HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
OWW Wrestler of the Week: Shane McMahon
Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, honors the first fourth generation wrestling personality in the business. Shane O’Mac returned on Monday to exact revenge for the attack on his father, Vince, by Randy Orton.
The wrestling world is filled with second and third generation wrestling personalities. The Samoans, Von Erichs, Harts, Guerreros and Orton are all presenting third generation family members. Only one family has a fourth (and fifth) generation member, The McMahons. On Monday Night Raw, Shane McMahon returned to the ring to kick the stuffing out of Randy Orton. Orton had attacked Vince McMahon, one week earlier. Shane McMahon is this week’s OWW: Wrestler of the Week.
Privileged Youth
Shane Brandon McMahon was born on January 15, 1970. Shane grew up in Greenwich, CT, home base for the WWE. After high school, Shane went to college in Rhode Island, where he studied Media and Marketing. His curriculum was set so that he could help his father expand the then-WWF into a media dynamo.
Between semesters and on breaks, Shane worked for the WWF as a ref. Shane was re-christened Shane Stevens, to avoid cries of nepotism. Shane also began to work with the marketing teams and production teams to get some on-the-job training. Shane moved from Rhode Island to finish his education at Boston University. After graduating in 1993, Shane went to work, backstage, working hand-in-hand with the marketing and media departments. Shane also made a few cameo appearances, usually as an unnamed official for the WWF.
The Arrival of Shane O’Mac
After 5 years working mostly behind the scenes, Vince McMahon approached his son with the idea of working with him in a storyline against Steve Austin. Shane jumped at the chance. Shane was placed in an on-air announcing role with Jim Cornette on Heat. Shane would leave that position to antagonize his father. Shane drafted Austin to join him in an alliance against Vince and the Corporation. It was all a trick, as Shane joined his father in a double swerve storyline. Shane became a key player in the Corporation, becoming the unofficial Second in Command.
Shane McMahon transformed from the spoiled, rich kid to a legit wrestler. Shane’s first taste of gold came with a victory over Sean X-Pac Waltman for the European Title. During this time, Shane began to associate with three alleged childhood friends, Pete Gas, Joey Abs and Rodney formed the Mean Street Posse. The trio were some of the worst jobbers on record. (read any Mick Foley book if you want proof). Shane was dubbed Shane O’Mac by his buddies. That name has stuck until this day.
Shane would spend most of 1999 and 2000 going back and forth between heel and face. He both feuded with and aligned himself with his father on several occasions. Shane helped the Big Show against fan favorite, The Rock. Shane would also win his second title, the Hardcore title, from Steve Blackman during this time. Shane had major help from Edge and Christian to get the job done. As 2001 rolled around, the world of wrestling was in for one shock after another. Shane was right at the heart of all of them.
The Alliance
For years, WCW and WWF/E had battled in the infamous Monday Night Wars. By 2001, WCW was in deep trouble, financially. AOL/Time Warner, who owned WCW, demanded that the money-losing group be sold. Several groups, including one headed by Eric Bischoff, bid on the organization. In the end, Vince McMahon took possession of the talent, video library and all other assets of WCW. Vince wanted to make a big impact with the history-making acquisition. Shane was called up to make it one of the biggest storylines of the century.
Vince began a huge campaign to force Ted Turner, owner of WCW, to come to Wrestlemania X-Seven to sign the final contract to sell WCW to Vince. When that idea was scrapped, Shane was brought in to help Vince save face. Shane showed up on the final episode of Monday Nitro. He surprised the entire wrestling world by claiming that he had snuck in the back door and bought WCW out from under his father. That led to a massive Father v Son battle at Wrestlemania X-Seven. The Hardcore Match ended when Linda McMahon snapped out of her vegetative state to blast her Storyline Cheating Spouse, Vince, in the skull with a garbage can. Shane then hit his Coast to Coast (Van Terminator) Dropkick to end the match.
After a brief feud with The Big Show, Shane got involved with Kurt Angle. They had several confrontations before their biggest match at King of the Ring. Their battle was so brutal that several clips were included in the WWF’s Don’t Try This at Home video piece that was on all video releases. In one move, Kurt was supposed to hit a Belly to Belly Suplex on Shane. Shane was supposed to go through the glass panel with the King of the Ring logo on it. The problem was, the glass didn’t break. In an interview on the DVD release, Shane mentioned that after he struck his head on the concrete floor, he begged Kurt to throw him again. Shane said he wanted the glass stunt to work and didn’t care that he was injured (later diagnosed as a concussion). Kurt sent Shane through the panel, which rained glass down onto Shane. Shane wanted to make a further impact, so he asked Kurt to Belly to Belly him through the next glass panel. After two attempts, the second glass shattered. After the match, both men were legitimately injured. Kurt cracked his tailbone, though the injury wasn’t as severe as originally thought.
After that match, Shane moved to a leadership role. He became the figurehead leader of the Alliance. The Alliance was composed of various wrestlers that had worked for ECW and WCW, before they were merged with the WWF. the storyline was that the McMahon children (Shane and Stephanie) were determined to run their father out of business. Shane owned WCW and Stephanie owned ECW. They combined forces to make life tough for those loyal to Vince. The storyline came to an end at Survivor Series where Team WWF (Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, The Rock and Chris Jericho) trounced Team Alliance (Shane, Steve Austin, Booker T, Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam). Shane then disappeared from WWF TV, making only a few brief appearance over the next couple of years.
The Protective Son
At Wrestlemania XIX, Shane returned to check on his father after he was destroyed by Hulk Hogan. Shane then came to the aid of his mother, Linda, after Eric Bischoff insulted her. Shane thrashed Eric in a Street Fight at Summerslam. Shane also feuded with Kane, after The Big Red Machine delivered a Tombstone Piledriver to Linda. Kane dominated the matches with Shane. Shane left the on-screen WWF, soon after, to dedicate himself to his new family and to the business. Shane would make occasional appearance over the next few months.
The Rise of the McMahons
Shane returned in 2006 to help his father in his war with Shawn Michaels. Shane and Shawn squared off in several matches. In a visual slap-to-the-face to both Shawn and Bret Hart, Shane locked Shawn in the Sharpshooter. Much like the infamous Montreal Screwjob, Vince called for the bell before Shawn had submitted. Triple H came to the aid of the D-Generation X ally and a D-X v McMahon war was ignited.
Vince McMahon pushed the envelope just a little too far when he declared himself Superior to God. Shane looked on with a mix of confusion and amusement as Vince paraded around in an abandoned church and challenged Shawn and God to battle Shane and Vince. Shawn and God lost to the McMahons at Backlash, thanks to the help of the Spirit Squad. The male cheerleader quintet, Big Show and the McMahons continued to feud with Shawn Michaels and Triple H. The reformed D-X made life Hell for all parties. The McMahons were doused in manure on one episode of Raw. The Spirit Squad got an emerald slime bath on another episode.
The D-X v McMahon feud came to an end, sort of, in a Hell in a Cell match at Unforgiven. Shane was slightly injured when Shawn Michaels dropped an elbow onto a chair, which was wrapped around Shane’s neck. Shane took some time away from the ring wars, and mostly worked segments with his father, between matches.
At Wrestlemania 23, Vince McMahon was shaved bald due to his proxy, Umaga, losing to Donald Trump’s proxy, Bobby Lashley. Shane rejoined the ring wars to exact revenge on the Ebony Juggernaut. This led to Shane losing an ECW title match to Lashley on an episode of ECW on Sci-Fi. At Backlash, Shane joined his father and Umaga to battle Lashley for the ECW strap. After Shane and Umaga had trashed Lashley, Vince took the pin to become the new ECW champ.
Shane’s last run with the WWE, until recently, came as he aided his alleged illegitimate half-brother, Hornswoggle, to the ring to battle The Great Khali. Shane tired of the on-screen role and decided to move behind the scenes for the next year or so.
The McMahonlings arise
In June 2008, Vince was injured in a staged incident on Raw. The children, Shane and Stephanie, spear-headed the investigation of the attack. The uproar of the fans, due to the similarity of the faked death of Vince, a year earlier, caused the storyline to be written out, quickly. Shane announced that Raw would be run by Mike Adamle. This decision was widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in WWE history. (Although, I actually thought he did a decent job). After putting Adamle in charge, Shane disappeared again.
When Stephanie McMahon stepped in, after Adamle’s dismissal, the two McMahon children aka the McMahonlings, had a disagreement about how things should be run. Shane got a couple of shots in at his sister about her relationship with a wrestler (Triple H, her real-life husband). Stephanie told Shane to go back to corporate headquarters and she’d run Raw. He returned to Greenwich, but wouldn’t stay there long.
The week before the Royal Rumble, Randy Orton attacked a returning Vince McMahon. Orton kicked Vince in the head and the Chairman was carted out on a stretcher. It was later announced that Vince had a concussion and other non-specified injuries. On the Raw after Royal Rumble, Randy trotted out his lawyers and therapists to announce he had IED, which is a legit psychological disorder. While the disorder is legit, the diagnosis of Randy having it is questionable. Randy threatened to sue the WWE and the McMahons if he was fired for his attack on Vince. He also said he’d shut down Wrestlemania XXV if he wasn’t in the main event, as promised by his Royal Rumble win. Stephanie grinned as she said “Firing would be too easy for you. WE have other ideas.” At that point, Shane McMahon walked from the back and removed his jacket and entered the ring. He attacked Orton, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase (Jr.). The Legacy trio bailed out of the ring and ran for their lives. Shane chased Orton up the ramp and pounded on him. The other wrestlers tried to pull Shane off Randy, but he just punched them away and refocused his attack on Orton. Shane is set to get revenge for the attack on his father, the old-fashioned way.
In Conclusion:
Shane McMahon is a fourth-generation star that will likely square off against Randy Orton in the near future. A battle at No Way Out is possible. A main event battle between Shane and Randy might even occur at Wrestlemania 25. The wording of the contract for Randy is somewhat vague. The announcers have claimed that he will be in the main event at Wrestlemania. They have also claimed he would get a title shot. It’s unclear just how the wording is on the contract. If he is only guaranteed a main event match at Wrestlemania, he could battle Shane. If he’s sure to get a title shot, the battle might be postponed until Backlash. The one thing that’s clear as crystal is that Shane McMahon is back and he’s ready to wage war against Randy Orton. For his years of work both in-front and behind-the-scenes, as well as his active return, this week, Shane McMahon is this week’s OWW: Wrestler of the Week.
–Jay Shannon
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(2/2/2009)