Ever since Shane McMahon made his triumphant return to the WWE back in February, the rumor mill has been running wild. Once the initial shock and awe wore off from the announcement that he’d be facing the Undertaker at WrestleMania inside Hell in a Cell for control of Monday Night RAW , the speculation turned to whether Shane would have a role on camera, backstage, or both once the match concluded. Clearly, if Shane wins on Sunday, we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in WWE going forward.
Shane’s shocking return also prompted many to wonder if he’d be assuming a managerial role, as well. Earlier this month, the Inquisitr reported that Shane’s arrival sparked a backstage power struggle between Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie, and Shane himself. The prodigal son’s comeback initially caused major drama within WWE, with speculation that Vince would play Shane against his daughter, Stephanie, and son-in-law Triple H if Shane decides to take, or is offered, a full-time executive role. At the time, Vince did not want to appear as an out-of-touch head honcho being forced out by his eventual successors.
Now, the tension appears to have gotten worse. Daily Wrestling News is reporting that Vince and Triple H had vastly different views on Shane’s role and value at WWE’s biggest pay-per-view extravaganza in Dallas. While Vince pushed for Shane to be the one to face the Undertaker, Triple H thought he wasn’t a viable opponent for the Deadman. Not only that, but The Game downplayed Shane’s overall relevance to the WWE, and questioned whether or not he would make any impact at all.
To make matters worse within the WWE hierarchy, Vince has felt some pressure to name a successor to the company sooner than later. With Shane back in the fold (for however long that may be) Vince is able to use his son as leverage against Triple H and Stephanie, who’ve operated under the assumption that they would be taking over once Vince steps down. Mr. McMahon would prefer if they didn’t take anything for granted. But, not only does the outcome of Shane’s match with the Undertaker have significant storyline implications, but it could determine what happens behind the scenes, as well.
If it were up to the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Shane’s time would be up after WrestleMania. Hunter doesn’t want Shane involved backstage, let alone in front of the camera involved in any angles come next week. If you’ve noticed, WWE has kept Shane and Triple H separated on television. Only Stephanie has intertwined between the two angles. There was a line during a Dean Ambrose segment in which the Lunatic Fringe asked HHH if he liked Shane. That was a directive from Vince, and one that irked Triple H, and caught him off guard.
To add further fuel to this fire, Vince wanted Triple H (and anyone else) to do all they could to book The Rock into a match at WrestleMania . When it became apparent that wouldn’t be a possibility, Triple H tried to assure Vince that the Rock would deliver the goods no matter the role he played. This led to the decision of putting the WWE World Heavyweight Championship around Hunter’s waist, but Vince still felt that the company let him down by not getting The Rock to wrestle. Granted, that decision might not have been WWE’s or The Rock’s to make anyway.
Earlier reports suggested Vince and Triple H have been at odds as to what match will close out the show on Sunday. Does the outcome of one match affect the other? We’re going to find out a lot about the impending direction of WWE on Sunday — both on television and behind the scenes.
[Image via WWE]
