Shane McMahon, son of Vince, should have no business being part of matches in the WWE.
And yet he is. He has put on some amazing matches over the years. Sure, he may not be the best in the world – despite what he may make the ring announcer say – but he has a number of great matches under his belt that would put even a full-time performer to shame. He has also been part of major storylines and he delivered. Sometimes you don’t have to be the most proficient wrestler to be entertaining.
In this list, we are going to take a look back at five of Shane McMahon’s best matches of his career.
5. Shane McMahon Vs. Randy Orton – No Way Out 2009
In 2009, Randy Orton was involved in a feud with the McMahons which also included a match between The Viper and Shane. The match was of course a no disqualification match and the kendo stick saw a lot of use. After around twenty minutes, Orton was able to win the match with an RKO. Orton was left bloody after the brutal match, but Shane took a lot of damage too. This short feud with Shane between the main storyline of Orton vs Triple H was not very warmly received, but if you remove all of that and look purely at the match – it was Shane McMahon at his best.
4. Shane McMahon Vs. Kane – Unforgiven 2003
Not too long after Kane unmasked himself and went into a frenzy, he met Shane McMahon in the ring when he tombstoned Linda McMahon a few weeks prior. They had a Last Man Standing match, which saw a lot of senseless beatings. The match of course went out of the ring, and on to the backstage area and even the parking lot. Just to avenge his mother, Shane went all out. Shane attempted a Leap of Faith from top of the titantron but Kane moved and McMahon went through the floor, and was knocked out. Kane was therefore declared the winner but this match solidified Shane’s high risk style to the audiences.
3. Shane McMahon Vs. Vince McMahon – WrestleMania X-Seven
Like I said before, you don’t have to the greatest wrestler in the world to put on an entertaining match. The McMahons seem to know that, and they proved it when the father and son faced each other at WrestleMania 17 in a Street Fight match with Mick Foley as the special guest referee. Shane, with his youth, dominated the earlier part of the match and used a number of weapons like the kendo stick and even the monitors from the Spanish commentary table. Lots of things happened in between which involved Trish Stratus getting into a fight with Stephanie McMahon, and Linda McMahon low blowing Vince which basically allowed Shane to win the match. It’s never going to be a match like Bryan Danielson versus Zack Sabre Jr., nor did it need to be to be compelling.
2. Shane McMahon Vs. Test – SummerSlam 1999
Test and Stephanie McMahon started dating, and brother Shane didn’t approve. He thought Steph was dating “beneath family standards”. After a few confrontations, Shane challenged Test to a “Love Her or Leave Her Match” which Test agreed to. In this match, Shane started showing his true abilities for the first time. Even though he was no match for Test, he still showed a strong resolve and refused to back down easily. He was able to get a good match out of Test, and was able to get the crowd invested in too.
1. Shane McMahon Vs. Kurt Angle – King Of The Ring 2001
Of course this match was going to be here. This is without a doubt the best match of Shane’s career. Regarded as one of the most violent and highly entertaining matches of all time, this match is where Shane really shined and Angle was able to display how tough he really was. After performing in two King of the Ring tournament matches, Angle was ready to go with Shane on the same night. Of course a Street Fight match, the most notable part of the match occurred when Angle failed to deliver multiple suplexes against a plate glass window which was hard to crack, with each failure resulting in McMahon landing with a huge thud on his head and neck. But Shane still went on, despite being dropped on his head multiple times.
Shane may not be the best wrestler, but professional wrestling is more than just two dudes fighting in the ring – it involves a number of things like emotion, story, and acting. It’s a soap opera, which means you don’t really have to excel in one area to be entertaining. Shane is one of those people, who is able to carry the story and get the crowd going.
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