Ahead of the March 6th episode of WWE Raw, it was reported that Vince McMahon was backstage in Boston.
This is the first time McMahon has been spotted backstage at a WWE television broadcast since he retired last July amidst an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and hush money payments. In the wake of his retirement, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were made co-CEO’s of the company while Triple H serves as Chief Content Officer, placing him in charge of talent relations and creative.
In early January, Vince McMahon announced that he would be electing himself back to the WWE Board of Directors in order to facilitate a sale of the company, and days later, his daughter Stephanie McMahon handed in her resignation. It was soon announced that Vince had been unanimously elected Chairman of the Board following Stephanie’s resignation.
Despite his return, the company has remained steadfast in its claim that Triple H has the final say over both talent and creative, and that while Vince gives input from time to time, he is not involved in creative decisions from any official standpoint. Still, his appearance in Boston for Raw turned heads, particularly as he was sporting a bizarre new look.
Why Was Vince McMahon Backstage At WWE Raw?
A new report from Fightful Select shed light on the reaction to Vince McMahon’s presence at Raw, noting that talent and staff were not prepared for the WWE Chairman to be backstage and that they weren’t briefed about the situation either before or after the show. Several higher ups in the company weren’t aware he was coming until he was actually backstage, with one noting to Fightful that they wish they’d been informed considering the WWE political climate over the past nine months.
In addition, the report notes that several talent intentionally avoided McMahon despite the belief that they’ll likely have to deal with him in the future. Fightful Select also reports that one WWE higher up believes McMahon was testing the waters with his appearance, wanting to gauge how talent and staff would react to his presence. Now that he’s been backstage once, some expect that they’ll begin to see him more often.
While no official reason for his visit backstage has been given, many believe he was there to see the returning John Cena, who agreed to a WrestleMania match with Austin Theory during the broadcast.
Logan Paul also made his return in Boston, confronting Seth Rollins and setting up their own WrestleMania clash. Full results from the March 6th episode of WWE Raw can be found here.