Jim Ross does not expect Roman Reigns to ultimately be considered the greatest wrestler of all time, although he believes Reigns has unquestionably put together a Hall of Fame career.
Speaking on Grilling JR, Ross was asked about comments made by Conrad Thompson on 83 Weeks. Thompson had described Reigns as an “industry plant,” arguing that WWE chose him for the top position rather than the audience organically elevating him, and suggested his career only truly clicked once Paul Heyman was paired with him. Eric Bischoff agreed with Thompson’s assessment.
Ross began by discussing Heyman’s ability to elevate talent. “Paul Heyman is invaluable to getting talent over. He’s the Bobby Heenan of this generation, as it relates to bringing a focus to the individual that he’s managing.”
Ross believes Heyman is selective about the wrestlers he associates himself with, pointing to Brock Lesnar and Reigns as examples. “You notice we talked earlier about tag teams and priorities and who you hire. Heyman hasn’t managed a tag team of any sincerity in years, because he knows that his time well spent is with a single, like Brock Lesnar, for example, or Roman Reigns.”
According to Ross, much of Heyman’s value comes from work fans never see. “What he does off camera and behind the scenes with his talents and with other talents is, we’ll never know. I know a lot more than a lot of people because I’ve worked behind the scenes, but he contributes mightily to the build of his talents. He helped Brock Lesnar immensely.”
Ross was careful not to give Heyman all of the credit for Lesnar’s success, noting that WWE already had an extraordinary talent to work with. “But you’re not dealing with a raw piece of clay either with Lesnar. He was special. There’ll never be another Brock Lesnar.”
He added that Heyman played an important role in protecting Lesnar’s aura throughout their partnership. “And Heyman made sure that he stayed special, because the more special Lesnar is, the more money Heyman makes. And I know Paul Heyman very well, and he really does like to make money, and he’s good at it.”
Ross also praised Heyman’s understanding of promos and wrestling psychology. “He helps those guys so much with their promos and their psychology, or try this, or I don’t think you should do that. It’s amazing. It’s a gift to have him in your corner.”
When the conversation turned specifically to Reigns and his historical standing, Ross offered a more measured assessment. “Now, as far as Roman is concerned, I love the kid. I think he’s great for the business. I think he’s great for WWE. He looks like a champion. He represents well.”
However, Ross stopped short of putting Reigns among wrestling’s greatest ever. “I don’t know what you mean by the greatest of all time or whatever. I don’t know he’ll ever be considered greatest of all time, but he’s always going to be considered as someone that had a great run, and has had a Hall of Fame career without question.”
Ross did not endorse Thompson’s description of Reigns as an “industry plant,” nor did he suggest that Reigns would have failed without Heyman. Instead, his comments positioned Heyman as an important contributor to an already successful performer.
Reigns most recently retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins in the main event of SummerSlam night two. Heyman has been associated with Reigns on WWE television since 2020 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2024.
