The year was 2000. WWE fans had gotten a small taste of the stunts Shane McMahon was willing to do in order to make the fans (and presumably the guys in the locker room) take him seriously as a performer. But we had not yet known that Shane was willing to be murdered for entertainment value. That would change when Shane-O-Mac went head-to-head with Steve Blackman for the Hardcore Championship at SummerSlam. This match didn't just gain him respect, this match made him a legend. It would be a disservice to gloss over the entire match in favor of that one unforgettable spot, but by all accounts, this was a fairly standard hardcore brawl up until that point. There were kendo sticks, trash cans, and interference from Test and Albert on Shane's behalf. It certainly wasn't a bad match by any means, but he's had more well-rounded bouts in his career. But then he started to climb up the side of the Titantron. In the context of the storyline, it was to escape Blackman, who had just dismantled Shane's lackeys. But we all know it was really just an excuse to create one of the most unexpected, jaw-dropping moments in SummerSlam history. Just like that, Shane was more than one of the boys. He was a goddamn icon.
