12 Wrestling Rivalries That Were Too Real To Be Fake

When Shane McMahon returned to WWE in February, fans were elated to see him. It had been more than six years since he left the company, and the accepted narrative, whether true or not, was that in his absence, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H had run the company into the ground.

WWE's writers built upon that perception in crafting a storyline where Shane sought to "rescue" the company from his family's inept and selfish clutches.

He unloaded a verbal barrage on Stephanie, Hunter, and (most of all) his father, finally goading the old man into putting control of Raw on the line in a WrestleMania match featuring The Undertaker.

The thing is, there was some truth to the entire dynamic between Vince and Shane. It was once assumed that Shane would take control of WWE after Vince relinquished it, but when Stephanie started to take more of a role in creative, she became the golden child.

She and Triple H started to have a hand in running the company, while Shane clearly fell below them in the corporate hierarchy. Eventually, Shane decided to leave WWE.

Family is family, and the fact that Shane is working for WWE again shows that he's put a lot of this behind him. Still, those powerful promos dredge up some real-life issues.