WWE underwent a massive change on July 22 when Vince McMahon retired as CEO of the company. McMahon had been at the helm of WWE for over 40 years, leading the company to new heights and records.
McMahon's retirement came amid the WWE board investigating him for alleged sexual misconduct and hush money.
Speaking to Jimmy Traina on the Sports Illustrated Media podcast, Roman Reigns commented on McMahon's retirement.
"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," he said.
Reigns has been the face of WWE in its current era, headlining WrestleMania six times since 2015 and going on nearly two years as the WWE Universal Champion.
When asked if he was worried about his role changing now that McMahon is no longer booking, Reigns said, "We're not erasing what I've done. It's very visible. Even if Paul wasn't completely locked in to what we've been doing the past six months and the past year with the health issues that he's overcome and the journey he's on, but we never forget what we've done and the body of work that we have and why we're to the point that we are. Like anyone that is trying to get better and progress, they're going to keep that mindset of 'I'm trying to better myself. This week is an audition for next week.' That's how I look at it. I just did a house show in Ottawa and one of the producers, after we were done, they come up to me, 'You bump like you're auditioning for a job.' We didn't do any crazy bumps, just regular flatbacks, but I attack the mat as if it was my first day of training. As an athlete, that's how we've been trained, 100% every single time. That was instilled as a child. I don't care who is running the show, in my mind, I'm running the show. As long as I continue to push myself and bring my very best performance every single week, it doesn't matter if it's Vince, Triple H, Nick (Khan), Stephanie (McMahon), Amazon, Disney, Paul Heyman, Jimmy, you could run the show and you know who the man is."
Triple H has made an immediately impact on WWE creative, bringing back released talent like Karrion Kross, Dakota Kai, and Dexter Lumis. He also retained Johnny Gargano, who was a free agent.
Speaking about Triple H's current direction, Reigns said, "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."
Reigns is set to defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at WWE Clash at the Castle.
Fans can check out the current lineup for the show by clicking here.
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