Vince McMahon being backstage on WWE RAW may have been a "test," according to a higher up

WWE Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, Vince McMahon, showed up backstage on RAW this week, which evoked a mixed reaction from the talent and personalities.

Some higher-ups were not entirely in on having him back owing to the political climate within the Stamford-based promotion in the last nine months. Throw in the fact that most of them were unaware that he was making an appearance until he showed up.

This was the first time Mr. McMahon had made an appearance backstage since his retirement in June 2022 amid an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct and hush money payments.

Whilst it may have only been because John Cena was booked for the show, one reliable WWE higher-up has revealed that Vince may have been "testing the waters" for a recurring role in some capacity, measuring talent and staff reactions to his presence.

The 77-year-old was spotted backstage with a new look, greeting a few people while in Gorilla. Several talents, however, intentionally avoided McMahon despite the belief that they might have to deal with him in the future.

Many believe that Vince McMahon will make more appearances now that he has taken the first step.

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Vince McMahon visited John Cena multiple times outside WWE

The belief is that Mr. McMahon may have wanted to be there for John Cena, as the latter was involved in a segment that revolved around making his match official for WrestleMania 39 against McMahon's previous pet project, Austin Theory.

According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, McMahon and the leader of Cenation have met several times in the past year. The report also leaned towards the aforementioned reason for the unforeseen return backstage.

"Everything that I've heard thus far indicates that people at WWE Raw believe Vince McMahon was at the show to visit John Cena. He's visited Cena multiple times outside of WWE over the last year." Sean wrote.

Vince has always been a supporter of John Cena over the years, even commenting on the latter's "old-fashioned values."

As the rumor mill indicated that Vince may have had something to do with the creative that booked Brock Lesnar's match against Omos at WrestleMania 39, it remains to be seen if he will be involved in a bigger role down the line.

Needless to say, WrestleMania 39 will mark the first edition of the Showcase of the Immortals without Vince McMahon's creative control, and the first one under Triple H's regime.