Shane McMahon’s 10 Most Ridiculous Ego Trips

6. Grand Theft

AJ Styles Shane McMahon
WWE.com

In March 2001, WCW and ECW disappeared almost overnight, as Vince McMahon took his place atop an industry he'd been gradually devouring for nearly 20 years. Not only did he celebrate such a feat by gobbling up even more time for himself on the final edition of Monday Nitro, but his empiric vision of Sports Entertainment was fully realised on the 'Grandest Stage'.

WrestleMania 17 was and still is the finest ever WWE supercard, and could perhaps be the greatest wrestling show of all time. That it landed just days after the conclusion of his bloodthirsty battle with WCW was probably as sweet as the fact he was able to share some of the spotlight in a gloriously entertaining Street Fight with son Shane.

As per storyline requirements, Vince took his lumps that night, including a final spot in which 'Shane-O-Mac' went 'coast to coast', dropkicking a trashcan in his father's face from the other side of the ring. WCW wrestlers looked on from the cheap seats that night, but one future WWE employee not in attendance was Rob Van Dam. 'Mr Pay-Per-View' had innovated the breathtaking leap less than a year earlier, and the vaunted Van Terminator was the talk of the wrestling fanbase as a result.

Freshly out of a job, Van Dam may have needed the spot to find employment, or even just generate some token buzz. A trust fund kid stealing it wholesale on one of the most watched wrestling shows ever wasn't going to aid that trajectory.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett