10 Times WWE Sacrificed WrestleMania For The Greater Good
6. The Undertaker Vs. Shane McMahon (WrestleMania 32)
As WrestleMania 32 struggled for both excitement and ticket sales, Vince McMahon looked to the place he knows best: his family tree.
In came his son Shane for a previously unplanned storyline with The Undertaker. The two would meet in a Hell in a Cell clash stipulating that in the event of a defeat, Shane would hand over a lockbox containing his father’s deepest, darkest secrets to the WWE Chairman. If he won, however, he would presumably unleash them upon the world, and Vince would never be the same again.
Shane lost, the lockbox was never spoken of again, and that was that. The outcome is barely a footnote in WWE history. Regardless, booking Shane had the desired impact. WrestleMania’s lagging ticket sales reportedly spiked as soon as The Undertaker bout was announced and his return segment drew a tremendous reaction inside the building and out. A big, objective success from Vince’s point of view.
The sacrifice, however, was the match itself. Shane vs. The Undertaker was a certified sinker and a colossal time sink at over 40 minutes including ring entrances and video packages. A sacrifice worth making? Perhaps, but surely they could’ve wrapped the bloody thing in 15 minutes?