Cape Town - Shane McMahon’s firing from the WWE by his multi-billionaire dad and owner Vince, has been all the rage since the Royal Rumble. Independent’s Glenn Schouw takes a close look at what went down.
So what pain was worse for Shane McMahon, son of WWE owner and multi-billionaire Vince McMahon?
Was it being fired this week by his enraged dad after getting his way in the recent Royal Rumble?
Or was it in 2016 when he dived from a 6m high cage targeting the Undertaker? Needless to say the 2.1m Undertaker, real name Mark Calaway, evaded Shane who crashed into the commentators’ table.
His injuries included a blown out belly button and an umbilical hernia – it is worth mentioning that the Undertaker was against this stunt, considering it too dangerous.
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This was Shane’s first fight after a seven-year disappearance from WWE – his motivation to return was to perform in front of his three children.
So which hurt the most? In my view, the former as it must have been totally humiliating.
In the latter he went out on his shield earning the respect of the WWE family and more importantly his dad.
But Shane’s shock departure opens the door, in my mind anyway, for WWE to plan a Prodigal Son storyline.
However, with like-minded script writers already banned to the office corners after thinking out loud on this page-turning storyline, it is unlikely to happen any time soon .
Vince was p###ed off with Shane stuffing up the storylines of the recently held Men's Royal Rumble.
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The event consists of 30 wrestlers entering the ring every 90 seconds with the winner being the last one left.
During the contest the rivals are eliminated by being thrown, knocked, or lifted over or through the ropes – their feet must touch the ground.
Many competitors usually team up to get rid of their more dangerous foes. The later that one enters the ring, the more your chances of winning are boosted.
So what did 52-year-old Shane do? He was the main producer of this event. He entered Rumble very late at No 28 and made it to the final three, with Brock Lesnar going on to win. Shane was runner-up.
He clearly wanted to make the event about him, which caused dissent among the wrestlers in the locker room. Shane’s plan was bizarre and stupid considering it was his first in-ring experience since WrestleMania in April 2021.
There was already bad blood between father and son on the day of Rumble as Vince dismissed his son’s vision and storylines for the show.
However, as the late Freddie Mercury of rock band Queen said, The Show Must Go On.
And it did, but not as Vince wanted, as Shane stood his ground.
Vince, a former wrestler himself known to have 3am workouts with weights and not one be to be trifled with, realised that Shane had rebelled against him in deviating from the storylines that he had rubber-stamped.
Fans could not understand why Shane was in Rumble in the first place and why he of all people had to eliminate the popular Kevin Owens, who along with Lesnar and Shane ended up being the final three in the ring.
But the signs that something was amiss were ominous from the start.
Lack of convincing storytelling was absent as well as good decisions made behind the scenes. Mascap Moss eliminating crowd favourite AJ Styles was a good example.
Another one was the exit from the ring of the 2.1m Amos – it took seven wrestlers to lift him. Amos may still have plenty to learn, but this future superstar should have been in the ring longer.
Royal Rumble was still worth watching but it lacked the bite and the unpredictability of past ones which had fans clutching their seats and screaming their heads off.
The pace was also slow. Vince’s blood pressure shot up further the next day as research revealed that many fans preferred the Women’s Royal Rumble which took place at the same venue the same day.
They made this clear on their social media platforms. These thousands of fans were right – Women’s Royal Rumble was faster, had better storytelling, and it was more entertaining with the usual servings of eye candy as well.
A further problem was that Shane’s actions had stuffed up the plot for the upcoming WWE Elimination Chamber pay per view on February 19. Shane was scheduled to be part of a chamber clash.
A WWE mole revealed that Shane was to start a feud with Seth Rollins which would have led to a showdown between them at WrestleMania in April. This scripted page has now been binned.
Evidence suggested that Shane’s star had been waning in the WWE as he seldom had backstage roles in recent times. He has also been restricted to an on-screen role apart from helping put together the Royal Rumble.
One must keep in mind too that Shane previously had a seven-year siesta from his dad’s company, returning in 2016.
As mentioned, it was no red carpet return, a rather dark one as he took on The Undertaker.
However, Shane’s drama must have the top brass at AEW licking their chops at the possibility of latching onto him.
It would be big news and greatly enhance the already strong growing status of AEW – already seen as a threat to WWE. Even a single programme or a few featuring Shane would hurt the WWE.
If the AEW can pull it off, it will be great for the sports entertainment game as competition is a good thing – a win win for the sport and fans.
Here is Shane McMahon’s WWE career in a nutshell, gleaned from Republicworld.com.
His first steps into the family business saw him acting as a referee in the late 1980s, and he notably helped launch WWF.com in 1997.
During the ’90s, McMahon was made an on-screen character and was a frequent ally and enemy of his father in various storylines.
He left WWE in 2009 on his own terms and then rejoined the company in 2016, first as the commissioner of SmackDown and then as a performer.
He then faced the Undertaker in the same year.
Shane’s last WWE match took place at WrestleMania 37 where he was defeated by Braun Strowman in a cage match.
He won the WWE World Cup at Crown Jewel 2018 and defeated Roman Reigns at WWE Super ShowDown 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
Don’t miss the WWE’s Smackdown on Saturday morning from 2am SA time.
Raw, also featuring the best talent in the WWE stable, takes place on Monday morning from 2am South African time.
Both events are on DStv’s channel 228.
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