10 Major Lessons WWE Must Learn From 2017

4. Shatter Shane McMahon: Toughest SOB

Pete Dunne
WWE

Shane McMahon was credited for spiking WrestleMania 32 ticket sales. His apparent, nostalgia-driven drawing power is something we have suffered for since.

This author page is littered with criticisms of the trash Shane 'O Mac babyface act, because he's essentially a father figure to the grateful minnows on the SmackDown roster: hard-as-nails, he was the only logical choice to lead "Blue Team" to Survivor Series glory. He didn't, but it was fine: he blamed the impotent Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a terrible chapter of yet another Shane-centric story. His inglorious Sole Survivor role was received with silence in a drastically misjudged sympathy ploy. The message, that Shane was superior to Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Randy Orton and John Cena - Cena! - killed the crowd. The ego trip reached its tipping point.

Recent rumours suggest Shane will enter 2018 as a heel - cynically, the lack of credible heel opponents on the SmackDown roster may account for that, with one eye cast towards New Orleans - which might come as a relief.

Unless he fancies doing Shinsuke Nakamura a 'Mania "favour", and with his power absorption ability, doing a horrendous impression of Eric Bischoff at Starrcade '97.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!