Nine years ago today, Shane McMahon made a spectacular WWE comeback by facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36. He has since been released from his father’s former company.
After an absence of six years, Shane McMahon returned to WWE – and challenged the Undertaker to a Hell in a Cell Match at WrestleMania 32. With this completely unexpected turn of events, the world’s largest wrestling league surprised its fans in February 2016 – most of them positively, judging by the numerous, mostly euphoric reactions.
Nine years ago today, the surprise comeback of “Shane-O-Mac” culminated in one of the most memorable stunts in the history of the megashow. But even the scheduling of the match was a sensation at the time.
Real family dispute between Vince and Shane McMahon
The story that the WWE told in front of the cameras: The son of company boss Vince McMahon, born on January 15, 1970, returned because he felt WWE was in a state of disrepair as a result of his sister Stephanie. He demanded to regain his power and control over the Monday Night RAW show. His father Vince gave him a chance – on the condition that he beat The Taker at WrestleMania.
The match filled the gap left by John Cena’s serious injury. Cena was actually supposed to face The Undertaker, but it wasn’t until two years later at WrestleMania 34 that he got the chance.
What made the Undertaker-Shane match interesting are real events behind the fiction: In fact, six and a half years earlier, Vince McMahon had made it clear to Shane that Stephanie and her husband Paul Levesque (Triple H) and not he would take over the family business.
Shane then resigned from his position as Vice President, left the company and devoted himself to other business projects.
Shane-O-Mac with a crazy stunt at WrestleMania 32
Six years later, although nothing had changed in the balance of power, father and son McMahon agreed to make a comeback to the ring to follow up Shane’s successes in front of the camera. Although the McMahon son is not a trained wrestler, he has been in the ring time and again and earned great popularity in the legendary Attitude Era, especially through his spectacular stunt performances.
In the WrestleMania match – additionally fueled by the clause that the Undertaker would have to end his career if he lost – the then 46-year-old Shane surpassed himself: He jumped from the roof of the cage around six meters into the depth onto the Taker, who avoided him, crashed through a commentator’s desk and then defeated him.
Shane’s fall was cushioned by air cushions hidden under the desk, and thus ultimately less dangerous than, for example, Mick Foley’s legendary fall from the cage roof into the ring. Nevertheless, Shane’s stunt was also a (calculated) risk.
Shane again left out in WWE
Shane McMahon remained present in WWE programming for years after his comeback, repeatedly competing in major matches that were usually characterized by more or less major stunt interludes. However, his return also ended in discord: in early 2022, Shane was booted out after he had recently caused chaos and irritation in the planning and implementation of the Royal Rumble. Another surprise comeback at WrestleMania 2023 ended with a serious injury. Since then, “Shane-O-Mac” has not been seen on WWE, even after his father’s retirement amid serious scandal allegations, he is no longer on the agenda of the new management. Most recently, a failed exploration of a possible move to competitor AEW made headlines. The Undertaker continued his career for a while longer, only retiring for good in 2022 after his last WrestleMania match against AJ Styles.
