Mid 20th Century
162-601: Shane Brandon McMahon ( / m ə k ˈ m æ n / mək- MAN ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler . He is best known for his tenures in WWE . The son of Vince McMahon , he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a member of the McMahon family . He began working in WWF (World Wrestling Federation, now WWE) at age 15, starting in their warehouse, where he filled merchandise orders. McMahon
324-623: A Tombstone Piledriver because she did not name him the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship . Their feud culminated in McMahon losing a Last Man Standing match at Unforgiven on September 21 and an Ambulance match at Survivor Series on November 16. After Survivor Series, McMahon left Raw to focus his attention on the executive creative staff and his new family. At WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004, McMahon appeared briefly on camera during
486-538: A No Holds Barred tag team match at Extreme Rules . Following this, McMahon re-ignited his feud with Kevin Owens , after Owens stated his distaste in McMahon's constant dominance on television and began to hit him with the Stunner on countless occasions. McMahon lost to Owens at SummerSlam where had Owens lost he would have quit WWE. McMahon later replaced an injured Elias in a semi-final match against Chad Gable for
648-641: A Title vs. Hair match which ended in Shane getting disqualified on purpose by punching the referee. After the match, Umaga, Vince, and Shane all attacked Lashley. At Backlash on April 29 in a handicap match for the ECW World Championship, Shane along with Vince and Umaga defeated Lashley for the title. Vince gained the pin making him the ECW World Champion. At Judgment Day on May 20, Lashley faced Shane, Vince, and Umaga again, in
810-444: A degree in communications . McMahon began his on-screen career as a referee named Shane Stevens. As Shane Stevens, McMahon refereed during the inaugural Royal Rumble match on January 24, 1988, and he was the first performer to walk out to greet the audience at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990. McMahon stopped performing as a referee and became a backstage official at WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992 in an attempt to break up
972-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
1134-469: A Falls Count Anywhere match, and McMahon agreed. At WrestleMania, McMahon narrowly defeated The Miz after being superplexed off a 15-foot platform and landing on top of The Miz for the 3 counts although both men were unconscious. On the April 29 episode of Raw , McMahon helped Bobby Lashley defeat The Miz, who was drafted to Raw , and McMahon attacked The Miz. Later that night, The Miz challenged McMahon to
1296-561: A No Holds Barred match at No Way Out on February 15, to which he accepted, but was defeated by Orton in the match. The following night on Raw , Shane challenged Orton to a match for that episode's main event. The match ended with Orton punting Shane in the head, as well as performing an RKO on Stephanie McMahon. Shane returned on the March 30 episode of Raw , alongside Triple H and his father Vince McMahon, to confront and attack The Legacy (Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase , and Cody Rhodes ). On
1458-570: A Steel Cage Match at Money in the Bank , which McMahon accepted. While simultaneously feuding with The Miz on Raw, over on SmackDown, Elias and Roman Reigns were drafted to the brand. Shane's father Vince introduced Elias as SmackDown's biggest acquisition on the April 16 episode of SmackDown Live . The two were confronted by Reigns, who attacked Elias and attacked Vince with the Superman Punch. The following week, Shane called out Reigns for
1620-522: A Street Fight on the March 18 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII . In a fashion similar to the real-life Montreal Screwjob , Shane put Michaels in the Sharpshooter as Vince called for the bell and gave Shane the victory. The McMahons' feud with Michaels took a religious turn at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, where Michaels defeated Vince McMahon. Vince claimed that Michaels's victory
1782-404: A Street Fight with Hulk Hogan, with Hogan welcoming Shane in the ring and walking out. He returned as a face in the summer by getting involved in a feud with Eric Bischoff , who had made improper remarks and gestures to Shane's mother Linda. He defeated Bischoff in a Falls Count Anywhere match at SummerSlam on August 24. McMahon also got involved in a bitter rivalry with Kane after Kane gave Linda
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#17327913838391944-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
2106-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
2268-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
2430-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
2592-592: A contract after Vince demoted him to the position of referee. At Survivor Series on November 15, Shane turned heel by turning on Austin and became an official member of The Corporation . In February 1999, McMahon moved away from the commentary role on Heat and became a key component in the Corporation angle, winning the European Championship from X-Pac on the February 15 episode of Raw
2754-412: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . The Corporation (professional wrestling) The Corporation was a heel stable in
2916-577: A different group, its goals and format were similar to The Corporation. The Union (aka U nion of P eople Y ou O ughta R espect, S on, or U.P.Y.O.R.S. ) was a short lived stable consisting of former Corporation members Ken Shamrock , Big Show and Test , and their leader, Mankind . They were a face stable who rebelled against the Corporate Ministry. The stable members came together because they felt they were being treated unjustly by The Corporation since Shane McMahon usurped power in
3078-425: A failed attempt to rectify things with Strowman, McMahon began to insult Strowman's intelligence, thus turning heel in the process. Strowman challenged McMahon to a match on the March 15 episode of Raw , in which McMahon won. Strowman challenged McMahon to a Steel Cage match at WrestleMania 37 and McMahon accepted. At the event, McMahon was defeated by Strowman. McMahon returned at the 2022 Royal Rumble event in
3240-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
3402-468: A feud with the McMahon family. On the January 19 episode of Raw , Orton punted Mr. McMahon in the head, after he had tried to fire Orton from the company for previous comments made about Stephanie. The following week, Shane returned to television and attacked Orton for his actions, turning face for the first time since 2006. On the February 2 episode of Raw , it was revealed that Orton challenged Shane to
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#17327913838393564-556: A feud with the McMahons shortly after, leading to his siding with Shawn Michaels and the reformation of D-Generation X (DX). At SummerSlam on August 20, the McMahons were defeated by DX. About a month later at Unforgiven on September 17, The McMahons and then ECW World Champion Big Show faced DX in a Hell in a Cell match. Shane was injured after Michaels' elbow dropped a chair which was around Shane's neck. DX emerged victorious at Unforgiven, and Shane disappeared from television. On
3726-416: A fight for attacking his father, but Reigns was attacked from behind by Elias, who was assisted by Shane, allying Elias and Shane. Shane forced Reigns to face The B-Team ( Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel ) in a handicap match with Elias as the special referee enforcer that Reigns won. The following week on SmackDown Live , Shane teamed with Elias, Daniel Bryan, and Rowan in a seven-man handicap match and defeated
3888-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
4050-606: A group with no general managers. At the Crown Jewel event in November, he replaced The Miz after the latter suffered a (kayfabe) injury in the finals of the WWE World Cup , and won by defeating Dolph Ziggler in under three minutes , winning the tournament. The Miz began a pursuit to form a tag team with McMahon, who finally agreed, and the duo faced SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bar ( Cesaro and Sheamus ) at
4212-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
4374-744: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
4536-559: A match between the two at Judgment Day on May 21, which McMahon won after receiving help from Test and Albert , among others. Over the course of the next several months, McMahon allied himself with other heel wrestlers, specially Chris Benoit in his feud over the WWF Championship with The Rock. He was also aligned with Edge and Christian , who helped him win the Hardcore Championship from Steve Blackman on
4698-460: A move named "Coast to Coast", where he jumps from the top rope and cross the ring, delivering a dropkick to an opponent, usually with a trash can situated in between the opponent's face. Though with the WWE's concerns over concussions he does not use a trash can, instead dropkicking the opponent with no weapon in place. He started using the move after Paul Heyman showed him a video of Rob Van Dam performing
4860-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
5022-470: A number one contender's match and the now even more infuriated Styles lost to Orton on the March 7 episode of SmackDown Live . After losing the match, Styles would confront McMahon in the Gorilla position with things getting physical between the pair. The following week, Styles attacked McMahon inside the parking lot, which caused McMahon to be busted open and suffer a storyline concussion. Due to this, Styles
Shane McMahon - Misplaced Pages Continue
5184-688: A provider of cable broadband services, as well as other digital and analog related services, in Shandong of China. The company is based in Boulder County, Colorado . Also in 2010, McMahon became the CEO of You On Demand, the first video-on-demand and pay-per-view service in China. In July 2013, McMahon stepped down as CEO of You On Demand. McMahon remained Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of
5346-677: A rematch for the ECW World Championship. This time, Lashley won the match, but since he pinned Shane rather than Vince, Vince remained the champion. At One Night Stand on June 3, Shane and Umaga tried to help Vince retain the ECW World Championship against Lashley, but failed when Lashley speared Vince and pinned him for the win. On the taped episode of Raw that aired on September 3, Shane, along with his mother Linda and his sister Stephanie, made appearances to confront Vince about his illegitimate child. Shane returned at Survivor Series on November 18 to accompany Hornswoggle , alongside his father, in his match against The Great Khali . After that, he
5508-708: A serious argument with Kevin Owens due to losing to AJ Styles for the United States Championship . Owens demanded a competent referee, so Daniel Bryan chose McMahon to become the special guest referee. The following week on SmackDown , McMahon was accidentally attacked by Styles during a brawl between Styles and Owens. Following the incident, on the August 15 episode of SmackDown , McMahon warned Styles that if he puts his hands on him, he will put his hands on Styles. The warning later came to Owens after he accidentally attacked McMahon. At SummerSlam , McMahon
5670-413: A spear from Roman Reigns , resulting in his elimination. In December, McMahon would take over host duties for Talking Smack with Daniel Bryan taking time off for family reasons. On the February 21, 2017 episode of SmackDown Live , after AJ Styles and Luke Harper simultaneously eliminated each other in a number one contender's battle royal as the final two entrants, McMahon made singles match between
5832-416: A statement from Shane McMahon announcing his resignation from his position as WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Media, and also issued an official press release stating that the resignation was tendered effective January 1, 2010. No specific reason was given for the resignation. McMahon stated in the WWE press release, "Having been associated with this organization for the majority of my life, I feel this
5994-534: A storyline brawl between Randy Savage and Ric Flair . McMahon mainly worked behind the scenes, launching WWF.com in 1997. McMahon made his first appearances as a regular on-air character in early 1998 during the Attitude Era , when he was one of the main WWF executives negotiating with Mike Tyson during Tyson's heavily-hyped involvement at WrestleMania XIV on March 29. He became a recurring part of his father's on-air feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin . In
6156-492: A ten-month hiatus from television, McMahon returned, as a face, on the August 3, 2020, episode of Raw as the host of Raw Underground, a segment presented as an unsanctioned fight club. It was canceled after the September 21 episode. On November 22, 2020, he made an in-ring appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. In February, incensed at being left out of Raw's Elimination Chamber match , Braun Strowman started to take issue with McMahon. After
6318-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
6480-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
6642-581: Is War . The two met in a rematch at WrestleMania XV on March 28; McMahon got help from his childhood friends the Mean Street Posse and Triple H , who turned on X-Pac during the match, to retain the championship. McMahon retired the title on the April 4 episode of Heat , wanting to retire as an "undefeated champion". McMahon later gave the title to Mideon , who found it in McMahon's duffel bag, thus reactivating it. After WrestleMania, Vince briefly made his second face run and Shane took control of
Shane McMahon - Misplaced Pages Continue
6804-576: Is a part owner of the Indian Larry Motorcycle Shop in Brooklyn , New York. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
6966-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
7128-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
7290-496: Is the opportune time in my career to pursue outside ventures." thus ending his 20-year stint with the company on January 1, 2010. McMahon's resignation left only two original members of the McMahon family activities within the company; his father Vince, and his sister, Stephanie. As of late 2019, McMahon began working as a producer for WWE once again. In May 2020, it was revealed that the reasons for Shane McMahon's resignation from his role as Executive Vice President of WWE in 2009,
7452-486: The 2019 King of the Ring tournament, and Owens was made the referee, and despite McMahon's promise to consider dropping a fine for Owens damaging expensive equipment, Owens allowed Gable to win, and Owens was hereby fired. However, Owens continued to appear on television to issue legal threats, until October 4's WWE SmackDown's 20th Anniversary episode, where McMahon was fired after losing a ladder match against Owens. After
7614-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
7776-511: The Raw roster to stand together during what was a turbulent time. Shane's plea, however, was ignored and subsequently, Shane and his sister Stephanie urged the roster to show solidarity. On the July 28 episode of Raw , Shane made an appearance to announce Mike Adamle as his and Stephanie's choice to be the new Raw general manager . After Adamle stepped down as general manager, he and Stephanie became
7938-551: The Royal Rumble pay-per-view, winning the titles. At Elimination Chamber the following month, however, they lost the titles to The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), and failed to regain them at Fastlane , after which, McMahon attacked The Miz and taunted The Miz's father. McMahon began proclaiming himself as the "Best in the World" and scheduled a match between himself and The Miz at WrestleMania 35 , which The Miz requested to be
8100-625: The Spirit Squad . This feud later enveloped Triple H , who the McMahons had enlisted to take out Michaels. Triple H was getting frustrated with this, as it was distracting from his quest to regain the WWE Championship . Triple H wound up bashing Shane with his signature weapon, the sledgehammer , in what was considered to be an accident that put Shane out of the ring for a while. Vince (and later Shane, who had recovered) sought to humble Triple H and get some retribution. Triple H began
8262-880: The Ultimate Fighting Championship , had made a deal to acquire all the assets of Pride FC from DSE after Pride 34 in a deal worth about US$ 70 million, thereby ceasing any prospective business between Pride and WWE. Later in November 2006, McMahon and WWE Canada President Carl De Marco traveled to South America to finalize a major TV deal in Brazil, which allowed their television station to air Raw and SmackDown . In September 2008, McMahon finalized another major TV deal, this time in Mexico, which allowed WWE programming to air on Mexico's two biggest television networks, Raw on Televisa and SmackDown on TV Azteca . On October 16, 2009, WWE published
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#17327913838398424-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
8586-481: The WWF Tag Team Championship . The group proceeded to terrorize the rest of the WWF roster as well, freely using their political strokes and corporate agenda to put down their authority on other wrestlers. Besides Austin, who was their main adversary, the popular faction of rebels D-Generation X (DX) butted heads with the stable over principles with DX leader Triple H challenging The Rock for
8748-455: The " Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence" Award from their father, Vince McMahon . Shane announced that the reason he had returned was that he wanted control of Raw , leading to Vince placing Shane in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania 32 on April 3 against The Undertaker , adding the stipulation that Shane would get control of Raw and The Undertaker would no longer be a participant in future WrestleMania events if Shane were to win
8910-576: The "Battle of the Billionaires" match at WrestleMania 23 on April 1, Shane's attempt to interfere on his father's behalf was stopped by Austin. During the match, Shane was able to hit the Coast to Coast dive with a trash can into Bobby Lashley 's face. On the April 9 episode of Raw , Shane officially joined the Vince/ Umaga /Lashley feud when he faced Lashley for the ECW World Championship in
9072-409: The "People's Elbow" became "The Corporate Elbow" during his tenure in the stable. The group subsequently became the most dominant stable in the company by the end of 1998, with Corporate members The Rock, Ken Shamrock, and Big Boss Man holding the WWF, Intercontinental, and Hardcore Championships respectively. Shamrock and Big Boss Man were briefly double champions as well during this time, as they held
9234-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
9396-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
9558-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
9720-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
9882-461: The April 6 episode of Raw , it was announced that Shane would compete in a six-man tag team match against The Legacy at Backlash on April 26 alongside Triple H and Batista , the latter of whom had returned from injury, where the stipulation was that if any member of Orton's team pinned any member of Triple H's team, Orton would win Triple H's WWE Championship; however, if any member of Orton's team
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#173279138383910044-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
10206-489: The August 21 episode of Raw is War . McMahon met Blackman in a rematch at SummerSlam on August 27, losing the title after falling 50 feet (15 m) through the stage. McMahon climbed up the set and tried to run away from Blackman, who gave chase and hit Shane with a Singapore cane , knocking him off. McMahon disappeared from television, making occasional cameo appearances. In 2001, Shane made his third face run by once again feuding with his father, Vince. The feud with Vince
10368-576: The Caribbean on March 14, and was hospitalized in Antigua for a few days before he was moved to a hospital in New York where doctors also found that Shane has an umbilical hernia that required surgery once the infection was eradicated. McMahon posted the below message to his Instagram account: "Thank you, everyone, for the get well wishes. It truly helps. I'm healing up, and I have the best medicine in
10530-488: The Corporation. When they entered a feud with The Ministry of Darkness who wanted to control WWF, Undertaker started to attack McMahon's family and Corporation, with a series of events like using Shane as a messenger boy, burning Stephanie's teddy bear, sacrificing Big Boss Man, invading Vince's house. At WrestleMania XV, Undertaker defeated Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match. He hanged Big Boss Man with help of The Brood and Paul Bearer. After WrestleMania XV, Mr. McMahon
10692-576: The Corporation. With wrestlers such as Triple H in this new faction, Shane feuded with his father and a new faction made up of former Corporation members, The Union . On the UPN pilot for SmackDown! , Shane joined forces with The Undertaker and the Ministry of Darkness to form the Corporate Ministry . Eventually, Vince was revealed to be the mastermind behind this faction, and his face turn
10854-614: The DVD extra backstage talking to Theodore Long , when The Boogeyman tried to scare off McMahon, who made no deal about it. McMahon returned in 2006 as a heel by again siding with his father to help in the feud with Shawn Michaels . At the Royal Rumble on January 29, Shane (despite not competing in the match) eliminated Michaels from the Royal Rumble match by throwing him over the top rope. After weeks of attacks from behind by Shane, one of which saw him force an unconscious Michaels to kiss Vince's rear end, Shane and Michaels faced each other in
11016-459: The March 13 episode of SmackDown , Shane McMahon announced his indefinite leave of absence as SmackDown's commissioner. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn proceeded to attack Shane McMahon in the ring and behind the entrance. Shane (kayfabe) suffered a laryngeal contusion, trapezius, and rhomboid strains. He was taken to a local medical facility. On March 26, 2018, WWE.com reported that Shane legitimately had acute diverticulitis while resting with his family in
11178-458: The March 5, 2007 episode of Raw , McMahon came back to inform his father, Vince, about the "guest referee" for the "Battle of the Billionaires." He told him that their opponents on the Board of Directors had won the vote, 5–4. The McMahons had intended for Shane to be the referee. Instead, the guest referee turned out to be the McMahons' old rival, the Texas rattlesnake Stone Cold Steve Austin. During
11340-649: The Ministry of Darkness. The Corporate Ministry, however, crumbled when The Undertaker's relationship with Vince McMahon deteriorated after a loss to Austin over the WWF Championship in a First Blood match , and with that The Corporation was officially over. The storyline for this was cut, however, due to a legitimate injury from the Undertaker. Later on in 2000, remnants of the Corporation (Shane, Vince McMahon, and The Stooges), allied with then heels DX in 2000, creating The McMahon-Helmsley Faction . Although considered
11502-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
11664-488: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
11826-526: The November 14 edition of SmackDown , during the main event between The New Day vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, The Shield announced their presence and came down to the ring to face The New Day in payback for The New Day's distraction on the November 6 episode of Raw costing Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship . Worse was to come, as when The Usos tried to help, they were attacked by Cesaro and Sheamus,
11988-573: The Raw women's locker room attacked the SmackDown women's locker room, and when the rest of the SmackDown male roster came down with McMahon to the ring to help, they were attacked in turn by the rest of the Raw male roster, including Angle and Braun Strowman. Shane was given two triple powerbombs by The Shield, and an Angle Slam by Angle, as retribution for the trouble the SmackDown roster pulled on Raw
12150-467: The September 12 episode of SmackDown , CEO and Chairman of WWE, Vince announced that Shane would be facing Owens at Hell in a Cell , in a Hell in a Cell match . At Hell in a Cell, Owens won after being saved by Sami Zayn from McMahon's Leap of Faith from the top of the cell to the announcer's table, was dragged by Zayn to pin McMahon. On the October 23 episode of Raw , McMahon fired the first shot in
12312-683: The Union, as they all had common enemies in the Corporate Ministry. At Over the Edge , The Union defeated a Corporate Ministry team consisting of The Acolytes , Viscera and Big Bossman in an elimination match . On May 31, Mankind received several sledgehammer blows to the knee in a hardcore match against Triple H . In reality, Mick Foley had needed knee surgery due to injuries suffered months earlier at Survivor Series and St. Valentine's Day Massacre . He would be unable to wrestle until August 1999. The following week, Mr. McMahon revealed himself as
12474-565: The WWF (and specifically their father) out of business. Ultimately, The Invasion came to a head at Survivor Series on November 18 in a match to determine which power would ultimately have control . The team, each respectively representing The Alliance and the WWF, of McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam , and Booker T lost to the team of The Rock, Chris Jericho , The Undertaker, Kane , and Big Show. The following night on Raw , Vince publicly fired both Shane and Stephanie, which Shane took in stride, admitting that he lost to
12636-409: The WWF Championship, but often losing due to screwing on the part of The Corporation. The stable also found themselves under attack by Mankind , who was still bitter at Mr. McMahon for screwing him out of the WWF Championship at Survivor Series by having the bell rung when The Rock put the Sharpshooter on him immediately despite not tapping (recreating the previous year's Montreal Screwjob ). Though
12798-495: The announcement of the return of the brand extension with SmackDown moving to Tuesday, Vince appointed Shane as the storyline commissioner of the SmackDown brand and Stephanie as the commissioner of Raw before tasking them to name a general manager for their respective shows. Shane appointed Daniel Bryan as the general manager of SmackDown . At SummerSlam on August 21, Brock Lesnar won his match against Randy Orton by technical knockout and continued to assault Orton as he
12960-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
13122-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
13284-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
13446-522: The best of him, Shane was able to seize the opportunity and purchase WCW himself, to the shock of Vince. McMahon defeated Vince at WrestleMania in a Street Fight . At Backlash on April 29, McMahon debuted his theme song "Here Comes The Money" and was in a Last Man Standing match against Big Show. McMahon performed the Leap of Faith (from the top of the scaffolding), knocking himself and Big Show out. Test helped McMahon to his feet, causing McMahon to get
13608-521: The better man, while Stephanie pleaded with her father before being forcefully removed from the arena. Aside from a brief appearance on the July 15, 2002 episode of Raw , McMahon would not be seen on television for almost two years. McMahon made his first on-screen appearance in two years on an episode of SmackDown! before WrestleMania XIX , watching his father's training in the gym to prepare his match against Hulk Hogan . At WrestleMania on March 30, 2003, he went to check on his father's welfare following
13770-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
13932-566: The build of the SmackDown-Raw feud for Survivor Series when he appeared with most of the SmackDown roster to attack the Raw roster, after initially being friendly with Kurt Angle earlier on in the same night. They proceeded to beat up wrestlers part of the Raw roster and bring Angle back to the ring. McMahon told Angle to bring his gold medal and the remains of the roster to Survivor Series and that at Survivor Series, they would finish what they started. However, several weeks later, on
14094-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
14256-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
14418-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
14580-512: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
14742-490: The company until August 2, 2021, when McMahon was promoted to Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, which has undergone several name changes since that time, including Wecast Holdings Inc., Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc., and ultimately, Ideanomics . The company is headquartered in New York City. As of April 2011, McMahon sits on the Board of Directors for International Sports Management. McMahon
14904-745: The company's principal executive officer and Vice chairman of the board until 2021, when McMahon was promoted to Executive chairman. In 2016, he returned to WWE where he was a prominently featured figure until 2020. In later years he would wrestle sporadically, with his final appearance being at WrestleMania 39 . Shane Brandon McMahon was born on January 15, 1970, in Gaithersburg, Maryland to Vince and Linda McMahon . He has one younger sister, Stephanie McMahon . After graduating from Greenwich High School in 1987, he attended Bridgton Academy in Bridgton ME and then Boston University and in 1993 earned
15066-421: The company. McMahon returned over a year later in April 2023 at WrestleMania 39 alongside Snoop Dogg , in an impromptu match against The Miz ; however, he tore his quad muscle early in the match and was unable to continue. Snoop Dogg replaced him and won the match in his place. In June 2024, it was reported that McMahon was no longer contracted to WWE, ending his second tenure with the company. McMahon uses
15228-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
15390-460: The controversy surrounding the 2022 Royal Rumble that "Though he wasn't listed as a producer internally for the Royal Rumble, he helped put the match together, which he's done before in the past." Outside of his WWE business ventures, McMahon founded a financial technology company called China Broadband Inc, on October 19, 2004 On August 3, 2010, McMahon became the CEO of China Broadband Inc.,
15552-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
15714-514: The early days of that angle , McMahon offered support for his father in cameo roles, but he did not become an enforcer like Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson . McMahon was a color commentator on Sunday Night Heat alongside Jim Cornette and later Kevin Kelly , and announced with Jerry Lawler on the 1999 video game WWF Attitude . Concurrently with this, Shane took on the role as a regular character, turning on his father by signing Austin to
15876-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
16038-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
16200-464: The first attempt, causing him to fall head-first onto the concrete floor. After a successful second attempt, Angle was to put him through a second plate back out to the stage and again failed two more times. Angle proceeded to bodily hurl him through the plate glass. The match also had Shane missing a shooting star press and landing on a trash can, and ended with Angle performing the Angle Slam off
16362-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
16524-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
16686-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
16848-414: The group remained on top of the federation heading into 1999, members began to dwindle throughout the year. Then-commissioner Shawn Michaels was the first, having viciously being attacked by the group in a parking lot once it became clear he began to make decisions that did not cater to their interests. In reality, Michaels needed to have back surgery and the attack was to write him off television. Michaels
17010-425: The group when he showed more loyalty to his sister Ryan , who was also being threatened by The Undertaker. Test took a beating and was kicked out after Shane stated that there was no room for the weak. Finally, The Rock was kicked out after he failed to take back the WWF Championship from Austin at Backlash , thanks to a botched interference from Shane McMahon and spouting venomous remarks that caused Shane to have
17172-529: The group. Later in the show, Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock would be recruited onto "Team Corporate", an unofficial name stated by announcer Jim Ross . The group became notorious for using their political stroke in the company to give the group vast degrees of advantages in matches. Corporation members were known to adopt "cleaned-up businessmen" modifications to their individual characters. For example, The Rock's "People's Champion" modus operandi changed, as he became known as "The Corporate Champion" and
17334-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
17496-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
17658-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
17820-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
17982-422: The interim on-screen authority figures for the Raw program. On the November 24 episode of Raw , Shane and Stephanie argued over who was in charge, leading to Stephanie telling him that Raw is her show. After being slapped by Stephanie, Shane finished the segment by telling her that from that day onwards, he was going to watch Stephanie run Raw "right into the ground". At the start of 2009, Randy Orton began
18144-414: The last couple of weeks, and to prove that come to the pay-per-view, Team Raw would be victorious over Team SmackDown. At Survivor Series, Shane was the last man to be eliminated by Triple H, meaning Team SmackDown lost. On March 11, 2018, at Fastlane , Shane McMahon pulled the referee out of the ring when Kevin Owens covered Dolph Ziggler and pulled Sami Zayn out of the ring when he covered Kevin Owens. On
18306-484: The late 1990s in the Attitude Era in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was led by the McMahon family and was characterized by an authoritarian and corrupt attitude towards more rebellious wrestlers. The Corporation existed throughout 1998 and 1999 and feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin , Mankind , D-Generation X (DX), and The Ministry of Darkness , eventually merging with
18468-471: The latter and forming The Corporate Ministry . The group was put together and led by WWF chairman Mr. McMahon in an attempt to secure control of the WWF and eliminate the more rebellious wrestlers, such as Stone Cold Steve Austin . Previously, McMahon started surrounding himself with an entourage consisting of The Corporate Stooges, Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson , WWF commissioner Slaughter and his personal enforcer Big Boss Man to help him quell
18630-573: The match when a mystery associate raised the briefcase out of Austin's reach when he climbed the ladder, allowing Vince and Shane to grab the case and regain 100% ownership of the WWF. In 1999, McMahon was awarded the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year award but he declined to accept it stating "These are for the boys, not me". With his ownership reinstated, McMahon shifted his sights to, then babyface , Test , who
18792-682: The match. At WrestleMania, Shane attempted a Leap of Faith off the top of the cell, but The Undertaker moved out of the way, and Shane fell through an announce table. Shane was defeated by The Undertaker soon after. Despite losing at WrestleMania, Shane controlled Raw for a month, firstly by his father, Vince, on the Raw after WrestleMania, then for the following three weeks after "popular demand on social media". This led to Stephanie confronting Shane, telling him that their father will decide who will control Raw at Payback on May 1, where Vince announced that both Shane and Stephanie would be Co-general managers and have joint control of WWE. In July, after
18954-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
19116-415: The move. He also styles his punches and footwork after Muhammad Ali, and often (in high-risk spots) uses a diving elbow drop named the "Leap of Faith." Shane McMahon began working in WWE at age 15, starting in their warehouse, where he filled merchandise orders. McMahon was a referee, producer, announcer, and eventually a wrestler on-screen, while becoming WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Media behind
19278-697: The namesake match at No. 47 before being eliminated after getting choke slammed off the top rope through a table by Braun Strowman . He took time off to heal from the injuries he suffered two months prior, returning on the 1000th edition of SmackDown on October 16 alongside Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon on the Truth TV segment hosted by R-Truth and Carmella . Following TLC: Tables, Ladders, & Chairs in December, The McMahon Family (Vince, Stephanie, Shane, and Triple H) appeared on Raw and announced that they would be running both Raw and SmackDown as
19440-416: The namesake match at number 28, as a face, lasting until the final three, but was eliminated by the eventual winner Brock Lesnar . McMahon received intense criticism by fans, critics, and employees for his role in and the booking of the rumble match for trying to make himself look stronger than the full time wrestlers. Amidst the controversy and backstage heat on February 2, McMahon had been quietly "let go" by
19602-524: The next Monday night on Raw Is War , when the Rock got a rematch against Big Show and helped The Rock win the match. This started the road to WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, wherein the four-way main event each wrestler had a McMahon in his corner. The Rock had Vince, Big Show had Shane, Triple H had Stephanie, and Mick Foley had Shane's mother, Linda McMahon . Big Show was the first man eliminated, and soon after he and Shane went their separate ways. This led to
19764-511: The opening of the event with Vince and his newborn son, Declan. On a special 3-hour episode of Raw on October 3, 2005, billed as WWE Homecoming , all four members of the McMahon family were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Stone Cold Steve Austin. The following week, Vince demanded an apology from ringside commentators for not coming to his family's aid, which developed into a new feud. McMahon also appeared at Survivor Series on November 27, though he did not appear on television. He can be seen on
19926-427: The pair. Test was able to get the win, and McMahon eventually settled his differences with Test, thus making his second face run by becoming his ally. As his father, Vince, feuded with Triple H, Shane was attacked in early December 1999 by Triple H and D-Generation X (DX). He was thrown off the stage in a gang-style attack, in which Billy Gunn and Road Dogg prevented members of the Corporation from saving Shane. Later in
20088-474: The parent company of Pride Fighting Championships , held a meeting at WWE global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut . The meeting focused on the possibility of the two groups doing some form of business together in the future. Yet on March 27, 2007, Nobuyuki Sakakibara , president of DSE, announced that Station Casinos , Inc. magnate Lorenzo Fertitta, also one of the co-owners of Zuffa, the parent company of
20250-507: The poor officiating from guest referee Baron Corbin, which caused a confrontation from Owens. This allowed Styles to take advantage and pin Owens to retain the championship. On the September 5 episode of SmackDown , after a brief confrontation with Owens, McMahon proceeded to beat down Owens after warning him not to talk about his family. Soon after, Daniel Bryan came out to announce that Shane had been "suspended indefinitely" by Vince McMahon , who would be returning to SmackDown next week. On
20412-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
20574-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
20736-489: The rebellious actions of Austin. The Corporation was officially formed on November 16, 1998 when Shane and Vince McMahon along with Big Boss Man, Slaughter, and Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco reconciled, joining forces with The Rock . The Rock was The Corporation's proclaimed "Crown Jewel" (and whom they helped win the WWF Championship at Survivor Series ), holding the WWF Championship three times while part of
20898-401: The remaining Corporation members attack him. With their dwindling numbers, they merged with the Ministry of Darkness to create The Corporate Ministry , thus revealing that the loss of members in the Corporation was a process of elimination, separating loyal members from the ones that would be troublesome. Vince McMahon rejoined the stable when it was revealed that he was the " higher power " of
21060-624: The scenes. In 1992, McMahon was already backstage official and working behind the scenes for the company. In 1997, McMahon helped launch WWE's official website. By the year 2000, McMahon was very much a part of the decision process in WWE, and that included creative. On October 21, 2006, McMahon attended Pride 32 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada resulting in speculation that WWE were considering promoting MMA events. On November 17, 2006, WWE and Dream Stage Entertainment officials,
21222-480: The stable from his father, Vince McMahon . The group formed on May 3, 1999, four days after The Undertaker 's Ministry of Darkness and Shane's Corporation merged to create The Corporate Ministry . The four Union members were not alone as they feuded with the Corporate Ministry. The ousted chairman Vince McMahon briefly led the Union into battle, and superstars such as The Rock , Stone Cold Steve Austin , and WWF commissioner Shawn Michaels were loosely allied with
21384-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
21546-427: The team of Reigns and The Usos. At Money in the Bank, Shane once again defeated The Miz this time by escaping the cage ending their feud. The following night on Raw , Shane confronted Roman Reigns with Reigns challenging Shane to a match at Super ShowDown which Shane accepted. At Super ShowDown, Shane defeated Roman Reigns after interference from Drew McIntyre . Shane and McIntyre lost to Reigns and The Undertaker in
21708-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
21870-401: The top rope before scoring the victory over a bloodied McMahon. McMahon began to lead his WCW wrestlers against his father and the WWF wrestlers, turning heel by joining forces with Paul Heyman and his brand of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) wrestlers, along with their new owner, McMahon's sister Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Calling themselves The Alliance , they pledged to finally run
22032-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
22194-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
22356-656: The two for the February 28 episode of SmackDown Live with the winner going on to face Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33 on April 2. Styles would originally go on to win the match before McMahon would restart the contest due to Harper having his foot on the rope during the pinfall. After McMahon accidentally distracted Harper, Styles would capitalize and pin Harper once again. That same week, after Randy Orton turned on Wyatt and cashed in his Royal Rumble winning opportunity, McMahon would go on to book
22518-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
22680-452: The victory. McMahon began a feud with Kurt Angle . By King of the Ring on June 24, McMahon's feud with Angle had culminated. After already participating in two tournament matches that night, Angle wrestled McMahon in a Street Fight. After a suplex on the hard floor, Angle was thought to have cracked his tailbone . Angle also delivered an overhead belly to belly suplex through the plated glass stage set, but McMahon did not break through on
22842-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
23004-487: The world with me." It was announced that Shane would team up with Daniel Bryan against Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania 34 . McMahon returned on the April 3 episode of SmackDown , to address his WrestleMania match, saying that Owens and Zayn would never be seen in a SmackDown arena again. At WrestleMania, Bryan and McMahon defeated Zayn and Owens. He competed at the Greatest Royal Rumble , where he entered
23166-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
23328-543: The year, Stephanie turned heel, siding with her new kayfabe husband then-heel, Triple H (the two began their off-screen relationship around this time, but did not marry in real life until 2003). With that, the McMahon-Helmsley Faction began, and all of the other McMahons disappeared from television. At No Way Out on February 27, 2000, Shane made his return as a heel again by trying to help Big Show defeat The Rock ; these efforts failed as Vince returned
23490-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
23652-573: Was kayfabe dating Shane's sister, Stephanie . Shane disapproved of the relationship, feeling Stephanie was dating "beneath the family's standards", and wound up feuding with Test. With help from the Mean Street Posse, McMahon made Test's life a living hell. At SummerSlam on August 22, McMahon met Test in a "Love Her or Leave Her" match, with the stipulation being that if McMahon won the match, Test and Stephanie could no longer see each other, and if he lost, McMahon would give his blessings to
23814-413: Was (kayfabe) "fired" from SmackDown. However, as McMahon was about to leave, he went back to the arena and announced that he will face Styles at WrestleMania 33. On April 2, at WrestleMania 33, McMahon lost to AJ Styles in a singles match. On April 4; the first episode of SmackDown Live after WrestleMania, McMahon and Styles shook hands, ending the feud. On the August 1 episode of SmackDown , McMahon had
23976-770: Was a referee, producer, announcer, and eventually a wrestler, while becoming WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Media behind the scenes. As a wrestler, he has won the European Championship once, the Hardcore Championship , the SmackDown Tag Team Championship , and the WWE World Cup in 2018. In 2004 he founded Seven Stars Cloud Group, which became Ideanomics where he serves as executive chairman . On October 1, 2009, McMahon announced his resignation from WWE. Later that year, he became CEO of entertainment service company YOU On Demand. On July 12, 2013, McMahon stepped down as CEO of YOU On Demand and appointed Weicheng Liu as his successor, while remaining
24138-403: Was a result of "divine intervention" and booked himself and his son in a match at Backlash on April 30 against Michaels and his tag team partner "God". Around this time, Vince began to act strangely and at one point considered himself a god. Shane, who at this time was referred to by Vince as "the product of his semen", teamed with Vince to defeat Michaels and "God" at Backlash, due to help from
24300-524: Was about to count the pin and declare Owens the winner, however after seeing Styles' foot on the bottom rope, McMahon continued the match. A frustrated Owens pushed McMahon, causing McMahon to push Owens back. This caused a distraction for Styles to win back the United States Championship. On the August 22 episode of SmackDown , McMahon allowed a rematch between Styles and Owens. During the match, McMahon made himself referee after seeing
24462-489: Was because "he realized that his father Vince, saw his sister Stephanie and her husband Triple H as the heirs to the throne" and "was tired of his father Vince, overlooking his ideas" for what he envisioned for the company. In 2022, however, It was reported that despite having a part time WWE contract and no major production role with his family's company, McMahon had in fact had a history with booking Royal Rumble matches , with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful even stating following
24624-414: Was being tended to. Shane confronted Lesnar, which resulted in Shane being attacked by Lesnar with an F-5. On the November 8 episode of SmackDown Live , Shane agreed to replace an injured Baron Corbin in the traditional Survivor Series tag team elimination match between the two brands. At Survivor Series on November 20, Team SmackDown defeated Team Raw. McMahon suffered a legitimate concussion following
24786-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
24948-483: Was counted out or disqualified, Triple H would retain the title. On the May 4 episode of Raw , Shane's character suffered a broken leg and ankle at the hands of Orton and Legacy as a way to write him out of the story. On October 1, 2009, Shane departed WWE. On the February 22, 2016 episode of Raw , Shane returned to WWE as a face for the first time in nearly seven years, interrupting his sister, Stephanie McMahon , receiving
25110-495: Was due to the elder McMahon's (kayfabe) affair with Trish Stratus and Vince's spite and demand to divorce Linda McMahon. As fate would have it, rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) one week before the Father versus Son match at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1. In terms of the storyline , Vince demanded that Ted Turner sign the contract at WrestleMania. With Vince's ego getting
25272-485: Was explained to be a plot to get the WWF Championship off Austin. Austin met Shane and Vince in a ladder match at the King of the Ring on June 27 for ownership of the WWF, as in the storyline, Austin had 50%, which was assigned to him by Linda and Stephanie McMahon, upset by Vince and Shane's complicity in the storyline kidnapping of Stephanie by the Corporate Ministry, while Vince and Shane each had 25%. Shane and Vince won
25434-474: Was kicked out and his position as leader was usurped by Shane, who justified his actions by pointing out that Vince no longer cared about The Corporation and only about Stephanie McMahon , who was a target of The Undertaker . Brisco and Patterson were kicked out, with Shane stating there was no room in The Corporation for the old and replaced them with The Mean Street Posse . Ken Shamrock walked out on
25596-451: Was only seen on WWE's pay per view, No Way Out on February 17, 2008 talking to Big Show after the latter had his nose legitimately broken going by the plan to push Mayweather's speed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. before again not being seen until June. After the severe injury that Vince McMahon sustained on the June 23 episode of Raw when a sign fell on top of him during his hosting of the "Million Dollar Mania" sweepstakes, Shane requested for
25758-595: Was originally given the vacant commissioner position left by founding Corporation member Slaughter to use his powers on their behalf. Kane 's membership was unsteady from the start as he was only a member because the McMahons threatened to send him back to the insane asylum if he did not cooperate with them. Kane officially left the group after WrestleMania XV when Chyna , who was coerced into leaving DX, turned on him during his match with Triple H, who in turn betrayed his DX brethren when he assisted Shane in his European Championship defense against X-Pac and joined forces with
25920-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
26082-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
26244-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
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