Roman Reigns was one of the last true “Vince McMahon guys,” a superstar who was hand-picked by the former WWE Chairman to be the face of the company for a generation. “The Tribal Chief” opened up about his unique relationship with his former boss.
A Different Relationship
Speaking on the What’s Your Story podcast with Stephanie McMahon, Reigns explained that his relationship with Vince was different from that of previous top stars like Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, or The Rock. As the “youngest of all his top guys,” he had to learn to navigate their dynamic and earn his trust over time.
“That’s who I like, cut my teeth, negotiating with, doing business with, was your dad, and that’s how I feel. I’m not intimidated by anybody anymore. There were times where I had to get used to him, and we had to learn each other’s ways. But I’m the youngest of all his top guys, you know. So I didn’t have that relationship like a lot of the other guys were afforded and the time, but for the compared to like anybody else, you know, Hogan or Steve or Dwayne those guys, I don’t think I got as much of his time, but I was picking up as much knowledge as I could, even if he he may not even realize it.”
Key Lessons
Reigns then shared two key lessons from Vince McMahon that have had a lasting impact on both his professional and personal life. The first was the importance of being “present” at home with his family, and the second was the business philosophy of always being “slightly ahead of the curve.”
“He would always tell me, and this is when I was so locked in at work that I wasn’t holding up my end on the other side. And he would just tell me, You’ve got to be present. When you go home, you have to be present. It doesn’t matter what you do out here. You have to be present. And I took that to heart so much… He’d always say, you want to be ahead of the curve, but not too far… And in just so many different ways, and especially in business, that has just rang true.”
You can hear the full interview on the What’s Your Story With Stephanie McMahon podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
