Nearly two months have passed since Vince McMahon sold WWE to UFC owners Endeavor Group, though his involvement with creative has, thankfully, remained minimal.
The Chairman's fingerprints were all over the RAW after WrestleMania, leading to it being dubbed one of the worst Monday night shows ever produced by the company. Since then, Vince appears to have taken a back seat again, though a new report points to his presence still being felt in at least some crucial ways.
According to PWInsider, AJ Styles' role during this week's RAW (which completely undermined the fact he's a SmackDown Superstar) was a last-minute decision made by Vince.
He decided to insert the Phenomenal One into both the opening segment and main event, and while that led to some entertaining moments, it further devalued the WWE Draft which was supposed to lead to a hard split between rosters.
Fightful Select, meanwhile, is reporting that there are many people with WWE who are in "wait and see" mode as McMahon continues to make tweaks to what we see on television.
While he's stilling choosing to work remotely, the changes he does make are described as "heavy alterations," and there's a lot of uncertainty among the company's Superstars.
The site notes that, "those that we’ve heard from say that things have improved significantly since McMahon was around, but they’re still “on guard” at the possibility that he could just charge back in and be backstage."
This may go some way in explaining why he's working remotely, but rest assured, the divisive Chairman - who has seemingly brushed off all those sexual misconduct allegations - continues to shape what happens on RAW and SmackDown. With any luck, he'll take a step back once the sale goes through as he's clearly under the belief WWE needs him right now.
As always, be sure to keep checking back here for updates.