7 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Sept 29)

4. Shane McMahon Corner

Dolph Ziggler The Undertaker
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Shane McMahon comes under a lot of criticism on this Author Page. This week, I am pleading with you to see why.

On this week's SmackDown, he - an ageing office figure - saved Sami Zayn, the most under-utilised talent on his show - from a drastic beating at the hands of storyline rival Kevin Owens, another brilliant, full-time, younger wrestler. Owens had to run from Shane. Because he's so hard. So basically, what we have here is the presence of Shane McMahon ruining the Owens Vs. AJ Styles series, the nonsensical match structures of which were designed to build to Shane as guest referee for their SummerSlam capper, and build his feud with KO from there. AJ is the hors d'oeuvre, and Shane is the entrée. Let that sink in. The ongoing rivalry between Zayn and Owens - and their SmackDown match, which was ace, but forget about that, let's cut to Shane - was presented as incidental.

He is also so dedicated to the craft he barely does that he insists on doing his own motion capture for video games. The mere existence of Shane McMahon, wrestler, generates so many questions. He is a kid playing at being a wrestler. If he gave that much of a sh*t, why doesn't he do it all time? Can you really class yourself as a perfectionist, if there's very little to perfect?

Why do people like him?

Contributor
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!