In Part 1 of our Post Vince McMahon speculation article we discussed what would happen if Triple H took over the WWE and how we agree with Jim Cornette in that NXT could become the new flagship show, meaning it and Raw would swap days aired.
While it’s a longshot, it does make sense and for years Triple H has been touted as the next head of WWE. But he’s not a full-blooded McMahon, and we can’t discount Vince’s son, Shane.
Under the radar
Despite everything he’s done in the ring as his father’s enemy and ally, Shane’s rarely if ever mentioned as the successor to his father’s throne.
Back in 2001, it was believed that he’d take over running WCW as plans leaked it would be run as a separate company after Vince bought it. But those plans fell through due to some legalities, so the WCW talent was added to WWE and Shane joined his sister, Stephanie, as co-heads of the opposition in the much-maligned Invasion storyline.
Shane’s also showed a lot of heart by taking death defying risk after risk in the ring for the sake of the show, and his uncanny athleticism helped make him a fan favorite, both to cheer and to boo.
But he’s always flying under the radar as the future head of the WWE, and there could be a reason.
Disagreements with the family
He’s walked away to do his own thing at least once, and it was said to be because he had issues with his father viewing Triple H and Stephanie as heirs to the WWE throne and having Vince overlook his ideas and decided to try his own thing. This relationship really muddies the water for a post Vince McMahon era with Shane in charge.
Sure, he came back and became an on-air talent again, but in many ways, and this is just speculation on my part, he seems to have a different approach that Vince. This isn’t surprising as Vince looked at the business differently than his father, and had to keep things on the down low until he purchased 100% of the company.
So, it’s reasonable to expect Shane to be like his father in that regard. The question is, would those differences keep him from taking his place on the throne?
Like his father, Shane is a visionary. In the mid 2000s, he wanted to revive ECW as an online only developmental brand so it wouldn’t be subject to networks dictating what they could and couldn’t do. In effect, it was NXT before NXT.
According to talksport.com, Shane had told Steve Austin:
“Triple H has done a great job with a whole cast of guys and are building that territory, Dusty Rhodes prior to him and Paul [Triple H] has taken it to a whole new level. Part of that was originally what we wanted ECW to be when we first purchased it.
“We wrote the business plan for ECW just to be that that Triple-A system because we needed guys, whether it is coming up or coming down. You’ll have certain guys that are going to peak, but can’t stay at the peak forever. So as they are coming down, they start taking some of that knowledge, take a kid and educate them.”
Unfortunately, Vince was attracted to the money the networks threw at him for ECW, and the brand didn’t last very long or have the success he expected.
In 2009, Shane wanted to purchase UFC as it was still growing back then and Shane envisioned it running along the lines of the WWE with weekly shows and matches, but Vince declined.
It’d be awesome to see what other ideas he has that could shape the business, but sadly we’ll probably never know. As Jim Ross explained, Shane was never an heir apparent because Vince wants someone like him to take over, and Stephanie is more like him while Shane is more like Vince’s wife, Linda.
With the WWE empire currently crumbling piece by piece, they could use someone like Shane that can think ahead and see the big picture.
While we’ve seen glimpses into what he can offer, it’s not enough to form a true idea of what a post Vince McMahon era would be with Shane at the helm. Sadly, while he could reinvigorate the company, he probably won’t get his chance to. After all, he’s not enough like Vince.
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