Paul Heyman recently sat down with his friends at Busted Open and made one thing crystal clear: The Vision isn't just a faction — it's a factory for the next generation of WrestleMania main eventers, and he's already thinking years beyond Las Vegas.
The Wise Man opened the interview with a philosophy that has defined his entire career: the moment you think you've peaked, you're finished.
If you ever leave your studio and you say, 'That's the best show we've ever done. I'll never have a show as good as that one' — time to start a different show," Heyman said.
"If you've peaked, it's over. That's it. It has to be tomorrow's going to be better than today, and the day after tomorrow will be better than tomorrow.
A Shop to Build WrestleMania Stars
That relentless forward-looking mentality isn't just talk — it's the explicit mandate behind The Vision. With Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes occupying the current top tier of WWE's main event scene, Heyman is already asking who comes next.
We have a shop here, and this shop — The Vision — is to create the next generation of WrestleMania main eventers," he said.
"Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes right now — that's your WrestleMania main event top tier. And some people may filter in and filter back out, but they can't do it forever. Who's going to be the WrestleMania main event not next year, but the year after, the year after, the year after?
It's a question few in the business are thinking about right now. Heyman isn't one of them — he's been thinking about it for months.
The Saudi Mania Revelation
While the rest of WWE focuses on WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Heyman revealed he has spent the past eight months pushing internally for long-range creative planning — specifically around the 2027 WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia.
I have been for the past 8 months jumping up and down with my hands flailing saying, 'What are we going to do with Saudi Mania?'" he said. "And everybody's very concerned about what we're going to do at Vegas Mania. I tell you what, let's book Saudi Mania. It's going to make booking Vegas Mania much easier.
Vegas Mania is the launching pad to Saudi Mania, which is the launching pad to Mania 2028, which is the launching pad to Mania 2029. It progresses. It's bigger tomorrow than today.
The logic is simple: know where you're going and the path becomes obvious.
If we just have a concept of what we're doing next year, oh my god, I can tell you what to do this year, because it leads to next year.
Austin Theory: The Case Study in Potential
When it comes to who fits that future vision, Heyman didn't hesitate to point to Austin Theory's place inside The Vision as the prime example of long-term investment paying off.
He dropped a stunning comparison — Theory is Shawn Michaels in the Rockers — then immediately walked it back as possibly underselling him.
He has decent size and he's only getting bigger. He has tremendous discipline. He's not one of these guys that is out all night in Europe at the Euro trash rave in Paris at 4:30 in the morning — he's in the gym at 4:30 in the morning," Heyman said.
"He's highly intelligent. He speaks to the youth. He looks great and he can work his balls off. Once he figures out the difference between a really good match and a money match, once he understands being out of character while in character and relaxing within the skin of that character — Austin Theory is going to be untouchable.
Heyman also pointed to WrestleMania 38 Night Two as proof that Theory's ceiling is already evident to those paying attention — his work elevating Steve Austin and Pat McAfee during that night went largely unrecognized at the time.
He's already been there and no one noticed," Heyman said. "Austin Theory can make everyone around him. Now that he's learned how to do that, now he's going to learn how to make himself.
Theory has been vocal about the impact working with legends like Steve Austin and John Cena has had on his career, and Heyman's assessment suggests those experiences are exactly the foundation The Vision intends to build on.
The standard inside The Vision is non-negotiable, Heyman made clear.
That's not a prediction. That's a spoiler. If he makes it a prediction, he'll be out of The Vision like that.
With WrestleMania 42 on the horizon and a Saudi Arabia event already in Heyman's crosshairs, The Vision's architect is playing a longer game than anyone else in the building — and he's betting the next era of WWE main events on it.
