Paul Heyman Suddenly Breaks Character For Major Brock Lesnar Rival In WWE
Paul Heyman had some nice things to say about a Brock Lesnar rival in WWE.
The opening match at WWE WrestleMania 42 on Sunday will see the former 10-time WWE World Champion, Brock Lesnar, face off against a rising star, Oba Femi, who is a former 2-time NXT Champion.
Lesnar vs. Femi is a generational matchup, as Lesnar is 48 and nearing the end of his career, while the 27-year-old Femi recently joined the WWE main roster and is seen as a future WrestleMania main-eventer.
While Lesnar has the experience edge over Femi, “The Ruler” Femi has shown that he isn’t going to back down against anybody, much less Lesnar.
Paul Heyman is back by Brock Lesnar’s side after the two men had issues in the past. While Heyman has been confident that Lesnar will win against Femi, Heyman also backed down a bit when Femi fired back at him on Raw this past Monday.
In an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on The Stephen A. Smith Show, the WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman broke character to praise Femi.
“Yeah. He’s poised, he’s calm. He knows it. He knows it but it’s with no arrogance.
He’s not walking around saying, ‘Yeah, I know it all, you bitches just bow down and kiss my ass.’ And it’s not that way, you sit there and you look in his eyes and you realize he’s not nervous. He’s not flinching. It’s not overwhelming to him…
He calls himself ‘The Ruler’ Oba Femi and that’s exactly what he was born to do. He was born to rule.” (H/T Wrestletalk)
Paul Heyman Explains What Makes CM Punk And Seth Rollins So Successful
Throughout his career, Paul Heyman has been a manager/advocate/Wise Man for many top WWE superstars who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside him in the future.
During a recent interview, Heyman praised former “Paul Heyman Guys” CM Punk and Seth Rollins, starting by saying Punk is authentic.
“I say that because he doesn’t speak from the perspective of a certain persona. He speaks from the heart. He means what he says, and he says what he means, and that’s whether he is as Phil Brooks or as CM Punk… When he speaks into a microphone and addresses the audience, you can believe everything that he has is mind, body, soul, and spirit. It’s authentic.
Seth Rollins wrestles every single match as if it were to be his last. He truly leaves it all in the ring. When you see Seth Rollins, it’s something special because you never know if it’s his last match, because he’s willing to wrestle as if it is.”
WWE WrestleMania 42 takes place on April 18 & April 19 in Las Vegas. Here’s the lineup so far.
Saturday, April 18 Matches
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Randy Orton
- WWE Women’s World Championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Liv Morgan
- Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
- Women’s Intercontinental Championship: AJ Lee (c) vs. Becky Lynch
- Women’s Tag Team Championships: Irresistible Forces – Nia Jax & Lash Legend (c) vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. The Bella Twins – Nikki & Brie Bella vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
- Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu (Match Will Also Air On ESPN 2 In First Hour)
- LA Knight and The Usos – Jimmy & Jey Uso vs. The Vision – Logan Paul & Austin Theory and IShowSpeed (Match Will Also Air On ESPN 2 In First Hour)
Sunday, April 19 Matches
- WWE World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk (c) vs. Roman Reigns
- WWE Women’s Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
- United States Championship: Sami Zayn (c) vs. Trick Williams
- “Demon” Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Penta (c) vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. Rusev vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rey Mysterio (Match Will Also Air On ESPN In First Hour)
- Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar (Match Will Also Air On ESPN In First Hour)
WrestleMania 42 will STREAM LIVE Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.