Shane McMahon Biography

Shane Brandon McMahon (born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman who is a minority owner of WWE and the vice-chairman of YOU On Demand. He is currently signed to WWE as the commissioner of SmackDown Live.

McMahon is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a member of the McMahon family. He began working in WWE at age 15, starting in their warehouse, where he filled merchandise orders. McMahon was also a referee, producer, announcer, and eventually a wrestler on-screen, while also becoming WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Media behind the scenes. He is the great-grandson of Roderick "Jess" McMahon, grandson of Vincent J. McMahon, son of WWE Owner/Chairman/CEO Vincent K. McMahon and former WWE CEO/U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon, elder brother of WWE executive/personality Stephanie McMahon, and brother-in-law of WWE executive/wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

As a wrestler, he won the European Championship once and the Hardcore Championship once, and has wrestled in mid-card matches of several WWE pay per views.

In 2009, McMahon announced his resignation from WWE which went into effect January 1, 2010. He later became CEO of entertainment service company YOU On Demand in late 2010. On July 12, 2013, McMahon voluntarily stepped down as CEO of YOU On Demand and appointed Weikang Liu as his successor, while remaining the company's principal executive officer and Vice Chairman of the Board. He returned to WWE as an on-screen character in February 2016.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

Early years (1989?1997)

McMahon began his off-screen career as a referee named Shane Stevens in 1989 at the Survivor Series and was the first performer to walk out to greet the audience at WrestleMania VI. He also refereed during the 1991 Royal Rumble match. McMahon soon left behind his refereeing duties and took on the role of a backstage official at WrestleMania VIII in an attempt to break up a storyline brawl between Randy Savage and Ric Flair.

The Corporation (1998-2000)

Template:Main article Shane McMahon made his first appearances as a regular on-air character in early 1998, when he was one of the main WWF executives negotiating with Mike Tyson during Tyson's heavily-hyped involvement in WrestleMania. He became a recurring part of his father's on-air feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. In the early days of that angle, McMahon offered support for his father in cameo roles, but he did not become an enforcer like Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson. McMahon was a color commentator on Sunday Night Heat alongside Jim Cornette and later Kevin Kelly, and announced with Jerry Lawler on the 1999 videogame WWF Attitude. Concurrently with this, Shane took on the role as a regular character, turning on his father by signing Austin to a contract after Vince demoted him to the position of referee. Yet at Survivor Series, Shane turned heel by turning on Austin and became an official member of The Corporation.

In February 1999, McMahon moved away from the commentary role on Heat and became a key component in the Corporation angle, winning the European Championship from X-Pac. The two met in a rematch at WrestleMania XV; McMahon got help from his childhood friends the Mean Street Posse and Triple H, who turned on X-Pac during the match, to retain the championship. McMahon then retired the title, wanting to retire as an "undefeated champion". McMahon later gave the title to Mideon, who found it in McMahon's duffel bag, thus reactivating it.

After WrestleMania, Vince briefly made his second face run and Shane took control of the Corporation. With wrestlers such as Triple H in this new faction, Shane feuded with his father and a new faction made up of former Corporation members, The Union. On the UPN pilot for SmackDown!, Shane joined forces with The Undertaker and the Ministry of Darkness to form the Corporate Ministry. Eventually, Vince was revealed to be the mastermind behind this faction, and his face turn was explained to be a plot to get the WWF Championship off Austin. Austin then met Shane and Vince in a ladder match at the King of the Ring for ownership of the WWF, as in the storyline, Austin had 50%, which was assigned to him by Linda and Stephanie McMahon, upset by Vince and Shane's complicity in the storyline kidnapping of Stephanie by the Corporate Ministry, while Vince and Shane each had 25%. Shane and Vince won the match when a mystery associate raised the briefcase out of Austin's reach when he climbed the ladder, allowing Vince and Shane to grab the case and regain 100% ownership of the WWF.

With his ownership reinstated, McMahon shifted his sights to, then babyface, Test, who was kayfabe dating Shane's sister, Stephanie. Shane disapproved of the relationship, feeling Stephanie was dating "beneath the family's standards", and wound up feuding with Test. With help from the Mean Street Posse, McMahon made Test's life a living hell. At SummerSlam, McMahon met Test in a "Love Her or Leave Her" match, with the stipulation being that if McMahon won the match, Test and Stephanie could no longer see each other, and if he lost, McMahon would give his blessings to the pair. Test was able to get the win, and McMahon eventually settled his differences with Test, thus making his second face run by becoming his ally. As his father, Vince, then feuded with Triple H, Shane was attacked in early December 1999 by Triple H and D-Generation X (DX). He was thrown off the stage in a gang style attack, in which Billy Gunn and Road Dogg prevented members of the Corporation from saving Shane. Later in the year, Stephanie turned heel, siding with her new kayfabe husband then-heel, Triple H (the two began their off-screen relationship around this time, but did not marry in real life until 2003). With that, the McMahon-Helmsley Faction began, and all of the other McMahons disappeared from television.

At No Way Out, Shane made his return as a heel again by trying to help Big Show defeat The Rock; these efforts failed as Vince returned the next Monday night on Raw Is War, when the Rock got a rematch against Big Show, and helped The Rock win the match. This started the road to WrestleMania 2000, where in the four-way main event each wrestler had a McMahon in his corner. The Rock had Vince, Big Show had Shane, Triple H had Stephanie, and Mick Foley had Shane's mother, Linda McMahon. Big Show was the first man eliminated, and soon after he and Shane went their separate ways. This led to a match between the two at Judgment Day, which McMahon won after receiving help from Test and Albert, amongst others. Over the course of the next several months, McMahon allied himself with other heel wrestlers, specially Chris Benoit in his feud over the WWF Championship with The Rock. He was also aligned with Edge and Christian, who helped him win the Hardcore Championship from Steve Blackman. McMahon met Blackman in a rematch at SummerSlam, losing the title after falling through the stage. McMahon climbed up the set running away from Blackman, who gave chase and hit Shane with a Singapore cane, knocking him off. McMahon then disappeared from television, making occasional cameo appearances.

The Alliance (2001)

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In 2001, Shane made his third face run by once again feuding with his father, Vince. The feud with Vince was due to the elder McMahon's (kayfabe) affair with Trish Stratus and Vince's spite and demand to divorce Linda McMahon. As fate would have it, rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was sold to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) one week before the Father versus Son match at WrestleMania X-Seven. In terms of the storyline, Vince demanded that Ted Turner sign the contract at WrestleMania X-Seven. With Vince's ego getting the best of him, Shane was able to seize the opportunity and purchase WCW himself, to the shock of Vince. McMahon defeated his father at WrestleMania X-Seven, in a Street Fight. At Backlash, McMahon debuted his theme song "Here Comes The Money" and was in a Last Man Standing match against Big Show. McMahon performed the Leap of Faith (from the top of the scaffolding), knocking himself and Show out. Test helped McMahon to his feet, causing McMahon to get the victory.

McMahon then began a feud with Kurt Angle. By the King of the Ring, on June 24, McMahon's feud with Angle had culminated. After already participating in two tournament matches that night, Angle wrestled McMahon in a Street Fight. After a suplex on the hard floor, Angle was thought to have cracked his tailbone. Angle also delivered an overhead belly to belly suplex through the plated glass stage set, but McMahon did not break through on the first attempt, causing him to fall head-first onto the concrete floor. After a successful second attempt, Angle was to put him through a second plate back out to the stage and again failed two more times. The match also had Shane missing a shooting star press and ended with Angle performing the Angle Slam off the top rope before scoring the victory over a bloodied McMahon.

McMahon then began to lead his WCW wrestlers against his father and the WWF wrestlers, eventually turning heel by joining forces with Paul Heyman and his brand of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) wrestlers, along with their new owner, McMahon's sister Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. Calling themselves The Alliance, they pledged to finally run the WWF (and specifically their father) out of business. Ultimately, The Invasion came to a head at Survivor Series in a match to determine which power would ultimately have control. The team, each respectively representing The Alliance and the WWF, of McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, and Booker T lost to the team of The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show. The following night on Raw, Vince publicly fired both Shane and Stephanie, which Shane took in stride, admitting that he lost to the better man, while Stephanie pleaded with her father before being forcefully removed from the arena.

Sporadic appearances (2003-2005)

McMahon made his first on-screen appearance in two years on an episode of SmackDown! before WrestleMania XIX, watching his father's training in the gym to prepare his match against Hulk Hogan. At WrestleMania XIX, he went to check on his father's welfare following a Street Fight with Hulk Hogan, with Hogan welcoming Shane in the ring and then walking out. He turned face once more in the summer of 2003 for the first time since 2001 by getting involved in a feud with Eric Bischoff, who had made improper remarks and gestures to Shane's mother Linda. He defeated Bischoff in a Street Fight at SummerSlam. McMahon also got involved in a rivalry with Kane after Kane gave Linda a Tombstone Piledriver because she did not name him the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. Their feud culminated in McMahon losing a Last Man Standing match at Unforgiven and to a first ever Ambulance match which he lost after a match at Survivor Series.

After Survivor Series, McMahon left Raw to focus his attention on the executive creative staff and on his new family. At WrestleMania XX, McMahon appeared briefly on camera during the opening of the event with Vince and his newborn son, Declan. On a special 3-hour episode of Raw in October 2005, billed as WWE Homecoming, all four members of the McMahon family were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Stone Cold Steve Austin. The following week, Vince demanded an apology from ringside commentators for not coming to his family's aid, which developed into a new feud. McMahon also appeared at Survivor Series, though he did not appear on television. He can be seen on the DVD extra backstage talking to Theodore Long, when The Boogeyman tried to scare off McMahon, who made no deal about it.

Feud with D-Generation X and Bobby Lashley (2006-2007)

McMahon turned heel in the process for the first time since 2003 by again siding with his father to help in the feud with Shawn Michaels. At the 2006 Royal Rumble, Shane eliminated Michaels by throwing him over the top rope. After weeks of attacks from behind by Shane, one of which saw him force an unconscious Michaels to kiss Vince's rear end, Shane and Michaels faced each other in a Street Fight on the March 18, 2006 episode of Saturday Night's Main Event. In a fashion similar to the real life Montreal Screwjob, Shane put Michaels in the Sharpshooter as Vince called for the bell and gave Shane the victory. The McMahons' feud with Michaels took a religious turn after WrestleMania 22, where Michaels defeated Vince McMahon. Vince claimed that Michaels's victory was a result of "divine intervention" and booked himself and his son in a match at Backlash against Michaels and his tag team partner "God". Around this time, Vince began to act strangely and at one point considered himself a god. Shane, who at this time was referred by Vince as "the product of his semen", teamed with Vince to defeat Michaels and "God" at Backlash, due to help from the Spirit Squad.

This feud later enveloped Triple H, who the McMahons had enlisted to take out Michaels. Triple H was getting frustrated with this, as it was distracting from his quest to regain the WWE Championship. Triple H wound up bashing Shane with his signature weapon, the sledgehammer, in what was considered to be an accident that put Shane out of the ring for a while. Vince (and later Shane, who had recovered) sought to humble Triple H and get some retribution. Triple H then began a feud with the McMahons shortly after, leading to his siding with Shawn Michaels and the reformation of DX. At SummerSlam, the McMahons were defeated by DX. About a month later at Unforgiven, The McMahons and then ECW World Heavyweight Champion Big Show faced DX in a Hell in a Cell match. Shane was injured after Michaels elbow dropped a chair which was around Shane's neck. DX emerged victorious at Unforgiven, and Shane disappeared from television.

On the March 5 episode of Raw, McMahon came back to inform his father, Vince, about the "guest referee" for the "Battle of the Billionaires". He told him that their opponents on the Board of Directors had won the vote, 5-4. The McMahons had intended for Shane to be the referee. Instead, the guest referee turned out to be the McMahons' old rival, the Texas rattlesnake Stone Cold Steve Austin. During the "Battle of the Billionaires" match at WrestleMania 23, Shane's attempt to interfere on his father's behalf was stopped by Austin. During the match, Shane was able to hit the Coast to Coast dive with a trash can into Bobby Lashley's face. On April 9, Shane officially joined the Vince/Umaga/Lashley feud when he faced Lashley for the ECW World Championship in a Title vs Hair match which ended in Shane getting disqualified on purpose by punching the referee. After the match, Umaga, Vince, and Shane all attacked Lashley. At Backlash in a handicap match for the ECW World Championship, Shane along with Vince and Umaga defeated Lashley for the title. Vince gained the pin making him the ECW World Champion. At Judgment Day, Lashley faced Shane, Vince, and Umaga again, in a rematch for the ECW World Championship. This time, Lashley won the match, but since he pinned Shane rather than Vince, Vince remained the champion. At One Night Stand, Shane and Umaga tried to help Vince retain the ECW World Championship against Lashley, but failed when Lashley speared Vince and pinned him for the win.

On the taped episode of Raw that aired on September 3, Shane, along with his mother Linda and his sister Stephanie, made appearances to confront Vince about his illegitimate child. Shane then returned at Survivor Series to accompany Hornswoggle, alongside his father, in his match against The Great Khali. After that, he was only seen on WWE's pay per view, No Way Out in 2008 talking to Big Show after the latter had his nose legitimately broken by accident by Floyd Mayweather Jr. before again not being seen until June 2008.

Feud with The Legacy and sabbatical (2008-2009)

After the severe injury that Vince McMahon sustained on the June 23 episode of Raw when a sign fell on top of him during his hosting of the "Million Dollar Mania" sweepstakes, Shane requested for the Raw roster to stand together during what was a turbulent time. Shane's plea, however, was ignored and subsequently, Shane and his sister Stephanie urged the roster to show solidarity. On the July 28 episode of Raw, Shane made an appearance to announce Mike Adamle as his and Stephanie's choice to be the new Raw general manager. After Adamle stepped down as general manager, he and Stephanie became the interim on-screen authority figures for the Raw program. On the November 24 episode of Raw, Shane and Stephanie argued over who was in charge, leading to Stephanie telling him that Raw is her show. After being slapped by Stephanie, Shane finished the segment by telling her that from that day onwards, he was going to watch Stephanie run Raw "right into the ground".

At the start of 2009, Randy Orton began a feud with the McMahon family. On the January 19 episode of Raw, Orton punted McMahon in the head, after he had tried to fire Orton from the company for previous comments made about Stephanie. The following week, Shane returned to television and attacked Orton for his actions, turning face in the process for the first time since 2006. On the February 2 episode of Raw, it was revealed that Orton challenged Shane to a No Holds Barred match at No Way Out, to which he accepted, but was defeated by Orton in the match. The following night on Raw, Shane challenged Orton to an unsactioned match for that episode's main event. The match ended with Orton punting Shane in the head, as well as performing an RKO on Stephanie McMahon.

Shane returned on the March 30 episode of Raw, alongside Triple H and his father Vince McMahon, to confront and attack The Legacy (Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes). On the April 6 episode of Raw, it was announced that Shane would compete in a six-man tag team match against The Legacy at Backlash alongside Triple H and Batista, the latter of whom had returned from injury, where the stipulation was that if any member of Orton's team pinned any member of Triple H's team, Orton would win Triple H's WWE Championship; however, if any member of Orton's team was counted out or disqualified, Triple H would retain the title. On the May 4 episode of Raw, Shane's character suffered a broken leg and ankle at the hands of Orton and Legacy as a way to write him out of the story.

In October 2009, Shane announced his resignation from WWE which went into effect at the end of the year.

Return to WWE (2016-present)

On the February 22, 2016 episode of Raw, Shane returned to WWE for the first time in nearly seven years, interrupting his sister, Stephanie McMahon, receiving the "Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence" Award from their father, Vince McMahon. Shane announced that the reason he had returned was that he wanted control of Raw, leading to Vince placing Shane in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker, adding the stipulation that Shane would get control of Raw if he wins the match. At WrestleMania, Shane had what many would call the match of the night against the Undertaker. During the match, Shane attempted an elbow off the top of the cell, but Undertaker moved out of the way sending Shane crashing through the announce table at ringside. Shane was defeated by Undertaker soon after.

Despite losing at WrestleMania, Shane would control Raw for a month, firstly by his father, Vince, on the Raw after WrestleMania, then for the following three weeks after "popular demand on social media". This would lead to Stephanie confronting Shane, telling him that their father will decide who will control Raw at Payback, where Vince announced that both Shane and Stephanie will be Co-general managers and will have joint control of WWE.

After the announcement of the return of the brand extension with SmackDown going for the first time live weekly, Vince appointed Shane as the storyline commissioner of the SmackDown brand and Stephanie as the commissioner of Raw on the July 11 episode of Raw, before tasking them to name a general manager for their respective shows. The following week on Raw, Shane appointed Daniel Bryan as the general manager of SmackDown. At SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar won his match against Randy Orton by technical knockout and continued to assault Orton as he was being tended to. Shane then confronted Lesnar, which resulted in Shane being attacked by Lesnar with a F-5. After the event, it was announced that Stephanie had fined Lesnar $500 for his attack on Shane, which Paul Heyman would pay off on the August 29 episode of Raw. On the August 30 episode of SmackDown, Shane would reveal during an interview that he was unhappy with how the situation was dealt with, as Heyman and Lesnar didn't take the punishment seriously.

Business career

On October 21, 2006, Pride Fighting Championships held Pride 32 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Shane was in attendance at the event, resulting in speculation that WWE could be considering promoting MMA events. On November 17, WWE and Dream Stage Entertainment officials, the parent company of Pride Fighting Championships, had a meeting at WWE global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. The meeting focused on the possibility of the two groups doing some form of business together in the future. Yet on March 27, 2007, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, president of DSE, announced that Station Casinos, Inc. magnate Lorenzo Fertitta, also one of the co-owners of Zuffa, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, had made a deal to acquire all the assets of Pride FC from DSE after Pride 34 in a deal worth about USD 70 million, thereby ceasing any prospective business between Pride and WWE.

Later in November, McMahon and WWE Canada President Carl DeMarco traveled to South America to finalize a major TV deal in Brazil, which allowed their television station to air Raw and SmackDown.

In September 2008, McMahon finalized another major TV deal, this time in Mexico, which allowed WWE programming to air on Mexico's two biggest television networks, Raw on Televisa and SmackDown on TV Azteca.

On October 16, 2009, WWE published a statement from Shane McMahon announcing his resignation, and also issued an official press release stating that the resignation was tendered effective January 1, 2010. No specific reason was given for the resignation. McMahon stated in the WWE press release, "Having been associated with this organization for the majority of my life, I feel this is the opportune time in my career to pursue outside ventures." thus ending his 20-year stint with the company on January 1, 2010. McMahon's resignation left only two original members of the McMahon family active within the company; his father Vince, and his sister, Stephanie.

On August 3, 2010, it was announced that McMahon had signed a deal to become the new CEO of China Broadband Inc., a provider of cable broadband services, as well as other digital and analog related services, in Shandong province of China. The company is based in Boulder County, Colorado.

McMahon also sits on the Board of Directors for International Sports Management representing talent such as Ernie Els and (previously) Rory McIlroy.

He was seen at the final hole of the 2011 U.S. Open with Rory McIlroy's father just minutes before Rory confirmed his first U.S Open win and his first golfing major win. McMahon was also seen shaking the hand of new Open champion Darren Clarke as he left the 18th green at Royal St. George on July 17, 2011. Clarke was (and remains) also represented by International Sports Management.

In 2010, McMahon became the CEO of You On Demand, the first VOD & Pay-Per-View service in China. In 2013, McMahon stepped down as CEO but remains Vice Chairman of the Board of You On Demand.

McMahon is also a part owner of the Indian Larry Motorcycle Shop in Brooklyn, NY.

Personal life

McMahon married Marissa Mazzola on September 14, 1996. Together they have three sons: Declan James (born February 13, 2004), Kenyon "Kenny" Jess (born March 22, 2006), and Rogan Henry (born January 20, 2010). His sons appeared at WrestleMania 32, accompanying McMahon to the ring in his match against The Undertaker.

McMahon usually wore baseball jerseys for his matches, with the front saying "Shane O Mac" and the back reserved for "McMahon", the name of the pay-per-view in which he's participating, or some other phrase relating to the match and/or his opponent. When his father, Vince, was interviewed in Playboy, he mentioned that although Shane is right-handed, he often throws left-handed punches. McMahon's football jersey number was 61, the same as his father. McMahon had a brief role in the 2002 film Rollerball.

In September 2006, he was named one of Detail magazine's "50 Most Powerful Men Under 42" in the annual "power issue".

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Coast to Coast (Corner-to-corner front missile dropkick to a garbage can against the face of an opponent seated in the corner)
  • Leap of Faith (Diving elbow drop from elevated position with sign of the cross theatrics)
• Signature moves
  • Boston crab
  • Bronco buster - parodied from X-Pac
  • Double Underhook Suplex
  • Camel clutch
  • Elbow drop
  • Float-over DDT
  • Inverted facelock neckbreaker
  • Low blow
  • Multiple Kendo stick shots
  • Shane O Shuffle (Three left-handed jabs followed by a right-handed punch, with theatrics) - parodied from Rocky Johnson
  • Sharpshooter
  • Shooting star press, sometimes to a chair or garbage can on an opponent's body or chest
• Wrestlers managed
  • Big Show
  • Booker T
  • Chris Benoit
  • Edge and Christian
  • The Rock
  • Umaga
• Nicknames
  • "Shane-O-Mac"
  • "The Boy Wonder"
  • "Simba"
  • "The Instrument of Change (in WWE)"
  • "The Crown Prince (of the WWE)"
  • "The Demon Seed"
  • "The Giant Killer"
  • "The Money"
  • "The Prodigal Son"
• Entrance themes
  • "P.M.S. (Pretty Mean Sistas)" by Jim Johnston (August 2, 1998; used for debut as Sunday Night Heat commentator)
  • "Production Music - Techno" (1998-99)
  • "Brawl for All" by Jim Johnston (December 21, 1998; used for his debut match)
  • "No Chance in Hell" by Jim Johnston (1999-2001; used while a part of The Corporation)
  • "Corporate Ministry" by Jim Johnston (1999; used as leader of the Corporate Ministry)
  • "Here Comes the Money" by Naughty by Nature (April 29, 2001 - May 4, 2009; February 22, 2016-present)

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Feud of the Year (2001)
  • Rookie of the Year (1999)
  • PWI ranked him No. 245 of the 500 top singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1999
• World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
  • WWF European Championship (1 time)
  • WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2006)

Job titles

• 1989-1990s - WWF referee
• 1993 - WWF's television production, sales, marketing, and international business development divisions
• 1998 - Helped form the company's digital media department and launched WWF.com (now known as WWE.com), a site that has more than fifteen million visitors a month
• 2003-2010 - Executive Vice President of WWE Global Media, overseeing international TV distribution, live event bookings, digital media, consumer products and publishing
• 2010-present - Chairman and principal executive officer of YOU on Demand Holdings, Inc. (Formerly China Broadband Inc.); was also Chief Executive Officer before relinquishing the position in July 2013
• July 2016-present - Commissioner of SmackDown Live