Shane McMahon resigns from World Wrestling Entertainment

Djm912 · #1 10-16-2009, 10:01 AM

Front Page Story on WWE.com

Shane McMahon announced Friday morning that he has tendered his resignation as WWE's Executive Vice Preisdent, Global Media.

Quote:

It is with great sadness that I announce my resignation from the WWE, effective January 1, 2010.

I have never even considered a future outside the walls of the WWE. However, sometimes life takes an unexpected turn and while it is the most difficult decision I have ever made, it is time for me to move on.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my father for the incredible education working with him has provided and for giving me the opportunity to play a role in building WWE into the global phenomenon that it is today. I am extremely proud to have been the 4th generation in this business, and I am grateful for everyday I was able to work along side not only my own, but the entire WWE family.

Thank you to all of the WWE Superstars both past and present for your passion, pride and dedication. You are truly the engine of the organization and it has been a pleasure to work with, learn from and get to know all of you. Thank you for the privilege of sharing the stage with you and for allowing me to become but a momentary member of your elite brotherhood. I have so much appreciation for the many sacrifices you endure, both physically and personally, to make this business the success that it is. The respect I have for each of you is immeasurable.

Finally, there are no words to express my gratitude to WWE fans the world over for supporting this company through good times and bad and for your unbridled passion that fuels the Superstars’ performances. I am profoundly grateful to have been able to entertain you both in front of the camera and from behind the scenes. You are the greatest fans in the world.

I will always love this business and will remain a fan forever.

Shane

Hobbes829 · #2 10-16-2009, 10:03 AM

i wish him the best. He seems like an intelligent guy with his head on straight.

email2003 · #3 10-16-2009, 10:14 AM

I'm gonna miss Shane. Shane was awesome in the ring taking hits and bumps but he was good at it.

So it seems like there's no chance of Shane taking over the company after Vince retires?

Chris Sanders MSX · #4 10-16-2009, 10:22 AM

Any word on why he's doing this ?

Djm912 · #5 10-16-2009, 10:40 AM

Nothing yet as to the absolute answer why, though some things have been discussed. I will leave the speculation up in the air, as I don't want anything getting out of hand.

sag_2002 · #6 10-16-2009, 11:05 AM

Out of all the McMahons, Shane-O was always my personal favorite. To paraphrase the saying WWE uses whenever a wrestler gets released, I wish him well on his future endeavors.

AJ1 · #7 10-16-2009, 11:17 AM

I could care less about his in ring stuff, but behind the scenes he was an important member of the WWE family, it's a shame he's leaving. I wonder where he is going and what he is going to be doing for work?

**Dens Maris** · #8 10-16-2009, 11:21 AM

There goes the monaaaaay...

**SirLemming** · #9 10-16-2009, 11:22 AM

Does anyone know what his role in the company was immediately prior to this? Aside from being the boss's son and occasional onscreen personality, I'm not sure what he's been doing. I know Stephanie is on the creative staff...

EDIT: Ugh, never mind. It's right there in the heading. Not that I know what that job title means or anything...

zimbach · #10 10-16-2009, 11:46 AM

It is confirmed that this isn't just yet more WWE theatrics, right? It's not an unreasonable thing to happen, but this sort of thing has floated up in storylines before.

Djm912 · #11 10-16-2009, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirLemming

EDIT: Ugh, never mind. It's right there in the heading. Not that I know what that job title means or anything...

Vince and Stephanie

Spoiler:

were the ones behind the actual WWE product. Shane was the person that headed up media. Linda was the CEO, and the person that was behind the business and finances of WWE, the numbers and whatnot before she started her bid for the Senate.

**The Penguin** · #12 10-16-2009, 01:38 PM

I like Shane so I'm disappointed by this news, but if he's moving on to something that will make him happy, I support him in that.

I had hoped/expected that someday Shane would be running the company like he father does, but it seems that will not be the case. I'm not sure how I feel about Stephanie soon to be being the only next generation McMahon in the company, but that's not a subject I care to dive into right now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SirLemming

EDIT: Ugh, never mind. It's right there in the heading. Not that I know what that job title means or anything...

I don't know everything that it means, but I know WWE.com is part of what Shane's area oversees.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zimbach

It is confirmed that this isn't just yet more WWE theatrics, right? It's not an unreasonable thing to happen, but this sort of thing has floated up in storylines before.

Yeah, you can find the press release on the WWE Corporate website as well. This is not part of a storyline. I think WWE learned their lesson (at least for the immediate future) with the "selling" of RAW to Donald Trump.

SSJ Jake · #13 10-16-2009, 01:54 PM

So then when Vince kicks the bucket we could pretty much expect that Stephanie and Paul are going to take full control of the company, huh?

Shame, I liked Shane. Wonder what he'll be doing now.

Marvin Tikvah · #14 10-16-2009, 03:40 PM

Well, that's a shame. Shane McMahon was probably the most entertaining member of the McMahon family in front of the camera and from what I heard, he often went to bat for some of the younger guys.

If he wants to do something else, then the more power to him. He always did seem less like a boss figure and more of an active personality.

Ioz · #15 10-16-2009, 05:43 PM

Opinion of Wade Keller from pwtorch:

Quote:

Shane McMahon has always been portrayed by people with experience inside WWE as being "his mother's son," whereas younger sister Stephanie McMahon was always considered "her father's daughter." Eric Bischoff reiterated that in his "Torch Talk" a few weeks ago talking about working with Stephanie McMahon.

Jerry Jarrett said in a "Torch Talk" years ago that he remembers a time where he had dinner with the entire McMahon family when Shane and Steph were teenagers. A comment was made about Shane taking over the family business some day and Stephanie interjecting, with a sense of entitlement and determination, that she, not Shane, would run WWE some day. I've heard similar stories over the years from others.

In other words, even when they were teenagers, Stephanie had her eye on running WWE some day. Shane, the less dominant personality, has always known he'd have competition for being the "next McMahon" to run WWE.

Whenever that time comes, and it could be next month or in 2025, maybe Shane doesn't want to be around only to be officially passed over.

However, even more likely is that Shane does want to get out from under the shadow of his father and sister. With his mother leaving WWE to pursue a seat in the Senate, it trailblazed the path for Shane to also leave without being branded disloyal to the family business.

Almost 20 years ago during a tour of the new WWE headquarters, Shane McMahon and I were introduced to each other and shook hands. Being similar in age, there was a little buzz afterward among other reporters on the tour that it was the first meeting of a long relationship that would develop, with me covering him decades later as he ran WWE. Instead, twenty years later he's barely on the map of wrestling influence, "relegated" to New Media and lower profile generic corporate positions within the company.

Let's not forget, either, that Shane was a hideous embarrassment on air recently in the Super Shane-o-Mac storylines where he was beating up heel wrestlers 15-plus years younger than him. It was ridiculous and unbelievable. It showed a lack of instinct and judgment on Shane's part to even agree to participate in something as silly. It showed a disconnect from reality, a lack of any sense of internal logic regarding what made sense in the WWE Universe. Maybe Shane has finally realized he doesn't have a knack for pro wrestling, or even a passion for it, given the total lack of good judgment and the internal and external ridicule that resulted.

Maybe Shane wasn't pleased with Stephanie calling him out as being irresponsible, more interested in a night on the town than running WWE, as she recently did on Raw. As has been well-established over the years, a lot of what is said on WWE TV on any given week is an expression of Vince McMahon's feelings at that particular moment. Maybe Vince was sending Shane a message.

People who have known the family over the years have told me that Shane lived for his dad's approval, but always felt he came up short. He has never been a gym rat, seeming more pudgy than chiseled over the years. While he seemed to lack an instinct for the creative side of pro wrestling, he always seemed almost too nice to be his dad's son. He didn't seem to have the ruthless side that Stephanie had that gave her the edge and authority to be a respected member of management as early as her late-20s despite the accusations and beliefs she had her job only because she was born into it.

As Shane approached the big-four-ohh, it's no surprise that he'd like to live independently, not under the scrutiny and expectations of his father and in the shadow of Stephanie's rise to power. He might put himself in a situation where he can find out once and for all how much of any success and riches he's acquired had to do with preferential treatment. He can now fend for himself, with an admitted head start of millions of dollars and a guaranteed soft landing, in the real world outside of pro wrestling. It could be politics, it could be MMA, it could be a kite or envelope company, or maybe he just wants to be a stay-at-home dad.

Whatever path he takes, he's stepping into a new chapter of his life that many doubted he would ever be brave enough to do.

thatjailyn · #16 10-17-2009, 08:17 AM

Was surprised to read about this last night! Shane always seemed pretty cool; I wish him the best of luck in whatever he chooses to pursue.

Knightmare · #17 10-17-2009, 12:28 PM

I was really surprised by this new, and as I've seen here and on other message boards seems like a lot of us were. Shane's always been the "beloved prince" of the WWE "Kingdom" and while I'll miss him, I wish him the best of luck and wish him all the happiness.

I noticed the last couple of times that Shane was involved in an on camera he didn't seem to have that same spark that we did when he first was showing up in the late 90's early part of the decade. Maybe he just decided his heart wasn't a hundred percent in it any more and didn't want to give the fans of the company itself anything than his best and deiced it was time to move on.

See you around Shane O' Mac and I know we'll see you again someday, but until thanks for all the great times and good luck out there.

hobbyfan · #18 10-17-2009, 10:08 PM

This just flat floors me.

Going back to his angle with Legacy in the winter, he wasn't physically prepared, and it was an embarassment, both to him and the company, when we've seen him do much better than that in the past 10 years.

I think after Linda decided to run for the Senate (a move that, IMPO, may backfire, since local Democrats have already dug up old videos that highlight the objectification of women), Shane realized that with his father choosing to take the title of CEO for himself instead of promoting either Shane or Steph for whatever reason, the window of opportunity for moving forward up the ladder may have closed on him.

Watch. By this time next year, Linda will return, her Senate run dying in the primary, and Shane conceivably could follow, unless he decides to dive into MMA as a promoter only, which I think could happen.