After a nearly seven year absence from WWE television, Shane McMahon made what can only be described as a triumphant return to Raw last Monday in Detroit. As overexposed as the McMahon clan has been, the Boy Wonder (and the thunderous ovation he received) proves that absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. In one night, WWE succeeded in adding genuine intrigue to what had been shaping up as a ho-hum WrestleMania card. If Shane hopes to take control of Monday Night Raw, all he needs to do is defeat The Undertaker inside “Hell in a Cell”. Easy enough, no?
Shane was always the one McMahon I never got tired of seeing. While I would argue that Mister McMahon is the greatest villain the company has ever produced, there have been many times where he has overstayed his welcome. His return to TV a few months ago, albeit a desperate attempt to help make Roman look strong, got people excited largely because he had been hidden away for so long. Stephanie and Triple H, while great in their roles, would do well after WrestleMania to take the old man’s cue and disappear for a while (we are now going on THREE YEARS of this Authority nonsense). As for Linda, she always had the charisma of a wet dish rag and thankfully was limited in her roles. For someone who likely never received any formal training, Shane has turned in plenty of memorable performances over the years against the likes of Kurt Angle, Test and even his own father. I always respected him for the risks he was willing to take, however stupid they may have been.
Let me just say that I don’t believe for a second that Shane McMahon is wrestling The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Not that I would mind, it would certainly be something different, which seems to be a dirty word in WWE’s vocabulary. Nonetheless, I think what we saw was the first of several chapters in a story that will play itself out in the months (yes, months) to come. With the announcement that the dead man himself will be on Raw next week, I imagine he will be none too happy about being tasked with doing the chairman’s dirty work and may reject the match outright. This is where the idea of a surrogate wrestling on Shane’s behalf becomes more realistic, and the question then turns to who that person may be. There are several options, including a certain 15-time champion currently rehabbing from a torn rotator cuff. It’s an injury that should, in theory, keep him out of action until the summer, but John Cena has remarkable mutant healing powers, and I think it is very likely that he takes Shane’s place in an effort to help rescue Raw from the evil Authority.
You also have Sting, who we know will be present that weekend to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. It’s a match that many fans still clamor for. Others may dread it, but there is no doubting the marquee value such a match would have (once the bell rings, that’s another story). Were it not for Sting’s diagnosis of spinal stenosis, which ended the careers of both Steve Austin and Edge, and the fact that he still needs neck surgery, he would make a fine choice, but it just doesn’t seem possible. Or how about The Rock? He did tease a major role for himself at WrestleMania, though the belief is that he won’t be wrestling on the card, which would seem to disqualify him from consideration. Then again, in wrestling, it’s probably wise to never discount anything from consideration.
On my podcast back in November, in response to a listener question about a potential Shane McMahon return (hat tip to Adam from Newcastle, England), I pitched an idea that while not exactly the same, is not all that different from what we are now seeing. In my scenario, Shane would return to confront Triple H, not Vince, in an effort to reclaim his birthright and would handpick a representative to wrestle another superstar of the COO’s choosing at WrestleMania for control of the company. I thought it would be most intriguing for Shane to recruit a major name from the NXT ranks, say Finn Balor or Sami Zayn, given Triple H is something of a proud papa to all of those guys. He could then spend the next several weeks playing off his relationship with them and trying to convince them to do the right thing, or as he would say, “what’s best for business”. The end result would be a big win for the NXT star and the end of The Authority storyline, which is long past its expiration date. As things are currently set up, Demon Balor could very easily be recruited by Shane, if they wanted to go in that direction. I love the idea (just imagine the entrances), but I still believe Cena will be their choice if he can make it back in time.
I do want to look beyond WrestleMania for a moment. Many fans online are excitedly pointing to a Ticketmaster listing for an upcoming Raw in May that is being billed as “Monday Night Raw vs. WWE” as evidence that a return to a brand split is imminent. Given how stale and monotonous the show has become, Shane McMahon taking control, even if only in storyline, could give Raw a fresh feel that it so desperately needs. That being said, I believe a formal brand split, at least at the moment, would be a terrible idea. Even a decade ago, WWE never seemed to fully embrace the idea of a true brand split, and so long as the same person is in charge of running things, that is unlikely to ever change. But that’s not even the biggest problem they face. One of the biggest changes since that time has been the expansion of Monday Night Raw to three hours. At a time when the company lacks depth at the top of its roster, a roster that has been absolutely ravaged by injuries, it makes absolutely no sense to take an already depleted roster, split it in half, and then attempt to fill those same three hours every Monday night. Of course, they can always call a bunch of NXT names down to the main roster to fill those spots, but will they? Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore are most certainly ready to make the transition, as should someone like Samoa Joe, but I just don’t see them gutting the NXT brand by shifting over enough names at one time to make up that deficit.
Would a brand split help shake things up? Sure, it might. If they insist on moving ahead with the idea, they should do so IF and ONLY IF Raw is moved back to a two hour format. Believe me, the McMahons (sans Shane) are hardly the only ones suffering from overexposure, and in order for the idea to have a shot at working, it is a necessary move to make. It’s great to have Shane ‘O Mac back and I’d like to see his character be the catalyst for some exciting television post-WrestleMania.
They’ve got people talking. Don’t drop the ball.
