Report: More details on Vince McMahon's WWE Royal Rumble absence

Although Vince McMahon was not present at the 2021 WWE Royal Rumble, he reportedly still kept in touch with WWE’s higher-ups during the show.

Vince McMahon has not attended several WWE events recently following the passing of his brother, Roderick McMahon, at the age of 77. PW Insider’s Mike Johnson reported that Vince McMahon communicated with people backstage via FaceTime and phone calls.

Johnson added that Vince McMahon not being present at recent shows is “not as big of a deal” as some people might think. Thanks to technology, he has still been able to pass on messages during his time away from the backstage area.

A report from Fightful Select stated earlier this week that WWE official Adam Pearce had a more prominent role backstage at the pay-per-view. He reportedly helped put together the 2021 Men’s Royal Rumble match.

High-profile WWE moments that Vince McMahon missed

Vince McMahon left WrestleMania 30 before Daniel Bryan's main-event win

The 2021 WWE Royal Rumble is not the first big WWE event that Vince McMahon has missed. In 2014, the WWE Chairman left WrestleMania 30 to go to the hospital with The Undertaker after his match against Brock Lesnar. As a result, he was not present for Daniel Bryan’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory in the main event.

Vince McMahon also missed JBL’s WWE Championship win over Eddie Guerrero, as well as Chris Jericho’s ‘Festival of Friendship’ segment with Kevin Owens.