10 Wrestlers Who Were Driven Out Of The Business

4. Shane McMahon

Palmer Cannon
WWE.com

Shane McMahon was driven out of a business that, at one point, was his to inherit. This is a man who has jumped distances of 50 feet to execute wild stunts, but experienced a fall from grace more drastic than his big SummerSlam 1999 spot at the 2022 Royal Rumble.

Afforded far too much latitude to book the match - which Shane of course interpreted as a means of portraying himself as the hardest man alive, harder even than Jerry Lawler watching a college sex comedy - Shane out-fought Matt Riddle, eliminated Kevin Owens, and made the final four. Worse, he had to be talked down by a quite unbelievably rational Vince McMahon. The reception to the match was dismal, so much so that WWE didn't line up Shane's traditional WrestleMania programme afterwards.

They did the opposite; in an incredible news story, one of the most shocking in a year defined by them, Shane McMahon was driven out of WWE because his own father could no longer sanction his preposterously misplaced ego.

And, since Shane is hardly likely to resurface under the Triple H regime - in this prologue to Succession, it was Triple H and Stephanie McMahon who it is believed hounded him out of the company in the first place - that might be it for the sweating mess of rabbit punches.

 
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Contributor

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!