WWE Releases Shane McMahon
Major story breaks following reports of WWE Royal Rumble controversy...
In a shocking story, per Ringside News - who initially reported that Shane McMahon's ego-driven agenting of the men's Royal Rumble match created mass disillusionment over the weekend - has been "quietly let go" by WWE.
That's a surreal sentence to write, given his name value and personal ties to the organisation. Ringside News provide additional details, confirming that a "tenured member of the creative team" was advised in a "semi-quiet way" that "there will be no more creative discussions about Shane McMahon".
The report paints a damning picture of WWE's internal process at present; after all, McMahon was initially pitched for a major programme opposite Seth Rollins, who is booked so favourably that WWE were reluctant to allow even Roman Reigns to defeat him cleanly at the controversial event. To arrive from that pitch to this report is some shift in mentality.
The phrasing is more interesting still; "let go" suggests that Shane has been outright cut from a traditional annual deal that usually sees him work at most a handful of matches per year. He isn't merely without a WrestleMania opponent after the Rollins pitch was nixed; he, seemingly, is gone altogether.
There are no reports at present indicating an acrimonious element to the split, though the cloud of smoke smells acrid from this distance.