Vince McMahon Too Much of the Focus in Roman Reigns Storyline

Early on during the final WWE Raw of 2015, the camera slid away from Roman Reigns and the world title glittering under the arena lights and pointed at Vince McMahon as he bickered with police. Reigns stayed out of the frame. The stage belonged to McMahon, his daughter and the two men playing New York police officers.

The WWE champ, meanwhile, presumably twiddled his thumbs off-camera.

That moment was a microcosm of a major issue plaguing the story of Reigns clashing with The Authority and his fight to stay atop the mountain: WWE chose to center its attention on McMahon; Reigns became a bit player.

That makes zero sense.

It won't be McMahon who is battling to keep the WWE title at the Royal Rumble. It won't be the tyrannical chairman who headlines WrestleMania. Yet McMahon overshadowed Reigns, taking roost on center stage and staying there.

The opening segment saw McMahon call out Reigns, insult his father and uncle and revert back to his old snarling, unfeeling Mr. McMahon character. There was potential for real tension to develop. There was a great chance to show Reigns to be defiant and fiery.

Instead, it was McMahon who took over the lead role.

Reigns didn't do anything to get his boss arrested. It was McMahon's own temper that did him in. McMahon had more of a verbal battle with the cop who eventually hauled the boss to the station than he he did with Reigns.

The crowd was chanting for the cops by the end of the scene. Reigns wasn't even in the picture.

Note that on its YouTube page, WWE labeled the video of that moment, "Mr. McMahon arrested." Reigns' name was nowhere to be found.

The spotlight shone on McMahon all night. Later on in the show, Renee Young updated fans on McMahon's arrest. WWE released bonus footage of the arrest. It tweeted out his mugshot:

How does all that help Reigns? WWE made sure to get people talking, but the majority of the post-Raw talk promises to be about McMahon. 

ProWrestling.net's Jason Powell commented, "In many ways, this was Vince's finest performance in years." That's certainly true, as McMahon seemed to be especially inspired on Monday night. But it is WWE Creative's job to put Reigns in a position where he can put on a performance that earns praise like that.

That's what it has to do moving forward. Find a way for Reigns' name to pop up on every wrestling outlet afterward. Find a way to have Reigns trending, not his 70-year-old boss.

Reigns did get to issue some spears and Superman punches by the end of the night, but again, the attention was soon on McMahon. As Raw closed, Reigns looked to save John Cena from The League of Nations.

McMahon then returned, having apparently made bail, and announced that he would be the special guest referee next week when Reigns takes on Sheamus for the WWE title. Reigns didn't respond. He didn't threaten his new foil or intimidate him in any way.

Again, the camera camera was on the chairman more. McMahon got in the final word, aggressively wishing everyone a happy new year.

By the end of Raw, Reigns wasn't any more connected with the crowd than he was when the show started. He didn't achieve any kind of victory; McMahon instead suffered the newsworthy embarrassment. 

The folks at Fighting Spirit Magazine nailed it, summing up the situation on Twitter:

That's backward. Reigns is the champion and the man who had a stockpile of momentum following TLC. WWE has to do a better job of helping him maintain that.

Pushing him aside for a McMahon-centric narrative isn't how to accomplish that. There needs to be more back and forth between the two figures. McMahon has to look to punish Reigns while The Big Dog fights back. A better balance must be reached ahead.

Unless of course WWE believes McMahon can be the next megastar, carrying the company torch into the next era as Reigns is set to do.