The WWE is determined to nurture internet celebrity Logan Paul as an up-and-coming babyface superstar, according to backstage news from Wrestling Inc.
The only issue, that report says, is that live audiences have been booing Paul — a YouTuber who has shaken up combat sports as a novice boxer, and now as a sports entertainer.
To prevent that merciless jeering from being heard on broadcasts, the WWE has begun airing Paul's segments after he's already been introduced to the live crowd in an attempt to get any initial booing out of the way.
Paul is getting booed by live audiences, according to reports
This was seen during a "WWE Raw" television show earlier this week, when TV audiences were thrown into the middle of a chaotic Paul brawl with The Miz.
Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio said this was by design.
As a prospective babyface, the WWE hope is that Paul would be a mainstream fan favorite like John Cena, Daniel Bryan, or Hulk Hogan, as opposed to a villain — or a heel — like Triple H and Seth Rollins.
Paul had been booked as a heel to start with, working and training alongside The Miz. However, when The Miz double-crossed Paul, the 27-year-old began working to get the crowd on his side.
Judging from these reports, Paul has a mountain to climb to win over a seemingly hostile crowd.
Logan Paul will get his hands on The Miz at SummerSlam
However, with a prominent booking on the horizon Saturday, at the 2022 SummerSlam event inside the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, Paul has a chance to outperform when he takes on The Miz in a singles match.
Roman Reigns with Paul Heyman take on Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing main event.
Elsewhere on the card, Liv Morgan is matched with Ronda Rousey in a singles match for the WWE SmackDown women's championship, Riddle wars with Roman Reigns, and Bianca Belair and Becky Lynch scrap for the WWE Raw women's championship, amongst other bookings.
WWE SummerSlam will be broadcast live as a pay-per-view on Peacock from 8 p.m. ET on July 30.
