This will be the first year that WWE produces a WrestleMania event without involvement on any level from Vince McMahon.
And the WWE talent and staff are said to be excited about that fact.
Fightful Select is reporting that WrestleMania XL will be the first WrestleMania that truly has no influence whatsoever from Vince McMahon, and that those behind-the-scenes in the company are excited.
Prior to WrestleMania 39 last year in 2023, Vince McMahon reportedly forced his way back into the company, which saw him immediately affect and make changes to the creative plans. Although he didn’t deal with the creative team directly, he would apparently eventually make adjustments and call in to disapprove of portions of the show or people involved in certain aspects.
Until that year’s WrestleMania weekend.
When that time of year rolled around, the Vince McMahon involvement and influence noticeably grew.
After not appearing behind-the-scenes at WWE shows for months, Vince reappeared during the WrestleMania 39 Weekend, and immediately put his fingerprints on everything. According to one source, there was at least one match at WrestleMania 39 that he outright changed the planned finish to, switching the person who was scheduled to win and lose to flip-flop it the other way.
The word regarding the Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes main event for the WWE Universal Championship at night two of WrestleMania 39 is that Vince had long been in favor of “The Tribal Chief” defeating “The American Nightmare” to retain, although that was reportedly decided well ahead of time.
For WrestleMania XL this year, Vince reportedly has absolutely no influence over the show, by himself or by proxy. Many executives high-up within WWE have stated they believe there is no longer an incentive to further any creative preferences or agendas that Vince may have. They also feel that McMahon is far more concerned and spending his time with the real-life issues facing him with the Janel Grant lawsuit and other related incidents.
One top talent in WWE described this week as having an “aura of excitement” due to the feeling that this is truly the first Vince-free WrestleMania weekend, with no fears of him “f**king up everyone’s good time” since he is legitimately no longer there.
Outside of his influence no longer being felt in WWE, the word going around is that Vince McMahon is not expected to pop up at the show this weekend.
In addition to WrestleMania XL, the excitement among the staff and talent behind-the-scenes in WWE extends to the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania show scheduled for April 8, 2024. Many have said that the Raw After WrestleMania show hasn’t felt like “an event” in years, and that it is much more a possibility of being so again.
Last year’s Raw After WrestleMania show saw Vince turn up and make “sweeping changes” that ended up resulting in the show being considered one of the worst post-WrestleMania episodes of Raw in a long time. Apparently many agents, producers and even talents claim that the original plans for last year’s Raw After WrestleMania were much better before Vince interfered and made multiple significant changes.
Make sure to join us here this weekend for live WrestleMania XL results coverage from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA.