Once looked at as the unquestioned heir to the WWE throne, Shane McMahon began his career learning the company from the ground, including part-time duties as a referee before taking a bigger role on-screen as the son of the evil Mr. McMahon character. Behind the scenes, Shane was Vince's clear successor until Stephanie's role behind the scenes began to increase, aided by a marriage to main event talent Triple H. The story goes that Vince slowly began favoring his daughter's involvement over his son's and Shane felt marginalized. Instead of relying on his only son now more than ever, Vince has since taken Triple H under his wing and has made it all but official that The Game will be the man taking over Vince's empire. For the son who had always worked hard for WWE, including sacrificing his body in numerous classic PPV matches, the situation had to be a tough pill to swallow but used as fuel to his fire. Seeing the writing on the wall, Shane decided to form his own path in his own business ventures and left the company in 2010, a move that did not please his father. Shane made quite a statement by venturing into the relative unknown, leaving the company once thought to be his inheritance. Time will tell if Shane will ever find his way back to WWE, but for now it is clear that the father and son's relationship and succession plan did not turn out exactly as Vince would have liked.