Roman Reigns has been one of the top stars in WWE for years, and it became clear once he became a singles star that Vince McMahon wanted to push him to the top. Vince McMahon announced his retirement last month and The Tribal Chief explained on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast that the announcement was hard for him to believe.
“It was just hard to believe. I think along with anyone who has followed this business or been in this business, ‘I’m gonna be long gone, I’m going to be 20 years retired and Vince is still running the show.’ That was just ‘Ah, we’ll see him in six months,’ was the mindset that I initially took. We received a talent relations text message and then a personal message from him, we talked a bit. Until I’m either hearing from Paul [Triple H] or higher, I believe everything is a work. ‘They’re trying to get an angle on it.’ I’m not going to be the one that believes it and ‘you got me, I got worked you.’ I think it’s all a work. Nothing is real until I’m counting it.”
Triple H has taken over WWE creative following Vince McMahon’s retirement, and Roman Reigns showed support for The Game while talking about the daunting task of stepping into Vince’s shoes.
“I think he’s done excellent. He’s like a professional wrestling babyface right now. He’s a babyface for the industry and there’s this honeymoon situation going and a lot of excitement. If you look at the grand scheme of it and break it down and what he’s stepping into, just dealing with this controversy alone. Dealing with the craziness with…the impossible happened, Vince McMahon stepped down. Wrapping your brain around that and being the guy to be next. I thought following Cena was tough enough, imagine having to follow Vince McMahon. I think he’s done great.”
H/T Fightful
