Paul Heyman Talks About Lucha Underground, CM Punk’s UFC Debut And Brock Lesnar’s Next Feud

Paul Heyman recently spoke with Alexandra Irving of Bleacher Report to promote WrestleMania 32. Here are the highlights.

What’s next after WrestleMania for Brock Lesnar? Do you see him reviving his feud with Bray Wyatt? Do you see him feuding with someone else?

“There is certainly unfinished business with the Wyatt Family, which will be addressed when Brock Lesnar feels like it, at his whim, at his leisure, and convenience and at his pleasure as well. Obviously, the goal for Brock Lesnar is always to be the reigning, and here’s the key word defending, undisputed WWE Heavyweight Champion of the world so whomever comes out of the Triple H versus Roman Reigns match for the title is going to have Brock Lesnar breathing down their neck.”

Recently MMA was legalized in New York. There’s going to be a big Madison Square Garden card. With CM Punk having not made his UFC debut yet, could you see him doing so on that card?

“It’s not whether I see CM Punk being on the card, it’s whether Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta see CM Punk being on the card. They have many options right now. Obviously coming into the state of New York and running a show at Madison Square Garden is going to be just a media frenzy for UFC. Great place to take someone with the Q-rating that CM Punk enjoys on a global basis and putting him in Madison Square Garden where certainly CM Punk has a track record of being big box office. There’s also a big show coming up in Chicago now. I dare suggest that the Chicago audience would be as favorable to CM Punk as you’re going to find the UFC audience to be for him. I also can’t tell you it would be a bad move for UFC to announce CM Punk’s first fight is in Australia or in Japan or in Europe because WWE’s penetration in these countries has historically been more significant and greater distribution than UFC’s, so they’re bringing a celebrity onto the show. Would I personally put CM Punk on the Madison Square Garden show? I would put CM Punk on the next show that he is available to fight on. I would get this first fight behind Punk and UFC already.”

Yesterday at the Lucha Underground roundtable at Wrestlecon, their talent basically praised ECW and it’s influence. Do you see any types of similarities between ECW and what Lucha Underground is doing?

“Oh I’m a huge fan of Lucha Underground. I hate labeling anything the next ECW. I would hope that Lucha Underground’s desire is to become the first Lucha Underground. I’m flattered by their praise. I think the comparison works on some levels, but the landscape is so different today than it was in the 1990s to compare the two movements in and of themselves. To me it leaves something to be desired because I don’t think Lucha Underground is done any favors by being compared to a promotion that hasn’t been around for 15 years. I think Lucha Underground has carved it’s own niche and in that they deserve a ton of credit.”

You can read the entire interview here.

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