Early Life & WWE Career
Shane McMahon was born on January 15, 1970, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is the son of Vince McMahon and older brother of Stephanie McMahon. In 1993, Shane graduated from Boston University with a degree in communications.
Shane first started working for his father’s company when he was just 15 years old by filling merchandise orders. He began his in-ring career as a referee, working under the ring name Shane Stevens. Shane officiated the inaugural Royal Rumble match in 1988 and appeared at several WrestleMania’s. In 1997, Shane began working behind the scenes and helped launch the WWE’s first website.
Shane’s In-Ring Persona
Shane McMahon became a regular on-screen character during the Attitude Era. He came to his father’s aid during the chairman’s feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin and regularly served as color commentator alongside names like Jim Cornette and Kevin Kelly. Shane was also a commentator alongside Jerry Lawler on the 1999 video game, WWF Attitude.
As time went on, fans were able to see just how similar Shane McMahon was to his father. One stark difference between the two, though, was their sense of style; while Vince McMahon only wore a suit and tie, Shane wore sneakers, jeans, and baseball jerseys.
Feud With Vince McMahon
In the emotionally turbulent world of WWE, it didn’t take long for tension to spark between Shane and his father. One of the most infamous moments in their father/son rivalry, and in Shane McMahon’s WWE career, came on March 26, 2001; Shane successfully tricked his father and purchased his rival company, WCW, right under Vince’s nose. Shane went on to defeat his father in a Street Fight at WrestleMania X-Seven.
Shane then led an invasion of former WCW stars against WWE. Soon after, he teamed up with Paul Heyman and his gang of ECW wrestlers, along with his sister Stephanie McMahon. They referred to themselves as The Alliance and vowed to oust Vince McMahon as chairman and seize control of WWE. On the November 19, 2001, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon fired both his children for their disobedience. As a result, Shane was absent from WWE television for the next two years.
Heel Turn
In 2003, Shane returned to WWE by coming to his father’s aid in his feud against Hulk Hogan and then entering a feud with Eric Bischoff, who had insulted his mother, Linda. Shane then entered a feud with Kane after Kane attacked Linda McMahon in the ring. In 2006, Shane came to his father’s side once again during the chairman’s feud against D-Generation X.
While Shane was still the snooty, spoiled son of Vince McMahon, he earned a fair amount of respect from the WWE universe for his gutsiness in the ring. He’s pulled off several iconic stunts during his WWE career, including his fall from the Titantron at SummerSlam 2000, and being thrown through glass by Kurt Angle at King of the Ring 2001.
On January 1, 2010, Shane McMahon announced he had resigned from WWE.
WWE Return
Shane made his return to WWE on February 22, 2016. He picked up right where he left off and entered a feud with his father and sister. Vince McMahon consequently booked him in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker. During the match, Shane lept from the top of the cage and plummeted through the announce table. He lost the bout but was immortalized in WrestleMania history for his fearlessness.
Shane McMahon then served as SmackDown commissioner for the next several years before reducing his presence to a part-time schedule. His most recent appearance in WWE came at WrestleMania 39, where he attempted to fight The Miz but unfortunately tore his quad muscle.