Shane O’Mac Kicks Off Raw
Shane McMahon kicks off the show and talks about his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania. The gong hits and out comes Vince McMahon. He talks about disowning his son after WrestleMania and calls him a failure. He brings in a picture of Shane’s first wrestling event with his dad and throws it on the ground, stomping on the memory. Vince talks about how Shane will fail and his children will have Vince to look up to. Security comes out and tries to escort Shane, but he attacks them all and clears them of the ring.
Good stuff on Raw tonight for Shane and Vince. Another nice step, bringing in the realistic family angle with the photo. I do think Vince is saying things that fans constantly think about over the past five years. Do we view Shane as a failure per say? No, but the fact that Stephanie and Triple H run the backstage politics is definitely a good way to try and make this as realistic as possible. I want to see the following on the next few weeks of Raw:
- Interaction between Triple H, Stephanie, Shane and The Undertaker at once. Have Triple H talk about how Shane has no chance and he is not nearly the wrestler as Triple H is. Talk about how he failed three times to beat The Undertaker on the big stage.
- Bring Linda in during the go-home show. Have her speak her peace and talk about what is going on with the family. Vince did call Shane a “son of a b*tch.” Wouldn’t that upset Linda?
- Have Shane get a slight upper hand in terms of physicality on The Undertaker. Make us believe that he can fight with The Deadman.
Kevin Owens Has An Opponent
Kevin Owens and Neville put on an excellent match. I mean, this was NXT magic on Raw and I loved it. The athleticism of both men, including the 450 splash from Neville on Owens from the second rope, the cannonball into the corner and Owens keeping the pace with the much more athletic Neville. After Owens picked up a cheap win, thanks to grabbing Neville’s tights, he continued the assault. That was, until Sami Zayn came out and attack Kevin Owens. Owens retreats and Zayn shakes the hand of Neville.
We were curious to see who would challenge Owens at WrestleMania. It looks like we have our answer and it is a great option. Yes, I bargained for Styles/Jericho to get a shot, but this is a much more personal and adaptable feud. It is easy to transition it from NXT to WWE because both men are crowd favorites in completely different ways. Sami has that Daniel Bryan feel, a guy that everyone cheers for and is easily likable. Kevin Owens is a guy that everyone loves to hate. He is so consistent in his craft and will be a huge part the next few weeks to build this story. You have the history. You have the background. Sami has been briefly exposed to WWE television previously, so it absolutely works. I am very excited, as a wrestling fan, to see how they develop this over the next 4 weeks. Over-exposing Zayn is not a bad thing. Get him as much time as possible. This was an excellent segment all around.
