As Raw began on February 22nd the Road to Wrestlemania was looking very gloomy, the feuds that had started lacked the special feeing and the card on the whole was looking very thin. Injuries and poor booking had plagued WWE for the months, heading into Wrestlemania WWE were missing the services of John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton and Cesaro, the roster, the brand needed a shot of adrenaline. WWE was lacking the excitement that the road to Wrestlemania usually triggers, it seemed they were out ideas and had zero direction, however AT&T Stadium in Dallas was selling out fast. Now back to Raw on Feb 22nd, Vince McMahon had just awarded the “Legacy of Excellence” award to Stephanie McMahon, she began to make her acceptance speech but she was rudely interrupted by her brother Shane.
Shane’s appearance sent the audience into a wild frenzy, they couldn’t believe their eyes as the once heir to WWE’s throne made his way to the ring. The crowd response for Shane McMahon was overwhelming, it was truly one of those memorable WWE moments in history. Once in the ring Shane explained his reason for being there, according to the man himself he wanted his share of WWE back and most importantly he wanted complete control of Raw. Change it seemed was on the mind of Shane, he lapped up the audiences cheers as he announced his intentions to change the way WWE operated, new wrestlers, new match-ups, no authority. Shane’s list of promises was met with welcome reaction from the crowd, Vince then interjected. Shane could have what he wanted, if he was able to defeat the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania 32, the challenge it seemed was impossible. Shane took the announcement in his stride and promised to succeed against the Deadman for the fans, his family and his legacy, for Shane this was do or die.
Shane McMahon had triggered that Wrestlemania feeling, the reaction from the live audience and on Social Media was exactly what WWE needed. The announcement of the Undertaker match made the situation very intriguing, I for one hated the idea of Shane and Undertaker facing each other at Mania, for me there was rhyme or reason for them to go one on one. The WWE machine went on, Shane Vs The Undertaker was on, as the build to Wrestlemania continued we learnt that Undertaker’s career would be on the line at the event. What was most puzzling about the whole thing was the fact the WWE were booking a face Shane against a face Undertaker in Dallas, Texas, many questions were asked as to who would win or who should win, was there a right answer? Shane and Taker even came to blows on two occasions, the second one ended with Shane dropping the elbow through Taker as he lay on the announce table. The physicality had the audience in a frenzy, it seemed neither men could do not wrong as we headed into Mania.
Wrestlemania 32 was in my personal opinion one of the most bizarrely booked shows in recent memory, the results, booking and direction of the show made no sense to me at all. Shane Vs Taker was promoted as one of the 3 main events, it was seen as quite a pivotal match as it not only involved the Undertaker but the legacy of the WWE was to be decided. The feud between the two was one that a child could have booked, their was no sense to any of what was going on, WWE it seemed had attempted to book Shane on par with the Undertaker but it just wasn’t believable. Because of the lacklustre build the match suffered, many I think never thought Shane would win, plus was Undertaker really going to retire in a loss to Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania? The answer was always no, From the go home Raw show it seemed WWE had built the match more around the idea that Shane may risk his life by jumping of the cell. In a way the match built to that point, Shane & Taker went through the motions before Shane O’Mac took the big bump from the cell and crashed through the announce table. Shane’s leap of death was a true Wrestlemania moment, however it was unnecessary and reckless, after Shane basically killed himself Undertaker took him back into the ring for the Tombstone and for the victory.
As Wrestlemania ended the most personal feud of the night was done and dusted, the feud with the most on the line went out like a flame on a cold night. Shane didn’t get what he wanted and the Undertaker didn’t retire, Vince had won and the hostiles were over. That was until 24hrs later when at Raw Shane reappeared to thank the crowd for their support over the last few months, Vince who was in the middle of mocking Shane instead turned and awarded the management of Raw to him. So in the space of a day the most important Undertaker match in WWE history was deemed useless by the booking of WWE, Shane had as a matter of fact got what he wanted and was running Raw. The audience once more went wild for this announcement, the couldn’t believe that Shane McMahon was running Raw, new ideas and fresh scenarios were bound to be created. So that evening fresh matches and new scenarios were created, new talent from NXT debut, things it seemed were different. Then this past Monday due to popular demand Shane returned to Raw once more to manage the booking, and this is where my issues comes.
From the very start I was dead set against the Vince/Shane/Undertaker story-line, it made very little sense and even the participants seemed unwilling. I truly believe Shane was asked back by WWE to attempt to quash the hostile reception WWE receives from pushing unworthy talent. In 2014 WWE had the ‘Yes Movement’ which took over and saved what would had been a very mediocre Wrestlemania 30, two years later and WWE were in the same dilemma, but in 2016 they didn’t have anyone to save the day. So Shane returned to try and foil the Authority and take over Raw, because Raw is more important and Smackdown doesn’t need help. To stop Shane’s movement Vince scheduled a match at Wrestlemania 32 between Shane and The Undertaker, it was to take place in the Hell in a Cell and we all know by now the outcome. Undertaker was victorious and order was restored to WWE, Vince was still in charge. The Raw after Mania however is always a different animal, that night WWE anticipated the reception they would receive and therefore installed Shane as the ‘General Manager’. The announcement went down amazingly well, people seem to really warm to Shane, they enjoy his presence it seems.
For me it’s all a smokescreen, it is though one of the best business moves Vince has ever made, he saw how mediocre Wrestlemania 32 was looking and he flipped the script. Shane will promise this, Shane will change that, new talent will get pushed, new ideas and feuds will happen……all seems rather nice. The new ideas, the feuds, pushes etc all come from Vince, without him AJ wouldn’t be No1 contender, the NXT talent would not have debut and many of the changes would not have happened. Vince is a businessman, for nearly 40 years Vince has adapted to business and social changes and moved his business forward. Shane McMahon is a great story-line, it has worked amazingly well with the live audience and on social media. I don’t accept it, Vince is a master at deception and business and he understands how the world works. Like all wrestling angles, feuds, moments, how long will the Shane McMahon affect work? When will people get tired and want something extra, even with the changes of late is it all positive, were the NXT call ups really the best they could do? On the Monday after Mania where was Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Bayley.
Yes WWE has evolved a little since before Wrestlemania, new talent has been added and new feuds created, but really when you dig a little deeper is it really all that different? What will WWE look like when the Shane McMahon affect wears off?
@Ciaran_1986
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