Roman Reigns is the hottest star in pro-wrestling right now.
WWE's decision to turn him heel after a five-month absence was a stroke of genius and it's elevated Vince McMahon's top guy to exactly that in the eyes of many fans.
So why did the company wait so long to pull the trigger, and why didn't they want to turn him into a bada** much earlier?
Well, according to Paul Heyman, it's because even 12 months ago, Reigns 'could not pull off' that portrayal, despite desperately wanting to.
"I wanted it to happen for a long time, Roman Reigns wanted it to happen for a long time and Vince McMahon wanted it to happen for a long time," Heyman told Sports Illustrated, per 411Mania.
"But the timing was never right. Roman Reigns could not pull off this portrayal of the top star in the industry even a year ago.
"He wasn’t weathered enough, he wasn’t seasoned enough, and he wasn’t experienced enough.
"He still looked too young. But now, you look at his face, you see some seasoning and some weathering."
It's that 'seasoning and weathering' that has made Roman's new attitude much more believable according to 'The Tribal Cheifs' Special Counsel.
"He was beating the crap out of his cousin inside Hell in a Cell and he says I did this to you when we were kids, and here we are 35 years old doing this, and he looks 35," Heyman continued.
"He looks like a bada** 35, but he still looks 35. Before he still looked like late 20s or early 30s, and he still looked too young.
"He wasn’t grizzled, he didn’t have any scars. Now, you see the wars on his face.
"Now, you see the pressure and the obligation and the responsibility and the accountability and the sheer burden - I think that’s the core word when it comes to the characterisation of the top star in WWE - the burden and the weight of that burden and what it has done to Roman Reigns."
So, according to Heyman, Reigns didn't have the right look to turn heel earlier in his career. Thankfully he does now... and it was well worth the wait.