What Impact Has Vince McMahon’s Removal From Creative Had On Roman Reigns?

Roman Reigns‘ influence on his own creative remains strong.

While Reigns has always been presented as a big star in WWE, since becoming Universal Champion in 2020 and aligning with Paul Heyman he’s entered another stratosphere. The star is still in the midst of one of the longest WWE World Title runs in history, with his reign standing at 1145 days and counting.

As Reigns’ star has grown he’s also been able to exert more control over his own creative, with Heyman also acting as a driving force for all things Bloodline-related.

However, the backstage picture has changed significantly between Reigns taking a break after SummerSlam and returning to SmackDown on October 13th. Vince McMahon has essentially been removed from creative, placing Triple H in control. For much of 2023, McMahon had been somewhat in the background impacting creative and WWE programming from afar.

So what impact has that had on Roman Reigns? According to a new report via Fightful Select, the answer is very little.

The report notes that Reigns and Heyman still contribute heavily as they did when McMahon was in control, and later sharing power with Triple H.

Outside of the pair, Michael Hayes remains tasked with handling the production of most Bloodline angles and matches, regardless of which show they’re on. Hayes also works on segments on the periphery of The Bloodline, such as Sami Zayn’s promo on Raw and the main event involving Judgment Day, Cody Rhodes, and Jimmy and Jey Uso.

LA Knight’s recent addition to the main event picture opposite Reigns was planned before McMahon took his enforced step down.

Roman Reigns Remains On Collision Course With Cody Rhodes

Shortly after Rhodes’ defeat to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, it was reported the pair were heading for a huge rematch 12 months later. Despite this, the match seemed in jeopardy in recent months with Dwayne Johnson seemingly in the running to face Reigns.

A match between the real-life cousins has been rumoured for years, and Johnson actually agreed to face Reigns at WrestleMania 39 before plans changed.

However, the most recent report on the potential match noted that there are “no plans” for Johnson and Reigns to meet. This again nudges Rhodes back into pole position.

The report came after Rhodes and Reigns came face to face for the first time in months on SmackDown.