5 Times WWE Tried To Pass The Torch To Roman Reigns

3. Vince McMahon In Winter 2015-16

roman reigns
WWE.com

Evil boss Vince McMahon has become the heel figure behind glass: In case of emergency, break glass.

That’s exactly what we got in December 2015 when McMahon appeared on Raw for the first time in more than a year to confront Roman Reigns, who had won the world championship (finally) at Survivor Series, only to immediately lose the title to Sheamus and his Money in the Bank briefcase. A few weeks later, Reigns annihilated Triple H at the TLC PPV, which brought Mr. McMahon back to Raw the following night.

Vince confronted Reigns, pitting the chairman against the beleaguered star. For whatever reason, that formula worked as the fans in Philadelphia – the same place where he was booed out of the arena at the Royal Rumble earlier that year – rallied behind Roman as he defeated Sheamus for the world title.

McMahon would hang around as a foil for Reigns for the next few weeks, trying to replicate the Austin/McMahon lightning in a bottle. Pitting Reigns against the biggest heel authority figure in WWE history (not hyperbole) was a clear indication the company was going all-in on Roman once again, but rather than ride the natural wave that had started, they couldn’t resist trying to manufacture another “torch-passing” moment.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.