10 Times WWE Successfully Recycled Its Own Storylines

2. A McMahon In Every Corner

Linda McMahon Does Something Good
WWE

It took some fair old gumption of Vince McMahon to book his entire family in yet another WrestleMania blockbuster just a year after offering one "in every corner" of the main event, but an incredible offering with his son Shane yet again made magnificent use of all four.

At WrestleMania 16, Vince, Shane, Stephanie and Linda cornered The Rock, The Big Show, Triple H and Mick Foley respectively. A year later and it was all about them.

'Shane-O-Mac' went to war on behalf of his comatose mother in an effort to neuter his megalomaniacal father after months of physical and emotional abuse. Stephanie was sucked in too, trapped in an unnerving war with McMahon's twinkie-turned-torture victim Trish Stratus over exactly who could lay claim to being "Daddy's Little Girl". The payoff, somehow, was one of the most grandiose in WrestleMania history.

Linda rising from her sedate state to hoof her husband in his grapefruits almost stole the greatest show in company history - a far cry from Vince's swerve-turn 12 months earlier resulting in 'The Great One' dropping a People's Elbow on his daughter.

The McMahons will regrettably always rely on themselves to fix any company ill - this one-two pay-per-view punch was both box office and brilliant.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett