10 Ways WWE Is Completely Unrecognisable From Just One Year Ago
9. There Goes The Money
Shane McMahon was a busy boy this time last year.
Too f*cking busy.
'The Money' was all set for a WrestleMania 35 showdown with The Miz after a remarkably captivating union ended suddenly following the loss of their Tag Team Championships (!) a month prior. It was a turn teased several months earlier when 'The Money' took Miz' place last minute in a Crown Jewel tournament that crowned him 'The Best In The World' and sort-of-but-not-really justified him being more than just a one-segment General Manager type in the months that followed.
His presence, if anything, was only because of the programme. The McMahon Family had sacked all authority figures in a weird acknowledgment of fan disinterest in the product in December, with Shane replacing the far more palatable Paige on the blue brand. This was just about fine as a face, but he quickly became an insufferable and over-familiar force as a heel. Not least when the feud with Miz was actually used to enhance his stature on the show.
Kevin Owens put the character out to pasture on the first Fox edition of SmackDown, and he's thankfully not been back since. That jig is irritating enough in front of audiences, let alone to nobody in particular in the Performance Center.