Shane McMahon returns to WWE

[BigBadMick]

Just to mention that I totally get why Shane would get a huge reaction.

 

I'm trying to think of an equivalent, but struggling. Unique set of circumstances. Like gone long enough and out of the blue enough that it's a genuine surprise, and enough positive feelings towards the guy that people are genuinely happy to see him.

 

Mr. Perfect got quite a big reaction when he appeared at that Rumble in 2002, I mean they botched the run, but he got a big reaction. Closest one I can think of.

Jake Roberts at Rumble '96 maybe?

[jcmmnx]

I think part of the response for Shane was "this is who we want running the show instead of the current regime giving us this shit product".

[SteveJRogers]

People who had Geocities pages with names like SuckIt316 who later used terms like IWC. Those are the Shane-o-Maniacs.

 

Gotta love the elitist attitude.

 

While I don't disagree that the "trying way too hard to be a smart mark" crowd would gravitate to Shane's return to an onscreen role, especially if they choose to believe a tin foil theory that Shane was turfed out of his rightful place in a "hostile takeover" by Paul Levesque* I do think that the response it a lot closer to "HOLY SHIT A CHARACTER WE THOUGHT WE'D NEVER SEE AGAIN IS BACK" more than any kind of belief that Shane McMahon will be an onscreen breath of fresh air alternative to Triple H/Steph/Vince.

 

Hell Vince got the same response until he turned heel following TLC.

 

 

*Johnny Sorrow (IIRC) noted in a thread that in the footage of Arnold Skoaaland's HOF speech, Arnold's mentioning of Shane being the future of the WWF, that Johnny could sense Shane rolling his eyes at that, probably meaning that Shane never really wanted the behind the scenes booking and likewise jobs that Triple H and Steph craved.

[SteveJRogers]

Just to mention that I totally get why Shane would get a huge reaction.

 

I'm trying to think of an equivalent, but struggling. Unique set of circumstances. Like gone long enough and out of the blue enough that it's a genuine surprise, and enough positive feelings towards the guy that people are genuinely happy to see him.

 

Mr. Perfect got quite a big reaction when he appeared at that Rumble in 2002, I mean they botched the run, but he got a big reaction. Closest one I can think of.

 

Though Flair gets none of the "we don't want to ever see you again" heat that the collective McMahon family get, probably Ric Flair after the 2001 Survivor Series. Hell that was my first thought while watching Steph start her "acceptance speech" that it was the same setup as Vince telling Angle "As the SOLE OWNER of the WWF..."

[Grimmas]

 

People who had Geocities pages with names like SuckIt316 who later used terms like IWC. Those are the Shane-o-Maniacs.

 

Gotta love the elitist attitude.

 

While I don't disagree that the "trying way too hard to be a smart mark" crowd would gravitate to Shane's return to an onscreen role, especially if they choose to believe a tin foil theory that Shane was turfed out of his rightful place in a "hostile takeover" by Paul Levesque* I do think that the response it a lot closer to "HOLY SHIT A CHARACTER WE THOUGHT WE'D NEVER SEE AGAIN IS BACK" more than any kind of belief that Shane McMahon will be an onscreen breath of fresh air alternative to Triple H/Steph/Vince.

 

Hell Vince got the same response until he turned heel following TLC.

 

 

*Johnny Sorrow (IIRC) noted in a thread that in the footage of Arnold Skoaaland's HOF speech, Arnold's mentioning of Shane being the future of the WWF, that Johnny could sense Shane rolling his eyes at that, probably meaning that Shane never really wanted the behind the scenes booking and likewise jobs that Triple H and Steph craved.

 

I don't know about that. Shane was ready to run ECW by himself with Heyman as his project, until Vince stepped in and took it away. I think that was the end of Shane wanting it.

[Jingus]

There's lots of different reasons why the audience popped so hard for Shane, and several of 'em have been mentioned here. But I think some of you are underestimating the sheer popularity of his character among the casual fans. Go back and watch that segment from the Raw in 2005 when they moved back to the USA Network, when Austin stunned the entire McMahon family all in a row. All four McMahons got separate entrances, and Shane's received the biggest reaction by far out of all of them. And some of you are underestimating just how integral a part he was to a lot of the big storylines during the WWE's hottest business years. He was the defacto leader of the Alliance throughout the whole Invasion storyline, he fought Vince at Wrestlemania. He's been in either the main event or a world title match on eight different PPVs, and he was one of the tiny number of guys in the exclusive "I wrestled in the Cell before it was a yearly gimmick show" club. He was a strongly-featured member of the roster in their super-boom period from 1999-2001 which a ton of casual fans still think of as the company's best era. His matches generally got very favorable crowd reactions, I don't remember a Shane match where the crowd either sat on their hands or rebelled against the product they were being fed. And after his absence has made the heart grow fonder (especially after years of a storyline about Stephhh's leadership has wrecked the entire company), why wouldn't you expect a great reaction for his unexpected return?

[SteveJRogers]

 

 

People who had Geocities pages with names like SuckIt316 who later used terms like IWC. Those are the Shane-o-Maniacs.

 

Gotta love the elitist attitude.

 

While I don't disagree that the "trying way too hard to be a smart mark" crowd would gravitate to Shane's return to an onscreen role, especially if they choose to believe a tin foil theory that Shane was turfed out of his rightful place in a "hostile takeover" by Paul Levesque* I do think that the response it a lot closer to "HOLY SHIT A CHARACTER WE THOUGHT WE'D NEVER SEE AGAIN IS BACK" more than any kind of belief that Shane McMahon will be an onscreen breath of fresh air alternative to Triple H/Steph/Vince.

 

Hell Vince got the same response until he turned heel following TLC.

 

 

*Johnny Sorrow (IIRC) noted in a thread that in the footage of Arnold Skoaaland's HOF speech, Arnold's mentioning of Shane being the future of the WWF, that Johnny could sense Shane rolling his eyes at that, probably meaning that Shane never really wanted the behind the scenes booking and likewise jobs that Triple H and Steph craved.

 

I don't know about that. Shane was ready to run ECW by himself with Heyman as his project, until Vince stepped in and took it away. I think that was the end of Shane wanting it.

 

 

Fair enough. I guess Johnny, or whomever the poster was, was projecting over a decade's worth of future events on lines in 1995/1996.

[Strummer]

yeah that last point can't be reiterated enough. The fans are so sick of Stephanie and the Authority that they are dying for something different. Meltz mentioned that this time people will believe the stip because a McMahon is involved unlike Survivor Series 2014 where no one really bought it.

 

if they just remain status quo after mania after teasing change it's going to be a major downer

[SteveJRogers]

BTW, what was Shane's last appearance before this? Has to be at least one after his last match on the May 9th, 2009 Raw against Legacy?

 

OE: Welp, a check of Shane's Wiki page says he was kayfabe injured that night and he resigned from the company that fall, so it might as well have been.

[Loss]

 

People who had Geocities pages with names like SuckIt316 who later used terms like IWC. Those are the Shane-o-Maniacs.

 

Gotta love the elitist attitude.

 

It's true. I won't even deny it.

[Death From Above]

My Geocities page had a lime green background with black text, a picture of Hayabusa, and it was awesome.

[Strummer]

I'm genuinely surprised how many people are clamoring for another brand split. I know the idea was that it allowed the mid card workrate guys to be on one show and get time but the WWE roster is much different than it was 10-15 years ago. The roster is full of "workrate" guys that are hovering in the 50/50, upper mid card world. Plus Vince is a lot more grouchy than he was a decade ago so I doubt he lets the brands differentiate themselves from one another and leave SD alone like he at least did on occasion a decade and a half ago

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

I think if Steph stayed off TV for a long period of time, and then returned in similar fashion, as a de facto face standing up to heels who were running the family business into the ground, she would get a massive pop too. Not as big as Shane's, but Shane has more good will with the fans than Steph. But the fact is the McMahons are seen as big deal, game-changer type stars by most viewers.

[Matt D]

I'm genuinely surprised how many people are clamoring for another brand split. I know the idea was that it allowed the mid card workrate guys to be on one show and get time but the WWE roster is much different than it was 10-15 years ago. The roster is full of "workrate" guys that are hovering in the 50/50, upper mid card world. Plus Vince is a lot more grouchy than he was a decade ago so I doubt he lets the brands differentiate themselves from one another and leave SD alone like he at least did on occasion a decade and a half ago

 

I think people really want change at this point.

[Strummer]

Without a doubt but a brand split seems same old same old.

 

The Authority angle desperately needs to end at Mania

[Matt D]

I think just on the odds, a brand split feels like it should provide twice the chance for a change. At the same time, it provides twice the change for more of the same.

[Grimmas]

I think it's pretty simple. People are excited for the possibility of a brand split, simply because they are sick of the heel authority era.

[jcmmnx]

It seems to me that more new stars were created when the brand split was in place. Guys like Eddie, Cena, Punk, and Bryan were really helped by the time they got on Smackdown where they weren't in the shadow of the big stars of the time. I think it's more likely fans accept Zayn, Balor, Joe, and AJ as real stars if they aren't constantly playing second fiddle to Roman and Cena. They could also use Smackdown to rehabilitate people like Bray and Rusev.

[Loss]

People hated the brand split when it was around. It is a great thing in theory, but WWE wasn't disciplined enough to stick with doing it the right way, and there's no evidence it wouldn't run into the same problems this time around. When Punk and Bryan were champions of their respective brands and having forgotten matches against each other in the middle of random Raws, you see how much world champ vs WWE champ really meant.

 

END THE BRAND SPLIT was a rallying cry throughout the 2000s for a way to freshen up WWE. People want it back because they want WWE to freshen up, but as we've seen before, it won't work. Their institutionalized creative woes run much deeper than a brand split can alleviate, and they'd rather reshuffle their entire business model than earnestly face those problems.

[Matt D]

I think it would freshen things up in the short term. I think it also had that effect in the beginning. You suddenly had Bubba Ray Dudley or Bradshaw getting singles babyface pushes and what not.

 

As a 3 to 6 month thing, it could be a lot of fun.

[Loss]

I'm still an idealist. I would rather them take an honest look at what ails them and have the courage to really fix it. I don't care about 3-6 months of fun that is destined to end in disappointing fashion every single time. I want a better functioning WWE.

[BigBadMick]

People hated the brand split when it was around. It is a great thing in theory, but WWE wasn't disciplined enough to stick with doing it the right way, and there's no evidence it wouldn't run into the same problems this time around. When Punk and Bryan were champions of their respective brands and having forgotten matches against each other in the middle of random Raws, you see how much world champ vs WWE champ really meant.

 

END THE BRAND SPLIT was a rallying cry throughout the 2000s for a way to freshen up WWE. People want it back because they want WWE to freshen up, but as we've seen before, it won't work. Their institutionalized creative woes run much deeper than a brand split can alleviate, and they'd rather reshuffle their entire business model than earnestly face those problems.

I dunno, I thought it was effective and fairly well-enforced until about 2010 or so.

 

There's talk of a Smackdown 6 in 2009 for a reason, y'know?

[Grimmas]

It was counter productive once they each got separate titles.

[Jingus]

They struggle to fill up a 3-hour Raw with enough content now. How much harder is it gonna be to do that with only half a roster?

 

And besides, we've already got a split brand, it's called NXT.

[Coffey]

I hated the brand split & I don't want another one. I don't want to have to go out of my way to try to watch more WWE shows. The shit that matters happens on RAW, the flagship program. Nothing else matters. A brand split just means they're moving some people that I would otherwise care to watch to a show that I'm not going to watch, like Smackdown.

 

If anything, I wish they would get rid of the non-RAW shows.