There must have been a time when Shane McMahon was sure that the keys to the kingdom would someday be his. After all, his great grandfather, grandfather and father all promoted professional wrestling for a living. Most would have assumed that one day he would inherit the company, or at least run it side-by-side with his sister Stephanie. But it was not to be. Shane put in the hours, he helped with creative, and wrestled quite a few matches during his time in the business. But as the years went on, it was clear he was not going to be in charge when Vince left the throne. To add further insult, had he stuck around, he probably wouldnt have even been second in command as Stephs husband Hunter was becoming more hands-on with each passing year. In 2011 in an interview with the LA Times, Shane said leaving the company was brutal and that instead of getting ready to take over the reigns he Wasnt going anywhere. Because of his fathers shadow, and inability to rise the ranks, he did the unthinkable and left the WWE to become the Chairman of a video-on-demand service in China. Since leaving the family business that was his job for over 20 years of his life, he has not returned since. Even though years have passed, there's still something strange about Shane not being involved in the wrestling business.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
