According to Fightful and as first reported by their premium service, Fightful Select, Vince McMahon was not present for the Royal Rumble on January 31.
To kick-off the year, Edge and Bianca Belair booked their spot at ‘The Grandest Stage of Them All’ but WWE CEO and President Vince McMahon was not backstage to oversee the show and this isn’t the first time the owner has missed events recently.
As per the report, McMahon has been absent from both Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown while he deals with the death of his brother, Roderick – who passed away on January 20 – and it was on-screen authoty figure Adam Pearce who pieced together the Royal Rumble Match with help from Tyson Kidd who was seen in the group photo following the women’s rehearsal.
The statement made by Fightful Select stated:
WWE had their Royal Rumble line-up set by Sunday morning, and what you saw unfold is the order they had planned it. During big shows in the past, the line-up has changed all the way up until the show was actually on the air.
Adam Pearce was said to have been instrumental in putting the Royal Rumble match together, and it was received well backstage. Bianca Belair received a standing ovation upon returning backstage after her win.
We’re told that Vince McMahon was not seen at the venue on Sunday, and has been missing several shows of late. McMahon has been dealing with the passing of his brother, Rodney. We extend our condolences to the McMahon Family.
The last time we saw Vince McMahon on WWE television, though that is becoming a rarity of late, was at Survivor Series on November 22 when he introduced and gave a speech for The Undertaker during his final farewell to the professional wrestling world.