As fast as Shane McMahon re-appeared in WWE at last Saturday night’s Royal Rumble event as entrant number 28, just like that, he is now gone from the company.
A report had surfaced on Wednesday morning that Shane is “Out of the Company” and was “Quietly Let Go.” It has now been confirmed by F4WOnline and PWInsider that Shane is indeed gone from WWE.
According to the F4WOnline report, it is unknown whether Shane’s talent deal was terminated or if the plans for him the next two months were just simply dropped.
After nearly a year away from in-ring action, the 52-year-old made his return in Saturday’s men’s Royal Rumble match, entering at number 28 and later eliminated by eventual winner Brock Lesnar.
It is being said there was “a lot of heat” on Shane due to his booking of the men’s Royal Rumble.
Furthermore, the F4WOnline report notes that Shane knew he had an idea of what the Royal Rumble was going to be and then a lot ended up being changed, which apparently rubbed some people the wrong way.
Austin Theory replaced McMahon in the Elimination Chamber Match on this past Monday’s Raw, earning his spot by winning a qualifier over Kevin Owens.
Below is what is being reported and noted by PWInsider as it relates to Shane McMahon:
On Tuesday there was said to be creative plans for McMahon to be a regular on Raw as a heel leading into Wrestlemania 38. McMahon had been pushing to work Austin Theory at Wrestlemania 38 with the idea playing out of Theory’s involvement with Vince McMahon. However, that was not locked 100% in place. Furthermore, there were “other forces” said to be pushing for Shane McMahon vs. Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania 38, with a planned sequence at one point to set up a Rollins vs. Shane feud in the Men’s Rumble Match. However, it was further noted this was as part of all the changes leading into the show, with Rollins being pulled from the Rumble Match.
On Wednesday Shane McMahon was internally pulled from the Raw roster and the word making the rounds was that “the direction has changed.”
Shane was said to be not backstage at Raw this past Monday.
It was also noted that Shane was indeed among the producers who worked on the Men’s Rumble Match.
It has been said Shane was frustrated the day of the Rumble, and that some believed this came from his ideas being shot down by Vince McMahon. The talk coming out of the show was that Shane was upset that “he wasn’t being allowed to do what he wanted” and that he was “greatly preoccupied” by his own role in the Rumble.
Finally, it has been noted that the feeling among some in WWE is that Shane is taking the brunt of the heat for the poor reception to the Men’s Rumble Match, and that when the heat for that blows over, he will eventually return to the company in some capacity or form down the line.
It should be noted that Shane McMahon does not hold any executive position or responsibilities in WWE. He was appointed Executive Chairman of Ideanomics, an Electric Vehicle company back in August of 2021.