As the Executive Vice President Global Media for World Wrestling Entertainment, Shane McMahon is on the record a lot — just not usually about his in-ring performances.
Over the last few years, he’s been a featured performer off and on in the WWE. He’s taken high-risk bumps and worked routine matches. He’s been the center of attention during monologues, skits and storylines, and at other times wasn’t seen on-screen for months.
In Toronto recently for the announcement of Monday Night Raw’s move from TSN to The Score, he addressed a little the challenges of being an in-ring performer.
For McMahon, losing the tailored suit for looser-fitting athletic gear means forgetting about the day to day minutia of television and web deals.
“Nothing’s in my mind. It’s craziness, and that’s probably why I should be behind the mic instead of out in the ring,” he explained to SLAM! Wrestling.
Why do it then?
“Just an unbelievable passion I have for it, like every other performer out there. It’s an unbelievable rush to be out there, and a lot of fun to do it.”
McMahon said that sometimes he goes to WWE creative with ideas, and other times the creative team comes to him. “We listen to our fanbase so much. If they’re clamouring for it, and that’s what they want to see, that’s what we try to deliver.”
Recently, McMahon has tangled with the re-formed DX of Shawn Michaels and Triple H. He said that the experience level of his proposed opponents are not an issue as WWE creative comes up with the storyline. “Pretty much anybody on our roster should be able to work with anybody else, and compete against whomever,” he said. “Some people are at a different level of competition, so you always bring your ‘A’ game, and if someone else can step up to it, great. If you can’t, then that’s obviously seen in the ring.”
He has even more respect for the talent than he did before getting in the ring himself. He hopes that respect goes both ways, and hasn’t gotten any guff from the WWE superstars for being in main event positions on Raw and on the occasional pay-per-view. “Hopefully I continue to earn their respect as a performer. I’m in and out. Those are the guys busting their asses every day, day in, day out, four days a week, travel schedule. That’s much, much harder run.”
Shane has been fortunate to not only work alongside his father, Vince McMahon, but also his sister Stephanie and mother Linda.
Being able to tap into his father’s wrestling mind has been a tremendous asset, he said. “One of the advantages is that I have is working with my dad. My dad didn’t have a lot of time to work with his father; we’ve been doing it with a structured and corporate plan, so we have been doing it. I’m looking forward to taking it to the next level. It’s family and group effort.”
And that family keeps expanding.
Shane and his wife Marissa Mazzola-McMahon recently welcomed their second child into the world, and the offspring of his sister Stephanie and Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, is pending.
Would he encourage his own kids to get into wrestling?
“Whatever they want to do. If their passion is in there, and that’s what they want to do, absolutely,” he said. “They are the fifth generation, so it’s up to them to continue. My sister is expecting any minute, so there, once again, will be another member of the fifth generation. I think if we just keep multiplying, we can cover the world.”
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