WWE News: Shane McMahon Leaving WWE After ‘WrestleMania 32’?
Shane McMahon made his shocking return to WWE on Monday’s RAW after being away from the company for a little over six years. It looked like some real-life drama was playing out right before our eyes upon his return, and some were hopeful that Shane’s return would involve more than just an on-camera role. However, it looks like that won’t be the case.
On Thursday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed exactly what Shane McMahon’s role in WWE will be going forward, saying that the plan, as of this moment, is that Shane will be a television character up until WrestleMania, which suggests that he will be losing his match against The Undertaker.
There were also some ideas being thrown around that Shane actually wouldn’t wrestle The Undertaker, and that he would bring in someone like Goldberg or Kurt Angle to wrestle the match for him. But, according to Meltzer, that’s not going to happen. Shane will actually wrestle The Undertaker at AT&T Stadium this coming April.
“Shane McMahon is in as a performer until WrestleMania. That’s the story. It can change, but that’s what it is right now. He’s wrestling – it’s not like he’s a surrogate and he’s going to call-in Kurt Angle or Bill Goldberg, or any of these crazy stories going around.”
There will be many disappointed WWE fans if Shane does end up losing to Undertaker at WrestleMania, because people have been begging for a new on-screen authority figure for well over a year now.
Some have suggested that Shane will actually win the match, but it will be because Undertaker allows him to. Basically, Undertaker will just lay down and lose on purpose for the good of the company.
It appears that Shane is taking his match with Undertaker extremely seriously, as WWE.com reports that Shane-O Mac is training with Phil Nurse, who has previously worked with former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
Post workout stretch with my Muay Thai coach, the Trainer of Champions @AjarnPhilNurse @WATNYC #WorkingHard pic.twitter.com/et2iJIjEoh
— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) February 24, 2016
The match between Shane and Undertaker will likely involve plenty of smoking mirrors, as well as some outside interference. According to Dave Meltzer, both Mick Foley and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin will be doing something on the show, and considering both Foley and Austin’s history with the McMahon’s, we could see one or both of them get involved in the match.
Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer suggested that we may see the return of the Mean Street Posse at WrestleMania 32, which would be quite a surprise.
It's OFFICIAL! #ShaneMcMahon vs. #Undertaker inside #HellInACell at @WrestleMania! #RAW pic.twitter.com/Fwkem3I86S
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) February 23, 2016
Apparently, the deal between WWE and Shane McMahon was made several weeks ago, which would explain why we started hearing that Undertaker’s WrestleMania opponent would be someone who wasn’t on the WWE roster at the moment. Of course, no one ever expected that “The Deadman’s” opponent would turn out to be Shane McMahon, or that the stipulation of the match would be what it turned out to be.
If Shane does end up beating Undertaker, then there is some talk of having another brand-split, where Shane would run Monday Night RAW, and Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would presumably run Thursday night’s SmackDown. It’s not a bad idea, but it doesn’t seem likely, mostly because of the depth issues on WWE’s main roster.
Meltzer saying that Shane McMahon is only scheduled to be on WWE television until WrestleMania 32 suggests that he won’t be winning his Hell in a Cell match against Undertaker, and that he’ll be out of the company following the event.
[Image via WWE]
