18-time champion believes Roman Reigns "sits atop the royalty within WWE," recounts Vince McMahon's 2016 vision
When Roman Reigns returned to WWE following injury in late 2014, he was immediately placed in the main event. His subsequent rise to superstardom, however, was marred in controversy. Within a year's time, Reigns became the world champion. Bully Ray has now shared what Vince McMahon told him regarding the top guy in the industry today.
By WrestleMania 32 in 2016, the global juggernaut promotion established The Big Dog as the face of the company. He headlined the most commercially successful Show of Shows (up until that point) with Triple H, and captured the world title for the third time. Despite the chorus of boos that echoed the AT&T Stadium, Vince McMahon continued pushing Roman Reigns.
While touching on WWE's decision to book The Bloodline story to close out Night of Champions instead of Seth Rollins' World Heavyweight Championship win, Bully Ray recounted McMahon's vision of Reigns seven years ago, on the Busted Open Radio:
"Why Roman? Because Roman is the guy," Bully Ray explained. "Mark [Henry], remember where Vince's office was back in Boston? [...] That's the office that I stood in, when Vince McMahon in 2016 looked me in the eyes and said, 'Bubba, Roman is the guy who is putting food on our table for the next ten years.' That was the moment in time that I knew. This is the guy."
Bully Ray has held a total of 18 championships in WWE. Despite being a legendary star returning after a long time back in 2015, the company seemingly did not care much for The Dudley Boys during their last stint.
The Hall of Famer then recalled working with Reigns at the time, saying they tried their best to put him over on WWE TV:
"So, me and D-Von went out there that night, and we did everything we possibly could to make it work. It's not about me and D-Von, it's about Roman. Roman over a thousand days. He sits atop the royalty within WWE," Bully Ray said. [14:58 - 15:52]
I still hate that WWE didn't have one of their cameras on Roman Reigns' dad when he won the title at WrestleMania 32. Missed a beautiful moment. #SmackDown https://t.co/2Knw5cSziU
Four years later, Reigns introduced "The Head of the Table" persona and finally won over the fans. He is currently on an all-time run as the undisputed world champion, with a reign that is over 1,000 days and counting.
Retired WWE Icon wishes he could face Roman Reigns today
The Undertaker and Roman Reigns competed in the main event of WrestleMania 33. As revealed by The Phenom, the bout was supposed to be his swan song. But he could not call it a career, with the disappointing contest they had being his last. Thus, he remained active for another three years.
Taker recently picked Roman Reigns, and the new World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins as the two stars he would have loved to face today.
“I would love to be healthy enough to have a match now with Roman Reigns. When we worked at (WM 33) I was on my last legs. & he wasn’t he wasn’t nearly the performer that he is now
& then another guy that I would love to have worked with would be Seth Rollins.”
- The Undertaker https://t.co/V2ez6xmN14
Both the contests, especially a match against Seth Rollins - as it has not happened before - would have been phenomenal during the legend's prime. Meanwhile, the Hall of Famer also commented on fans hating on him for lifting the curtain on his career. Read more here.
If you use the quotes, please credit the original source and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.