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When Wade Keller of Pro Wrestling Torch, took to his company's VIP Audio Show, he provided some interesting insight on the relationships within the McMahon family, especially since Vince retired from his WWE position. While much has been said about Vince and his many scandals that ultimately led to his retirement, there is also the question of his daughter, Stephanie, and his son, Shane, and how they have been affected by this changing of the guard.
Well, though both were actually out of the company earlier this year, Stephanie has since been given a Co-CEO position, and Shane, well, Shane might actually stay on the shelf, at least according to Keller, as transcribed by Wrestling News:
“I'm told Stephanie definitely has ideas. This is a job she has coveted since she was barely a teenager, maybe a preteen. I've told the story quite a bit over the years [about] Stephanie, and Jerry Jarrett told me the story on record that he was having dinner with the McMahon's and either he or someone at the table said, ‘Shane, you know, someday you're going to be running the company like your dad.' And Stephanie was years younger than Shane, established her Alpha attitude. She jumped in and said, ‘Uh uh, daddy's little girl is going to be the one running the show someday not Shane.' That rivalry has been there. The divide between those two, I'm told, is still there. And there is no reconciliation or power sibling team expected.”
Yikes, given the sheer enormity of Vince's role within the company and wrestling as a whole, perhaps a brewing power struggle in his absence was to be expected.
Shane McMahon may have lost the sibling war for WWE.
Now, Shane McMahon definitely did not leave WWE on the best of terms. His last appearance was in the 2022 Royal Rumble, an appearance which generated a lot of heat backstage. Fightful Select reported that Shane-O-Mac was being “unprofessional,” trying to make creative changes to the Rumble that only added confusion to an already confusing multi-man match. His angering of Brock Lesnar, a wrestler with a big name who WWE wants to keep on the best possible terms with, was reportedly “the end of the line” for the son of Vince.
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In fact, Vince was quoted as saying that Shane “would never get another pop in this company as long as I'm around,” which, while Vince is indeed no longer around, the aforementioned rivalry with Stephanie seems to suggest that his fortunes won't change anytime soon under the new management.
Interestingly, Stephanie also left the company earlier this year, deciding to take an indefinite leave of absence, stating via her Twitter:
“As of tomorrow, I am taking a leave of absence from the majority of my responsibilities at WWE. WWE is a lifelong legacy for me and I look forward to returning to the company that I love after taking this time to focus on my family.”
While this was a voluntary leave as opposed to being practically disowned by Vince, there were still some rumblings of bad feelings among her former co-workers about her exit. However, this was obviously not enough for her to be gone forever, and her fellow Co-CEO is none other than the person who filled in for her while she was gone, Nick Khan.
In wrestling, very few things are forever. Wrestlers come back, storylines come back, and the industry loves its nostalgia and legacy players. There is always a chance that Shane returns in some capacity in the future to WWE, heck, even Vince himself might show up again at some point. Let's just hope it's not in a creative position, and let's hope it's not a revival of RAW Underground.
