Nic Nemeth sees several WWE stars with the potential to take another major step up the card, including Bron Breakker, Oba Femi, LA Knight and Carmelo Hayes.
The reigning TNA World Champion recently spoke with SportsKeeda and discussed WWE’s future and was asked to choose between Breakker and Femi as a potential next “Paul Heyman guy.” Nemeth believes both have already reached a point where they don’t necessarily need Heyman, although he acknowledged that Femi currently has considerable momentum behind him.
“I love the fact that both of those guys don’t need Paul Heyman – and because they are so talked about as being the next big (thing), they’re ready to go,” Nemeth said. “I think at the moment, if you go momentum-wise, Oba is absolutely dominating everything.”
Nemeth pointed to Breakker as an example of how quickly perceptions can shift in WWE. Breakker was being talked about in similar terms not long ago, and Nemeth doesn’t believe a change in creative direction or an absence should alter how either man’s long-term potential is viewed.
“But the year before, we all said Bron was killing everything, and then it’s one little creative move, or it’s an injury, or a little time off, and then that momentum shifts,” he continued. “It doesn’t make them not worthy of being the next one. I think they both go forward.”
Nemeth also named two very different WWE stars he’d be interested in seeing paired with Heyman: Carmelo Hayes and LA Knight.
While both are already capable talkers, Nemeth argued that Heyman’s value isn’t limited to speaking on someone’s behalf. Simply being associated with him can signal that WWE views a performer as someone important.
“I want to see freaking Carmelo Hayes with Paul Heyman, or LA Knight with Paul Heyman. You don’t need him to talk for you. Neither one of those guys do,” Nemeth said. “I totally understand that, but it would give them something extra.”
Nemeth compared the endorsement that comes with Heyman to carrying Money in the Bank, adding, “It’s almost like having that Money in the Bank by their side saying, we trust you so much, we’re putting you with this, with Paul Heyman and anybody who’s next to him almost becomes royalty one way or another.”
Knight also came up when Nemeth was asked about potential opponents capable of dethroning Roman Reigns.
Nemeth recalled being in WWE during previous periods when Reigns wasn’t around and wondering whether the company was prepared to fully commit to Seth Rollins as its centerpiece. If WWE eventually uses a Reigns loss to elevate someone else, Nemeth believes Knight has enough history behind him to make the story work.
“I’ve been there when Roman wasn’t around and it seemed like we were going with Seth. And I’m asking, are we going with Seth? Do we go all in here? And I would always get, eh, and I say, okay, fine,” Nemeth recalled.
“I would like to see LA Knight dethrone Roman. But you have to remember, you can’t just book for the moment and say, hey, he finally got him. But there is some backstory there that they could base off the last 2 years, let alone their careers and their back and forth.”
Nemeth doesn’t believe Reigns would be damaged by putting over another top star at this stage of his career. Instead, he sees a Reigns loss as an opportunity WWE can use to cement someone else.
“Roman wouldn’t be hurt one bit by it,” Nemeth said. “He could come back a month later and run through everybody and easily do whatever he wanted, but it’s a chance to make somebody.”
And if Knight isn’t the one, Nemeth has another candidate in mind.
“I would really like to see Drew come back and kick the sh*t out of Roman,” Nemeth said of Drew McIntyre. “Because then you say, holy cr*p, we have a solidified Drew.”
