Here comes the money. Here comes the money!
Shane McMahon made his jaw-dropping return on Monday Night Raw for the first time since 2009. But what does this mean for the WWE going forward?
His father, Vincent K. McMahon opened the show to present the first ever Vincent J. McMahon “Legacy of Excellence” Award — one that seemed to be a legitimate honor based on the pomp and circumstance of his presentation and weeks-long build.
Once the Chairman announced the recipient as none other than his daughter, Stephanie, the WWE Universe knew an interruption was looming. But who would be so bold? Roman Reigns? The Rock?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndjafgpVStc]
After doing a little family catchup and some raw (pun intended) reality checks (ratings slumps, fickle stock prices) in his promo, Shane-O-Mac struck a deal with his father. If he wins a match at WrestleMania 32, then he will have full control of Monday Night Raw, a move Shane says is sorely needed. The only caveat is his chosen opponent: The Undertaker. And that match will be a Hell in a Cell match, the third time Satan’s Structure will rear its head at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
So let’s get into how this changes the landscape of WWE.
WWE creative must have seen the nice ratings boost Raw received when Vince returned back in December to confront Reigns after his attack his son-in-law Triple H at TLC.
After that circumstance began to flounder after too many appearances by The Boss, the only other conflict storyline against the evil Authority would be the returning Boy Wonder.
Let’s look at the de facto realities: Roman pitted against Vince was a watered-down version of Austin-McMahon. But no one can ever top that feud.
But the next best thing — even in real life is not just a worker rebelling against the boss, but the boss’s heir. The fans always wanted to see Shane feud with his father because it made for some damn good television. However, Shane was most consistently on television from the late 1990s to 2002. He made part time appearances in the following years but never against Vince.
Now, at the age of 46, Shane has journeyed the world and created his own legacy. For those of you who thought Shane was still involved with the WWE, he is not.
He announced his resignation in 2010 and went on the become CEO of the multi-platform entertainment service company You On Demand (the first VOD and pay-per-view service in China) in late-2010.
But this six-year sabbatical is perfect for this storyline. As Shane stated Monday in Detroit, he is no longer beholden to his father. Therefore, this plays on the classic father-son rivalry, one that Shane is finally ready for.
Shane earned the respect of fans over the years for putting his body on the line in some classic PPV matches, most infamously delivering a elbow drop off the Titantron to Big Show at Backlash 2001. Although we won’t be seeing him deliver one of those, a Coast-to-Coast may be in Undertaker (or Vince’s) future.
This is just a side note, but isn’t it ironic that Vince chose the Undertaker, who happens to be a person deserving of the Legacy of Excellence Award.
If Shane wins at WrestleMania in Dallas, Texas on April 3, he will take control of Raw. This is a sorely needed change of power that we thought we would be seeing when John Cena (really, Dolph Ziggler) ousted the Authority at Survivor Series 2014. But the Principal Owner and COO reappeared less than a month later due to Seth Rollins’ taking the initiative.
Shane could return Raw to the era of a proper General Manager. And it would be the first time in a long time that a face was in charge of the show. Or maybe a Brand Extension is in WWE’s future, especially considering NXT’s rising status and the new cruiserweight division program coming to the WWE Network.
Although, Shane-O-Mac is back onscreen, it’s unclear whether he is back with the company. Most likely, he is back to give WWE a boost booking for the biggest WrestleMania in history. And based off of the crowd’s reaction in Detroit and the countless approvals across social media, this match definitely erased the humdrum memories of Sunday night’s Fastlane PPV and raised the stock of April’s event.
The Phenom will make his return to Raw next week to address how he fits into the McMahon power struggle. The 22-1 WrestleMania star is no stranger to working for Shane or Vince.
One thing we know for sure: the Road to WrestleMania just got a lot more interesting.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5LVb3UtD3Q]
What a night. Thank you Detroit for that incredible welcome. It’s great to be back. pic.twitter.com/l1TFbZMXiP
— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) February 23, 2016
NOTES: In classic 2016 style, Shane broke kayfabe at the end of show and thanked fans in Detroit as well as on Twitter for the warm welcome back. Of course, this sort of thing would of happened at anytime in history but WWE.com released the video after the show.