7 Wrestlers Who Made Vince McMahon Their BITCH!

6. Roman Reigns

For a while, the relationship between Vince McMahon and Roman Reigns was very one-sided but relatively healthy. It wasn’t as if Roman had to play backstage politics to keep his spot. It was simply his, whether you liked it or not. 

Vince’s love of competition was legendary, even if his ability to thrive on it was very overstated. Does this explain why he no-sold the deafening refrain to turn Roman heel, which echoed across almost every major arena for years on end? Did Vince persist with this nightmare of an era because he did not want to lose to the fans? Turning Roman heel - which worked for the Rock’s babyface prospects - meant accepting defeat. Vince never could take that, and pre-AEW, he did not have to. He could afford to do whatever he, and he alone, wanted. Things however changed as the 2020s drew near. 

The formation and early success of AEW didn’t even chip away at WWE’s seemingly endless corporate-driven revenue streams, but the promotion was wary of its perception issues. Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman were brought in with less-than-credible Executive Director job titles so that WWE could at least pretend that they were acting in the best interests of fans and shareholders. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic happened. The immunocompromised Roman Reigns sensibly and rightly refused to participate at the bleak WrestleMania 36 taping at the empty WWE Performance Center, and did not return to WWE until SummerSlam. In addition to looking after himself and his family, Roman at long last sensed that he held real power over an increasingly rattled Vince. 

As well-versed as he became in the art of spin - “If they make noise, I’m doing my job” etc. - Roman knew he had to turn, and used his leverage to pitch a new persona and association with Paul Heyman. Roman’s newfound influence was so vast that, in addition to reigning with a World title for 1,316 days - a reign only bettered by Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan, none of whom had weekly episodic primetime TV to contend with - Heyman, longtime enemy of the state, essentially became Roman’s personal booker. 

Roman evolved into such a huge star that he was reportedly able to intervene and change the finish to the WrestleMania 39 main event.