During the conversation, Heyman discussed former Men's Intercontinental Champion Curtis Axel, the son of the late WWE Hall of Famer Curt Hennig, as one of the partnerships that did not work out as a long term push.

Paul Heyman on Curtis Axel

Heyman said the alliance with Axel was never designed as a ladder climbing storyline for the former Intercontinental Champion.

I don't think it was meant to work out. I don't think there was ever an overall grand scheme to move Curtis Axel all the way up the ladder. Curtis Axel filled the need for there to be people around me to feed the CM Punk at the time. It's the same thing that happened to Cesaro.

Cesaro's WWE run and the Heyman alliance

Cesaro, now wrestling as Claudio Castagnoli in All Elite Wrestling had an 11 year run in WWE. He captured the Men's United States Championship, multiple WWE Tag Team Championships, and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but never quite reached the heights a man of his talents could, and should have in the company. That gap was especially notable after he aligned with Paul Heyman in April of 2014.

Heyman said Cesaro checked every box to become a top star in WWE.

He checked every box to become a top star. Everyone who got into the ring with him came back into gorilla saying 'Give me him' everyone, everyone. I remember John Cena worked with him on television and came back and looked at Vince and said I could main event WrestleMania with [him].

Heyman's time managing Cesaro only lasted a few months. The Swiss Superman served as little more than a placeholder to keep Heyman on television until Brock Lesnar was back from hiatus.

The missed Lesnar feud and promo opportunities

Heyman believes WWE made an error by not utilizing Cesaro's ability to speak five different languages, which would have allowed more of his personality to shine through. Heyman accepted part of the blame for that error.

I think Cesaro could have been a fascinating promo if he was given the chance to [speak multiple languages] in WWE. He wasn't. And, that's our fault. That is a major fumble that was a crime that was committed against the career of Cesaro and a crime that was committed against the audience.

The biggest missed opportunity may have come once Brock Lesnar returned to television in the summer of 2014. Heyman believes Cesaro would have been an incredible opponent for The Beast to face off against.

Had I turned on Cesaro, and we built him up to be a threat to Brock, the matches the two of them could have had are mind-boggling. A tremendously wasted opportunity and no one for us to blame but ourselves, including me.

Heyman believes WWE wasted an opportunity by not pitting Cesaro against Brock Lesnar.

Claudio Castagnoli in AEW

Claudio Castagnoli has now been with rival AEW since 2022. He is one of the most tenured members of the Death Riders stable, led by fellow WWE alumni Jon Moxley.