Report: WWE Raw superstars ‘much happier’ with Paul Heyman in charge

Last year, there were rumblings of increasing unhappiness within the WWE locker room, but it appears things have more than smoothed over on the Raw side since Paul Heyman’s hiring as executive director.

Undoubtedly, Paul Heyman’s touch on WWE Raw has been evident over the past couple of months. Beyond the Bobby Lashley/Lana/Rusev storyline that has “Heyman” written all over it, there has been more of an effort to push upper mid-card talents like Drew McIntyre, Buddy Murphy, and Aleister Black going into 2020.

According to a report from Sportskeeda’s Tom Colohue, a “wide range” of wrestlers on the Raw brand are “much happier” since Heyman has become the show’s executive director. They feel Heyman has been easier to approach, leading to “renewed positivity” on Monday nights.

The show has certainly increased in quality lately, and fans have remarked that it feels like a better show than Friday Night SmackDown, when the reverse was clearly true before Heyman hit the ground running in the second half of 2019.

Heyman isn’t the only reason why the locker room morale has been boosted, per Colohue, as the presence of other locker room leaders has helped. But it seems like Heyman has been central for many wrestlers, as it’s led to a better show and more spots for mid-card wrestlers.

Of course, there are still areas in which Heyman and Raw could improve. The Raw Women’s Championship feud between Asuka and Becky Lynch has been incredible, taking center stage as THE feud in wrestling to watch this January. While Heyman is hurt by a thin roster (Nia Jax, Naomi, Ruby Riott, and Kairi Sane are women signed to the Raw brand who have missed time), the additional opportunities haven’t necessarily been spread to the women’s division over the past six months.

Still, it’s good to hear that the wrestlers in the WWE Raw locker room are feeling better about their positions and the overall product. Again, the upgrade in the quality of programming on Monday nights has been evident under Heyman, who has seemingly earned the respect of the wrestlers.