McMahon was at Gorilla position throughout the night and was not shy about saying hello and greeting talent. However, none of the talent or staff that we spoke to said that he was providing instructions, feedback, or orders to anyone that they saw. The wide discussion in the locker room and among talent was that Vince McMahon was there to visit John Cena and to enjoy the show, with them believing that he came there specifically because Cena was booked.
This was a stark contrast to when Vince McMahon forced himself back into power in December, and there seemed to be panic, or when he appeared on TV after the WSJ stories emerged and were met with disgust. There didn't seem to be a lot of panic, at least based on those we heard from. One talent said "the big tell will be if he's at Smackdown."
Talent and staff were not prepared for McMahon to be around, and were not briefed about the situation before and after. There were several higher ups in the company that also were not made aware until he was there, with one noting that they wish they would have been clued in considering the nature of the last nine months in WWE.
There were a few talent that said they intentionally avoided associating with him, despite them believing they'll likely have to deal with him in the future. Speaking of the future, one WWE higher up felt personally as if this was also a case of McMahon testing the waters of showing his face at WWE events and how the talent and staff would react. Now that he's been back, many expect him to be seen at other upcoming events.
Fightful reached out to WWE in an official capacity, but did not get a statement on Vince's appearance at the show.
