ESPN Appearances Set For Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, The Undertaker

As noted, several WWE Superstars will be appearing on ESPN as part of the special WrestleMania 32 Week programming. Below are the scheduled appearances:

* Monday: Brock Lesnar on SportsCenter at 8:45am and 10:30am EST

* Tuesday: Stephanie McMahon at 10:30am EST on SportsCenter

* Tuesday: Triple H at 9pm on SportsCenter

* Wednesday: Shane McMahon at 9pm on SportsCenter

* The Undertaker TBA

WWE Announces WrestleMania Week TV Appearances For John Cena, Stephanie McMahon, The Flairs, Others

WWE takes over the airwaves starting March 24 with Sheamus appearing on "Conan" on TBS at 11/10 p.m. C.

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and his daughter – WWE Divas Champion Charlotte – will appear on the March 25 episode of "Boomer & Carton" on WFAN and CBS Sports Network starting at 6/5 a.m. C.

The Celtic Warrior will also appear on the March 28 episode of "Men in Blazers" on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com at 11/10 p.m. C.

On March 27, WWE Chief Brand officer Stephanie McMahon will be featured in a special segment on "CBS Sunday Morning" at 9/8 a.m. C.

John Cena returns to NBC's "TODAY' as co-host during the 9 a.m. hour for three days beginning on March 28. Cena will also appear on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" on Tuesday, March 29, at 11:30/10:30 C on NBC.

Also, starting on March 28 with an appearance by Brock Lesnar, WWE will be featured on ESPN throughout WrestleMania Week, including appearances by Stephanie McMahon, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, Shane McMahon and The Undertaker.

Eva Marie will appear on Hallmark Channel's "Home & Family" on March 28 at 10/9 a.m. C.

Check your local listings for exact times and channels.

Triple H and Steph Refuse to Work Out With Vince ... 'He's Too Crazy!'

Vince McMahon is such a BEAST in the gym, even his own musclebound son-in-law refuses to hit the weights with the guy ... telling TMZ Sports, "He's too crazy."

We got Triple H and his wife Steph McMahon out in NYC -- and we asked 'em about their famous midnight workouts ... and how the hell they muster up the energy to train that late at night!!

That's when we brought up 70-year-old Vince -- who's legendary for crushing it in the gym -- and Triple H told us the rumors are true ... the guy is an absolute "machine."

Rumor Mill - Bret Hart Talks the Real Life Tension Between Stephanie & Shane McMahon, Is It Why Shane Left WWE?

Maybe it’s storyline, maybe it’s not. I know there’s a lot of tension between Stephanie and Shane. It’s my understanding, unless I’m wrong, that there was a lot of tension there for quite a long time. Which is why Shane left. They kind of passed him over and gave everything to Stephanie to run. There’s a lot of question marks about the legitimacy or the reality of what’s going on. For me, as WrestleMania gets closer, the wrestling fan in me is kind of excited about seeing where it goes.

Vince McMahon On Working With Shane Again, Hoping That Would Happen, If Shane Will Stay After Mania

Brian Fritz has a detailed Q&A with WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon that took place after this morning's WWE WrestleMania 33 press conference. During the interview, Vince was asked about Shane McMahon returning to WWE and what it's been like having him back.

"It's been awesome," Vince admitted. "I was hoping that one day we might get back together. It's difficult. Fathers and sons sometimes, in the same business at a certain stage, it can be very difficult. You love each other just as much but you see things a little differently. You have the old bull and the young bull and the old bull is not ready to give it up, his horns are still sharp. It's great that Shane is back. Whether or not there's a corporate place, we'll wait and see.

"From a performer standpoint, I so enjoy performing with him. And when the three of us are out there, Stephanie and Shane and me, and throw in Paul because that has happened in the past, oh my God! We could stay out there and entertain each other, much less the audience, for an hour. It would be easy. It's just so much fun because we can ad-lib and entertain ourselves. I think if you are entertaining yourselves and you're having fun, that projects and the audience is having fun with you."

When asked pressed further if Shane will remain with the company in either a corporate position or as a performer, Vince replied, "That will be determined by whether or not he wins his match."

Vince also discussed John Cena not wrestling at WrestleMania 32, injuries plaguing this year's Mania, keeping Shane's return a surprise and much more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

Rumor Mill - Shane McMahon Wanted To Buy Newcastle United

New reports suggest Shane McMahon tried and failed to buy Newcastle United football club.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes this week that the son of WWE owner Vince McMahon attempted to put together a consortium to take over the club, but ultimately a deal never materialised.

Rumours from a few years ago actually suggested Vince McMahon wanted to buy the club but at the time it appeared to be fanciful journalism, but may now have stemmed from a real situation where Shane McMahon wanted to buy out Mike Ashley. The deal wouldn’t have had any WWE connection, it would have been a Shane project.

Whether he’ll one day return with a bid for an English Premier League football side is unknown. He’s back with WWE for a short term run as a performer, but he’s in no way back in the wrestling business.

Shane also considered buying the MMA group RINGS, and there were also rumours that he thought about buying PRIDE before UFC stepped in.

He’s always wanted to prove himself, whether it was in WWE or outside WWE. However, he’s still waiting for his first major business success. As for WWE, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are now firmly established in the heir to Vince McMahon spot.

Video: Stephanie McMahon finally delivers her Legacy of Excellence Award speech

Shane McMahon On The Undertaker, How He Kept His WWE Return A Secret, Working With Family, More

Shane McMahon appeared on The Michael Kay Show in New York City earlier today. Below are highlights and full audio:

* Shane didn't believe he would get a reception that big on RAW and he's still humbled by it. He said it was electric and went through his body. The promo he cut during the commercial about his nipples being hard was real, he didn't know it was going to air. Shane said he will always hold that moment deep in his heart and said it was so emotional. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he would get but was hoping it would be good. He called it off the charts and wakes up everyday still in disbelief

* When asked if he missed performing in the ring, Shane says there's nothing like being in the ring, feeling the energy and being out there in front of fans as a performer. He talks about the energy from the crowd and called it special. When asked if there's any truth to Shane always wrestling with a chip on his shoulder to prove he wasn't just Vince McMahon's son and was willing to do anything, he says there's some truth to that. Shane says he grew up paying dues, setting rings up, taking jackets for the company, learning the business from the ground up. He's always had respect and admiration for the WWE talents, for what they go through and what they overcome. He always knew he wanted to do something big and tells a story about Mr. Fuji helping him do a dropkick from the top rope when he was younger. That was his first true understanding of what the guys go through. Shane says he was brought up in the business that way and he's just old school

* Shane talks about his 50 foot jump onto Big Show in Chicago and says what they do is really dangerous, you have to know what you're doing out there. The hosts jokingly ask if Shane might jump off the overhead scoreboard at AT&T Stadium. Shane points out he will be locked inside Hell In a Cell but anything can happen in WWE. Shane says he literally transforms when he gets in the ring, doesn't have much regard for his body and leaves it all out there

* The hosts asked if there is real animosity between he and Vince McMahon. Shane calls that a private moment and says there has been. He says any family working dynamic isn't easy but it is rewarding. He says it's lots of fun but also challenging. They ask if this comeback has anything to do with his three sons never getting to see him wrestle live. Shane says he's getting emotional and admits that is a big driving force and they will be there for WrestleMania. He's really excited and really proud. He hopes they will be fifth generation one day if they want to be. His kids did not know about the return on RAW and they were shocked. He says his wife Marissa secretly recorded their reactions and says they were going bonkers. He says getting to do something like that for your kids is one of the most rewarding things you can do

* He says it looks like they have a shot at breaking the attendance record in Dallas but is proud to be a part of it either way

* Regarding how they kept his return a secret, Shane says he's very old school and very guarded, he still lives by kayfabe and kept everything close to the vest. Shane says that's how it should be. He loves surprises, no matter what he's watching but especially WWE. He talks about how hard it is to have surprises with today's media and technology

* His favorite wrestler growing up was Superstar Billy Graham. He had great respect for Bruno Sammartino also. He says the older guys like Ivan Putski would stretch him, lock him in lockers and beat up on him in the locker room, saying he was the mascot to them. He wouldn't change anything and says he had an amazing childhood in the land of the giants

* The Shane O'Mac Shuffle was inspired by Apollo Creed, Muhammad Ali and The Rock's father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson

* He's training 3 times per day for the Hell In a Cell match against The Undertaker. He started getting in shape last summer for surfing with his kids. He started getting serious about it and hooked up with his old strength & conditioning coach Jimmy Quinn. His biggest thing is Muay Thai training and he's been into that for a while. He's working with Phil Nurse and other coaches, who worked with GSP, Rashad Evans, Frankie Edgar and others. Shane says they are carefully calculating a gameplan on what to do against The Deadman. Shane says it will be interesting and he has a gameplan. Shane says he's definitely putting in the work

* The hosts ask if Shane came back to help with the business side of things in WWE. As of right now, he's only focused on WrestleMania and what leads up to that night, and that's his main priority. Anything else after that, Shane says we will see what happens.

* They ask if he has any message for The Undertaker. Shane jokes that Taker should just relax, take it easy and stop training. He says he's been friends with Taker for 25 years. He says they have experienced a lot of life and had a lot of fun together. He says this match is a very serious thing. He knows you have to deliver, you have to be in shape and give it all you got or you're not doing the right thing for the fans. Shane says they're both working hard and there's an immense amount of pride. He says with friendship comes a lot of "stiff liberties" and he's coming for Taker

WWE officially shoots down speculation on Shane McMahon's backstage power

In a bit of 'Reality' Era publicity WWE surely loves, the New York Post ran a story yesterday openly musing about what Shane McMahon's on-screen return to the company means about the behind-the-scenes power structure of the company.

Officially, WWE gave the paper a statement downplaying any changes to their corporate org chart:

A WWE spokesman advised against reading too much into Shane's bid to run "Raw," saying the son's merely "playing a character on a TV show."

That the story exists in a mainstream media outlet like the Post gives some life to the angle among casual fans. In story, Shane is fighting Undertaker for control of Raw. On the internet, moments after the pleasant surprise of his re-emergence sunk in, questions about what this meant for his sister, Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and brother-in-law, Executive Vice-President Paul "Triple H" Levesque arose.

Getting folks invested in the worked program via interest in possible real-world drama is an old trick, and one WWE must be only too happy to see come into play on the road to WrestleMania 32 as they prep for the huge show with an injury-depleted roster.

It's a story that easily lends itself to such speculation, too, because it makes so much sense. As "Wrestlenomics" expert Chris Harrington is quoted in the Post, the ventures Shane left WWE to pursue exposed him to a market his father's company is now trying to tackle as they push WWE Network into China and other Pacific countries:

"He has spent years focused on the issue of how do you generate real revenue with Chinese OTT media," Harrington wrote Wednesday in a piece for Seeking Alpha. "That's a topic where WWE needs an expert."

For however long Shane is back, rumors will persist that there's something going on in the halls of Titan Tower in Stamford.

And that's just the way WWE likes it.

source: cagesideseats.com

Shane McMahon On Possibly Working Another Role With WWE, How Hard He's Training For WrestleMania

Shane McMahon appeared on The Michael Kay Show in New York City today to promote WWE's WrestleMania 32. We will have a full recap up soon but Shane was asked if he also returned to work on the business side of things. Shane said he's focused on WrestleMania 32 right now but he will "see how it goes" in regards to doing other work with the company.

Shane also revealed that he's training three times each day for the Hell In a Cell match against The Undertaker. He started getting in better shape this past summer as his kids enjoy surfing but he's started getting serious about training and has been doing Muay-Thai for a while now.

News On Shane McMahon's Employment With YOD In China, More Speculation On His WWE Future

Christopher Harrington of the Wrestlenomics website has a really good article looking at Shane McMahon's WWE return. You can check it out on business website Seeking Alpha at this link. Harrington looks at Shane and the Chinese company YOU on Demand, which he went to work for as Chairman and CEO in 2010. YOD is looking at being a top OTT streaming and subscription service in China but has had financial troubles and other issues.

Shane has invested several million of his own dollars into YOD while their annual losses for the past seven years have ranged from $6 to $16 million. There's a lot of potential for a company like YOD in China but they face several obstacles such as piracy, state-censorship on Western content and other regulations. Shane stepped down as CEO a few years back so there could be a CEO located in China and his current title with YOD is "Founder and Vice Chairman" but he is still on the Board of Directors and was recently re-elected. He has other ties to the company through stock and several million dollars worth of loans he's made to them. Harrington also reported that Shane's most recent employment agreement was made in January 2014 and included a term of two years, which was to automatically extend for additional one-year terms unless terminated before. Harrington pointed out how Shane's role with YOD appears to be diminishing as new investors move in, especially after the most recent restructuring. There has been no official announcement that Shane resumed an executive position with WWE or that he's done with YOD but it makes for interesting speculation.

Harrington also looked at Shane's role with YOD and what it could mean for the WWE Network in China as the company looks to expand there. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he takes on with WWE after WrestleMania 32, if any, as things change with YOD in China.

Shane McMahon Returns to WWE Raw During Vincent J. McMahon Award Segment

As seen on WWE Raw tonight, Vince McMahon presented the first ever Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award to his daughter Stephanie McMahon, and the ceremony was interrupted by a returning Shane McMahon.

Shane McMahon demanded control of Monday Night Raw from Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon.

Vince agreed and said he would give Shane control of the show, but only if he wins one match, on one night. Vince said that he will choose Shane’s opponent, and if he wins, then he can have control of Monday Night Raw.

Vince then announced the match will take place at WrestleMania 32, and Shane’s opponent will be The Undertaker. Vince added that the match will take place inside Hell in a Cell.

Chris Jericho - Stephanie McMahon Podcast Recap: Ronda Rousey, Shane McMahon, Her Parents, AJ, More

Chris Jericho's live WWE Network interview with Stephanie McMahon kicks off from WWE TV studios in Stamford, CT. Jericho welcomes us to the second edition of "Live! with Chris Jericho." He welcomes his old rival Stephanie and says people want the hard-hitting questions so he's going right to that. Stephanie just came from the annual WWE staff party and Jericho says he never knew that party existed. Stephanie says it's just a way of saying thanks to their employees. Jericho imagines Vince McMahon walking around with a tray of h'orderves and Stephanie says he doesn't do that. Jericho says he's been at the studios all day and it's "insane." Stephanie says WWE currently has 800 employees.

Stephanie talks about being in Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai recently on behalf of WWE and as an Eisenhower Fellow. Stephanie talks about what the program is. She notes that she will be going on another trip for the program later this year. Stephanie mentioned having to defend WWE while on tour and Jericho can't believe that they still have to defend WWE but they do. Stephanie says that's part of her job. She touts some WWE talking points and says they're a pioneer. Jericho asks about working for dad and she says it's very challenging. She says Vince is exceptionally driven and passionate. Jericho says Vince is off to the side right now giving them the middle finger. Stephanie says there's a lot of pressure on Vince's kids to do better. She says Vince didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth and while he's given her all of her opportunities, he still wants her to fight for it every day and that's what she does. She talks about messing up before and says disappointing Vince is the worst. As a performer, Vince has made her re-shoot certain angles. Jericho says he has had to do that before and it makes you feel like a loser. Jericho says Stephanie is just like Vince on TV. Stephanie says her brother Shane McMahon calls her the "Vincess." Stephanie says she's unaware that she emulates him but she's watched him all her life and there's no one better.

Jericho says Vince has left the set and jokes that he scared him off. Jericho asks if people get the Chief Brand Officer mixed up with the on-screen Stephanie when she's out working. She talks about how she tells kids at the "be a STAR" anti-bullying rallies that she plays a bully on TV but that's not who she is in real life. They talk about her childhood and she says she did understand what her dad did. One of her earliest memories was between 3-6 years old, walking backstage and running into George "The Animal" Steele in full character. She says she was scared to death and ran back to Vince but George just started laughing. She says George was laughing as if he didn't take her fear seriously and that confused her at the time. She says Vince also thought it was hilarious and that's when she started putting it together. She would watch Vince announce on WWF and she had her favorites - The Killer Bees and Tito Santana. She says she gravitated more towards the heels as a kid and did not root for Hulk Hogan.

More?

Stephanie Talks Missing Shane In WWE, Why No More Elimination Chamber, More

Stephanie McMahon was a guest on The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast on Nerdist.com to promote the new WWE fitness DVDs. She also talked about Total Divas and other elements. Below are some highlights:

Stephanie talked about Total Divas connecting with their large female audience (she said 1/3 of the audience of WWE’s core programming is female) as well as attract new viewers. She also put over the series being the second most popular on E (behind the Kardashians).

When asked whose idea was Total Divas, Stephanie said it was “hard to say” but it was created with E.

Stephanie talked about her return to the ring at SummerSlam, saying she knew that with her return to TV that she eventually had to get her comeuppance. She called it a pleasure working with Brie Bella. Stephanie said it was fun but challenging.

When asked about the company eliminating the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Stephanie said from a reality standpoint, the elimination chamber was 10 tons and was becoming increasingly hard to hang in arenas that had scoreboards. She explained that more and more arenas were getting these big beautiful displays and they were unable to hang the structure.

As for what to expect from WWE Fast Lane, Stephanie said they will deliver with the pay-per-view before Wrestlemania.

She said that she missed having Shane McMahon in WWE. Stephanie said she was “stretched quite often” by wrestling with her brother growing up. She said the only way she could win was by not giving up. Stephanie fully supports Shane and put over him being Chairman at You On Demand. He’s also a co-owner of a motorcycle shop.

Click here to listen to the podcast in its entirety.

Recap of the Austin-McMahon Podcast

“Stone Cold” Podcast featuring Vince McMahon
Monday, December 1, 2014
Report by Sean Hopkins of WrestlingNewsWorld.com

Steve Austin is shown recording asking fans to give a ‘hell yeah’ if they’re ready for a live interview with Vince McMahon. This transitions into a video package showing some of the highlights of the Austin/McMahon rivalry before heading into the studio where Austin welcomes the fans and Vince McMahon to the show.

Austin asks how the Network is doing right off the bat. Vince says it’s doing great. Subscriptions are good, 90% satisfaction level. Austin asks specifically about the UK. Vince says he hopes to have it settled by the 1st of the year, but he doesn’t want to say too much too soon.

Austin talks about being asked to debut the Network, and he asks if it’ll ultimately meet McMahon’s high expectations. McMahon says it’ll take a bit of time to build some content and give them exactly what they want, which they’re doing right now.

Austin asks how in tune McMahon is with the crowd. McMahon says Pro Wrestling is where his dad came from, and Sports entertainment is about telling a story. Some of the matches don’t hit, and Steve knows that. McMahon thought Wyatt and Ambrose looked good tonight, and the six man match was also good.

Austin brings up the three hour length of Raw. McMahon says no one does that, and they’ve been doing it for many years. They’re all over the world, and when you’re traveling every week, they do magic with a lot of help and a lot of people behind the scenes. Performers have to be right, whether they’re hurt, or haven’t had sleep, they have to be at their best.

Austin talks about enjoying his run, but when he watches the show, he wants more wrestling. He understands there’s not to many guys and girls, but he thinks the first segment takes too long to build up to the hook. McMahon says you can’t have two guys wrestling for wrestling’s sake, you have to have guys who are adversaries and that’ll make you want to see the outcome.

Austin talks about the change in atmosphere in the locker room, and that there’s guys and girls walking on eggshells because there’s no other options, Austin even name checks TNA. McMahon says not to piss anyone off. Austin says he pissed a lot of people off. McMahon says they’re millenials, and there are a lot who don’t want to grab the brass ring. He talks about Wyatt, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns as those who might change that. He says there’s not enough laughter and shenanigans as back in Austin’s day.

McMahon continues talking about millenials fear of failing, and being exposed. He says he’s given everyone opportunities, and things from a social media standpoint. It helps talent, and gives them tools that people like Austin didn’t have, and they use it, but not in the way Austin did.

Austin issues a challenge to the WWE Superstars, to go out on a limb. Austin says McMahon needs more depth on the roster, and McMahon agrees. Austin says you have to go on a limb to get over, and Vince agrees.

More?

How Much WWE Stock Do Vince, Stephanie and Shane Own?

Back in February, it was reported that Stephanie McMahon owned 661,678 shares of WWE stock while Shane McMahon owned 1,541,224 shares.

However, those numbers aren't correct as Vince McMahon set up two trusts for Stephanie, one in 2004 and one in 2008. As of the weekend, Stephanie owned 2,511,071 shares of company stock, which is worth $34,050,122. As of the weekend, Shane owned 1,541,204 shares worth $20,898,726 and Vince owned 39,272,641 shares worth $532,537,010.

McMahon-Levesque Art Work

credit: robschamberger.com

Update on Shane McMahon's Company - YOU On Demand

China's VOD movie market remains a question mark after high-profile service generates just $183,000 in quarterly revenue

China’s digital movie service You On Demand Aug. 18 posted a second-quarter (ended June 30) net loss of $793,000 — a marked improvement from a net loss of $3.3 million during the prior-year period, according to a regulatory filing.

The subscription streaming and transactional VOD service, with headquarters in New York and Beijing, has over the years secured high-profile content license agreements with Disney Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures, NBC Universal, Warner Bros., Miramax, Lionsgate and Magnolia, as well as a broad selection of content from Chinese filmmakers.

Yet the service generated just $183,000 in revenue in the second quarter, which was up from $51,000 in revenue during the prior-year period. These are hardly impressive numbers in a Chinese market where more than 700 million people are projected to watch online video content this year.

To help secure better connections in China, You On Demand recently appointed Weicheng Liu as CEO, replacing Shane McMahon, who remains chairman of the board. Marc Urbach is president and CFO of the company.

China remains a burgeoning movie-watching market, with theatrical sales expected to become the largest in the world in a couple of years. Social media sites such as Youku and Tudou have hundreds of millions of unique monthly users, but online digital distribution remains a challenge.

Lionsgate is launching a SVOD service in China this month. The service is a partnership with Alibaba, one of the country’s largest e-commerce sites, and includes the latter’s set-top boxes and connected TVs.

Dubbed “Lionsgate Entertainment World,” the service would also include transactional video-on-demand and electronic sellthrough, featuring the Santa Monica, Calif.-based studio’s catalog of movies and TV shows, including The Hunger Games, Divergent, “Nashville,” Rosemary’s Baby and “Mad Men,” among others.

“It’s another way for us to get content into the Chinese market with a great partner,” Jim Packer, president of worldwide television and digital distribution at Lionsgate, told Bloomberg last month. “We’re always exploring opportunities in China, it’s a growing content market, it’s a content market you have to be in.”

Meanwhile, a 2011 McKinsey & Co. report found that successful online video sites would need to expand their bandwidth; hire experienced online advertising salespeople, and license content that will would generate the largest audiences and advertising.

“The best-funded sites are therefore likely to pull steadily ahead, in what could be a winner-takes-all phase of the market,” analyst Alan Lau wrote.

You On Demand’s fiscal results suggest it will take more than content to lure users.

source: homemediamagazine.com

Is it time for a new WWE CEO?

With this past week's announcement of World Wrestling Entertainment releasing 11 people from its roster added to the already horrendous drop in the WWE's stock price by almost 50%; reports that Vince McMahon personally lost over $750 million dollars over the last few months; the market's disappointment in WWE's new U.S. television deal; and the number of WWE Network subscribers being stuck at 667,287 which is quite far off the reported 1.5 million subscribers needed for it to break even; questions are being asked about the company's direction.

As is inevitable when a company has this kind of downfall in such a short amount of time, reports have been circulating that many investors are calling for Vince McMahon to resign as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. However, the obvious query is whether or not that should happen and if so who would replace him?

Before devolving further into this issue, though, it has to be noted that Vince McMahon owns roughly 57% of WWE’s Class A common stock - 39.9 million shares - which gives him controlling interest in the company. So if he doesn’t wish to be removed as CEO of the company it would be almost impossible to force him to do so. Additionally, it also means that any successive CEO would need his stamp of approval.

Regardless, this does not mean that it hasn’t come time for someone else to guide the WWE as the CEO...More?

source: slamwrestling.com

Shane McMahon Reveals His WrestleMania 30 Status, Talks Whether or Not a Civil War Resulted in Him Leaving WWE

BuzzFeed has a big story on Shane McMahon, who discussed leaving the family business to make it on his own. In the interview, Shane denied rumors that there was a power struggle between himself and Stephanie McMahon.

"No, there was no civil war," Shane said. "My sister is still involved in the company now with her husband Triple H. They're there. My dad is there. Things are moving forward."

Shane also admitted that his father could be a difficult boss.

"My dad held me to a different standard, without question, sometimes unfairly so and that's OK," he said. "It's tough to bat .1000 all the time. It's that one wrong all the time. It teaches you. It definitely teaches you. It's a way of teaching."

The article also interviewed Vince McMahon, Kurt Angle and Court Bauer. Bauer discussed the differences between working for Shane and Stephanie.

"I liked his approach. It was very playful, and really just an exciting, 'What if we did this?'" Bauer said. "If you went into Shane's department, it was fun, laid-back, loose vibes. The energy and positivity wasn't there in creative the way it was in digital. When it came out [in 2009] that he was leaving the company, I spoke to people at WWE, a lot of people were walking around like someone had died. 'Oh gosh, he's going to leave us?'"

Shane also discounted reports that he would be at WrestleMania tonight but said that he's open to coming back as some point "because anything can happen in the WWE."


Read the full article here.