8 Reasons Shane McMahon Vs. The Undertaker Just Didn't Work
A one-spot wonder with many flaws.
In many ways, it was the most anticipated match of WrestleMania 32. The dearth of star power due to an endless list of injuries necessitated dusting off a sentimental, albeit aged, favorite in Shane McMahon. We'll never forget the deafening cheers he received on February 22, nearly busting the roof off of the Joe Louis Arena.
From there, it was quickly all downhill. While the announcement of a high-stakes WrestleMania match with The Undertaker piqued everyone's senses with the immediate thought of, "That's crazy, how are they going to do that?!", the beams couldn't support the weight, and on a weekly basis, the chips became cracks. From Shane flubbing multiple promos, to his Ralph Parker-esque punches, to the storyline making less and less sense with more time to think about it, the road to WrestleMania was filled with more potholes than there are in all of Canada.
Then there was the match itself. Some fans are hailing it as a masterpiece, largely on the merit of one insane bump that will be in highlight packages for years to come. Others found it dreadfully boring, a heavily-disguised Mr. Pibb rendition of an Attitude Era standard, and that the earlier 'action' didn't justify the stuntman leap.
Here's where the match went off the rails.
8. Where Were Vince, Triple H, And Stephanie?
So jobs were essentially on the line here. If Shane McMahon somehow felled the Lord of Darkness inside Hell in a Cell, Vince's daughter and son-in-law would wield less power, the very power that they brandish like weaponry every Monday night. In story, we're supposed to think that Triple H and Stephanie would be scared lifeless that Shane would win, and disrupt their malevolently happy lives.
In the parts where Shane had control of the match, where was Vince to send out the cavalry, any WWE midcard geek he could afford to pay off, to run down and cut off Shane's moments of dominance? For a match with high stakes, in which villainous characters stand to lose everything, there were few outside twists. You know, the opposite of Attitude Era showcases.