his strangle-hold on the Universal Championship.
At Survivor Series, Reigns will meet Big E in a huge champion vs. champion clash, during which Heyman will undoubtedly be the keenest of observers.
H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.