Roman Reigns on Valuable Lessons Learned from Vince McMahon

Reigns spoke about how it was Vince who, surprisingly, taught him that he needed a work-life balance. Telling the Tribal Chief that he needs to be "present" when he's home. The former CEO also told him that he should try and stay "ahead of the curve," but not too far ahead. He said:

“He was one of the first, and now it’s reversed on me. He would always tell me, this is when I was so locked in on work that I wasn’t holding up my end of the other side. He would tell me, ‘You gotta 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.’ I took that to heart so much and I’ve transformed that into being such a bigger part of my life. The main thing, the priority, to where sometimes it’s the other way now. Now, it’s hard not to be present when I’m not home, when I’m not with my children. That’s where I really want to be, with my wife and children. Those were just one of those funny lessons, seeing what he’s talking about and seeing it evolve in my own life as young man. He’d always say, ‘You want to be ahead of the curve, but not too far ahead. Slight ahead of the curve.’ That saying was one of the biggest business lessons. Whether it’s creative or anything in the business structure.” (h/t: Fightful) 

Reigns made his television debut on October 31, 2012, on an episode of NXT. A month later, on November 18, he, Seth Rollins, and current AEW star Jon Moxley would make their main roster debut as part of the Shield at the Survivor Series 2012 PLE. Once the Shield disbanded, it was Vince who decided to push him as the top face in the company. The push was not popular with fans, unlike his heel persona.

Roman Reigns Admits He Didn’t Get A lot Of Time With Vince.

While Reigns shared that he learned a few things from Vince, he also admitted that his relationship wasn’t like that of Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, or The Rock, due to not having a lot of time with the former CEO. He said:

“I didn’t have that relationship like a lot of the other guys were afforded, and at the time. Compared to anybody else; (Hulk) Hogan, Steve (Austin), or Dwayne [The Rock], I don’t think I got as much of his time, but I was picking up as much knowledge as I could. He may not even realize it, but there are a lot of things that he said to me that I continue to use. I tore it completely out of his playbook.” 

While Reigns has a positive story about his former boss, it will still get overshadowed by his legal troubles. As noted, Vince stepped down as WWE CEO and Chairman in June 2022 amid an investigation by WWE’s board of directors. The investigation came about after it was revealed that McMahon had an affair with a former WWE employee, and when the consensual relationship came to an end, he paid her a $3 million settlement to keep quiet about it.

Two years later, in January 2024, McMahon stepped down as Executive Chairman of TKO Group Holdings. He stepped down following a civil lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant. She accused him and John Laurinaitis of sexual assault and sex trafficking. In the revised February 2025 lawsuit, Brock Lesnar was revealed as the “star wrestler” that Vince allegedly offered her up for sex in 2021 as an “incentive to sign a new contract.” The case is still pending.