As PWMania.com previously reported, it has been stated by a number of different sources that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was not present at the Royal Rumble that took place over the weekend, and that the show did not reflect his creative input in any way.
One of the few things that serve as a reminder of Vince’s influence is the directional sign that points to “Vince’s Office,” which we have mentioned before as being present backstage. While the sign has not been altered since Vince “left” the company the previous summer, a new report from Fightful Select notes that it now directs attention to a region of the backstage area that has undergone significant transformation. One WWE source stated that no one is afraid to bring up Vince’s name, but that most people haven’t really asked much about Vince since Chief Content Officer Triple H, CEO Nick Khan, and Executive Producer and Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn have held meetings assuring the roster that Vince would not be involved in creative decisions or Talent Relations.
One WWE talent mentioned that the process of The Royal Rumble itself was the easiest it has been in a long time without Vince at the helm, and that there were significantly fewer changes made in the nick of time this year. It was also mentioned that you can’t really count 2021 towards that because of COVID-19, but that the Rumble that took place this year was a dream in comparison to the one that took place the year before that.
This year, WWE NXT Superstars competed in the Women’s Royal Rumble, but they did not participate in the Men’s Rumble. Since the restriction that prevented NXT talent from competing in The Rumble for a period of one year has been lifted, even NXT talent has been heard to express optimism.
The WWE talent also mentioned that the main event segment with The Bloodline was a “new age curtain sellout,” meaning that a large number of people were watching the angle play out on monitors backstage as the show was coming to a close.
We have mentioned in the past that there was some controversy regarding Hardy’s performance of “Sold Out” at The Rumble because some individuals believed that it detracted from the show. Regarding those complaints, some individuals had the impression that the performance took up too much time of the time of others. In addition, there were a few minor complaints regarding transitional aspects of the show; however, they believe that the current regime will eventually become accustomed to these changes.
