Sean Waltman On Why He Thinks Vince McMahon Hired Bruce Prichard Back, Roman Reigns Returning To WWE
On a recent episode of his podcast, X-Pac 12360, Sean Waltman touched on some of the recent surprise returns to WWE. Arguably one of the biggest stars in WWE made his return to the company on Monday night, when Roman Reigns appeared before a live audience in Atlanta, GA and announced that his leukemia was in remission.
Waltman did admit that he wasn't able to see Reigns' segment live as it aired, however, watching back on the DVR incited for him a wave of emotions and tears.
"I didn't see the segment live, so I already knew it was good news by reading my Twitter feed," Waltman explained. "And so the first chance I got, I got home, and hit the DVR, and I watched it, and it still hit me like a ton of bricks. Like, even though I knew what the news was, I still went through all kinds of, like – I cried like a motherfu—-, I am not gonna lie."
Waltman recounted a time when he would see Reigns working in the previous version of the WWE Florida developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. Then and there, Waltman was apparently already convinced that Reigns had all the makings of a future star.
"You know, I know that guy," Waltman said. "I was one of the guys that early in his FCW [days], I was one of the guys that went, 'He's your guy.'... And you know he's so loved by the rest of that crew. He is the leader of that locker room and he does a damn good job of it, too, when he's around. And it just felt so good, right?"
Along with the return of Roman Reigns on WWE TV, we previously reported how Bruce Prichard has started full-time with WWE in a backstage position that is being equated to Vince's "right-hand" man. Waltman believes that this was partially because WWE wanted to avoid Prichard working future events with various other wrestling promotions.
"They just wanted Bruce Prichard back in WWE so he's not doing other things," Waltman stated. "This is just my take – it just comes from my speculation, educated guess on my part. Nothing against Bruce, because I am big fan and he's a brilliant guy, but creatively, I don't think they really want the antiquated creative process."
Furthermore, Waltman is convinced that this is a direct statement to Prichard's fellow podcaster, Conrad Thompson. Also previously noted was the story about Undertaker joining Thompson's Starrcast 2 event that takes place in May during Double Or Nothing weekend. This uncommon public appearance by 'Taker had Vince McMahon reportedly upset, which is one reason Waltman thinks Prichard was brought back in to WWE.
"I think it's just more like, 'Okay, alright Conrad [Thompson], you want to dabble around with the Undertaker? We'll take that and we'll put him right over here. You can have an Undertaker and we'll take us a Brother Love,' Waltman said. "There are consequences sometimes for business decisions. And it definitely wasn't wrong of Conrad to reach out. I mean, that's what I would have done too. But If you don't think some of these things aren't going to ruffle feathers, c'mon."
Waltman hasn't yet had his theories confirmed as to why Prichard has returned. Regardless of why he's returned, Waltman recognizes that Prichard is a quality worker and a man of many capabilities in the company.
"I am spewing all these speculations and it's all just speculating, cause even though I know everybody, I don't get on phone and, 'Oh, tell me the scoop,'" Waltman explained. "Bruce will be an asset to the competition like AEW if they have a really good TV deal, and like I said, he's a brilliant guy. And he's also a pretty good on-air character too. He's a really good one. Okay, he's just being brought on as a member of creative, that's technically the department, but it's more of a man that maybe will wear many hats."