Paul Heyman believes that Roman Reigns’ work as “The Tribal Chief” is worthy of an Emmy Award.
Since 2020, Reigns has been renowned for his character work, as he has cemented one of the top heels in the industry. He has formed The Bloodline, and for the past several months, the storyline centered around the group was widely been praised as one of the most compelling programs in wrestling. Throughout this period, Reigns has also reigned supreme as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Speaking with Joe Otterson of Variety, Heyman highlighted Reigns’ remarkable run and noted that he has built a “layered, nuanced persona”, the likes of which is at or near the top of the industry. He shared his belief that Reigns should be recognized with an award for his work.
“I will honestly state that I’ll put Roman Reigns and his portrayal of the Tribal Chief up against anybody right now in how he has approached a reality-based character of the top star of the industry,” Heyman said. “And the fact that he’s not recognized by the people that are there to reward such performances with an award, to me, is disconcerting.”
Heyman detailed the depth of Reigns’ character and compared it to that of Col. Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando, in Apocalypse Now, as well as Rocky Sullivan (James Cagney) in Angels With Dirty Faces.
“These people that worshipped him that he ruled over, that gave him anything and everything, that wanted to sacrifice for him, put such a pressure and burden — and that’s the word that we always use for the Tribal Chief is the burden — the burden of the responsibility, the burden of the obligation to fulfill the the destiny and the vision for and the obligation and the responsibilities and the accountabilities of the Tribal Chief,” Heyman said. “He resented them so much for placing that burden on him.”
“[Roman’s] character is based on the concept of being relevant. That relevancy in and of itself is the opioid that he’s addicted to. That being one of many would be would be the same as being assassinated.”
Looking back on the end of the WWE Royal Rumble premium live event, where Sami Zayn turned on The Bloodline, and the group brutally attacked him, Heyman desribed how he whole scene was reminiscent of a Shakespearean drama.
“Look at what we did without a microphone in our hands with Sami Zayn at the end of the Royal Rumble,” Heyman said. “We did a 15-minute storyline that called back to everything we’ve done for the past year with Sami, and everything we did was basically a Shakespearean pantomime.
Overall “The Special Counsel” to Reigns made it clear that they are trying to push beyond the limits of the wrestling industry, and the mere fact that people are even talking about “The Tribal Chief” potentially winning an Emmy Award is a sign that it’s working.
“We’re trying to present a body of work that exceeds all boundaries and limitations that have been imposed upon this industry, either self-imposed or imposed by the predetermined notion of what this business is by the outside world, as evidenced by the fact that we’re sitting here today talking about the unfathomable concept of the Emmy Awards, because a year ago we would have been laughed out of the conversation,” Heyman said. “But this is what we strive for.”
Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Zayn at WWE Elimination Chamber.
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