Paul Heyman believes Joe Anoa'i deserves an Emmy; WWE Hall of Famer explains why

WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman recently explained why Roman Reigns, the real-life Joe Anoa'i, deserved an Emmy award. The Oracle was full of praise for the OTC.

Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns have a huge history in World Wrestling Entertainment. The two helped build one of the biggest storylines of the last decade, The Bloodline. For years, Reigns' former Wiseman was loyal to him, until WWE WrestleMania 41, where Heyman betrayed his Tribal Chief to join forces with Seth Rollins.

During a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Paul Heyman talked about why he was with Roman Reigns for a long time. The Oracle referred to Reigns as The GOAT, and said that he wouldn't have left the OTC's side until he saw the future of the industry, seemingly hinting at Seth Rollins.

"Let's look at this, you know, on a strictly business level. You couldn't pull me away from Roman Reigns' coattails unless you showed me the future of this industry. You couldn't. Why would I ever leave Roman Reigns? Ever. Ever. The GOAT, the most transformative performer I have ever worked with in my life. And it's not just limited to this industry," he said. [19:29 - 20:04]

Heyman added that he believed the real-life Joe Anoa'i's portrayal of The Tribal Chief was the most "compelling villain" on television, and he blamed Emmy awards for not acknowledging it.

"Joe Anoa'i's portrayal of The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, was the most compelling villain on television and the most ruthless character I've seen to this day... The fact [that] the Emmy awards do not recognise these performances is a blight upon the Emmy awards. They should be ashamed of themselves for ripping off their audience by not acknowledging, all puns intended, our body of work," he added. [20:24 - 20:57]

Check out the interview below:

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Paul Heyman credited Roman Reigns for the pandemic era in WWE

During the same interview with Ariel Helwani, Paul Heyman highlighted that he aligned with Roman Reigns in 2020, crediting the OTC for carrying the company on his back through the pandemic era in WWE.

"Roman Reigns came back in August 2020, got put with Brock Lesnar's advocate. I became the Special Counsel to The Tribal Chief and later just known as The Wiseman. And it was on the back of Roman Reigns that WWE got lifted out of the pandemic era. What was the stock that Reigns came back in 2020, and what is it today?" said Heyman.

It remains to be seen what the Triple H-led creative team has planned for Roman Reigns' future on WWE TV.

Please credit The Ariel Helwani Show and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from the first half of this article.

Edited by Aashrit Satija