Shane McMahon Podcast Report: Talks WWE Return, Chemistry With His Father, Triple H & Stephanie, More

-I made it just in the nick of time as my Network feed crapped out a few minutes and my laptop decided it needed to restart. With all that said we are Live on the WWE Network with a new podcast. This time no Austin or Jericho, but instead we get Mick Foley hosting Shane McMahon.

-Immediately Foley mentions that Austin has a serious shoulder injury and that is why he isn’t hosing this podcast. Foley did get the blessing from Austin to host this one.

-Foley starts by asking Shane about his return after 7 years away from the WWE. Shane was blown away by the response in Detroit and says he always knew he wanted to come back. He didn’t expect the reaction he got and he still gets goosebumps thinking about it.

-Foley says he was looking forward to the return of Shane McMahon and jokes that he was jealous of the reaction Shane got as you always compared reactions you get to other guys.

-They discuss growing up as the son of Vince McMahon. Shane says he just remembers missing his dad because he was gone so much. He remembers being 3 and sitting next to his dad while a show came on and Vince was on there as well. He looked and starting saying there were 2 da-das. Shane compares it to being one of Angelina and Brad’s kids as you get used to being in the limelight.

-Shane talks about being an adrenaline junkie and relates a story as he wanted to get on a dirt bike as a kid. He was flying down the road even after his dad told him to never get on one. He was speeding and didn’t have a helmet, but figured it was fine. He had no clue his dad was at home working on TV with Patterson. Vince sent Shane’s friends home and he says that is the angriest he can remember his dad being with him.

-Next Shane tells a story of how Patterson and Vince would always work by the pool. The rib was they would always have people come seem them at the pool and then would push them in after talking to them. Shane felt it needed to be Vince once that went into the pool. Vince came flying out of the pool and Shane was scared to death by Vince’s reaction. Shane jumped into his car and bailed and had to make sure everything was ok by calling Linda.

-Foley asks about bullying and Shane was never a bully (as he misunderstood was Mick asked) and also says he was never bullied. He never started fights, but he could handle himself if needed.

-They discuss growing up in the crazy world of the WWE. Shane tells a story of being at a show when there was a riot, so Vince had him stashed under the bleachers near a security guard. Shane is proud of the way the business has grown.

-Foley mentions that he has heard that Andre The Giant and Billy Graham were two guys that had an influence on him. Shane says he also told people Andre was going to be his tag partner and would tell Vince he is going to be big like Andre and not small like Vince. Tremendous! He just loved Graham and his entire persona and gift for talking. He tells stories about the boys playing pranks on him. Shane says there is nobody including Vince that has gotten such an education from this business. Shane started out learning things so young, and says he learned psychology first and then had to learn how to do the physical stuff.

-It was important for Vince and even for Shane, that he start working the bottom jobs and not handed anything. Shane says he took pride in helping set up the ring as early as 5-6 years of age. He then got to referee and learned so much from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard while he was working their matches against the Rockers.

-Shane says he always wanted to be in the business, but never wanted to be a performer outside of when he was a kid and would dream about it. He tells stories about his grandfather and how he was always the only one that could stand up to his father. He tells about the 2 of them playing pool and how competitive it got and that passed down to Steph and Shane. He tells of the time that Steph beat Vince in pool and Shane told her she should retire as the champion.

-Foley asks about the age when Shane felt he wanted to actually get in the ring and wrestle. Shane says he was around 25-26 years old. It was a chance for him to showcase his athletic talent. He always had an itch that he wanted to scratch. Foley mentions that McMahon don’t just scratch itches. Shane brings up he was trained by Pritchard and Al Snow. Foley says he does joke a lot about Snow, but he is a tremendous teacher and underrated performer. Foley asks if they went easy on him because he was Vince’s son. He says definitely not and that is they way he wanted it. He puts over how dangerous things were for Tom as he had to work with someone as green as Shane was when he first started.

-Shane’s first match was with Foley in Seattle, WA and jokes that Mr. Socko tasted awful. Shane was so caught up he forgot to listen to Foley. So Mick had to pop him to get him back to listening. Foley says he always kept Socko clean and says he didn’t know what to expect with Shane.

-They discuss Shane being fearless and how that was his character. Shane says that was his role and he was just having a blast doing it. Everything early was building towards his Mania match with X-Pac where he won the Euro Title. Mick asks him how important it was to earn the respect of the boys in the back. Shane says growing up it was important then and even with different rules today it is still important.

-Foley puts over how much Shane improved and how he arrived by the time he got to the match at King of the Ring with Kurt Angle. Shane says he knew as the Boss’ son that he had to go the extra mile. He thought his in ring career was going to be a short run, and as it continued he kept wanting to do more and he wanted to steal the show each time.

-Foley asks Shane about his favorite match and he says the match with Angle at King of the Ring was his favorite because of everything they accomplished. Walking through the curtain when the match was over they got a standing ovation which didn’t happen much at that time. It was the greatest compliment he could ever get and is still one of the greatest feelings he ever had. Foley says it was well deserved!

-Montreal Screwjob Time and Foley wants the night from Shane’s perspective. Shane says his dad was heartbroken in the build up to the match. He says Vince was begging Bret because it wasn’t the correct way to do business. He admits Bret had a different view and it was based on the fact the show as in Canada. He says that things were to protect the business and not to spite Bret. Foley brings up how he quit for one day until his wife told him would breach contract and couldn’t work anywhere else. Foley says Vince took him back and never sad a cross word about him quitting.

-They get to the Bret/Vince confrontation after the match and Vince wanted to show the boys that he would go talk to Bret. Shane says he told Vince that Bret would hit him, and Vince told him he would get one shot. Sure enough Bret decked him in front of the boys and Shane puts over Vince for taking one to let Bret get his aggression out.

-Foley moves on to the Monday Night Wars and how it all ended. Foley says that Steph was in tears in Cleveland just due to the fact that things were over. Shane was told he was heading down there and it was just more pressure on him. Some of the WWE guys went with him and Shane had to address the WCW roster. He told all of them that they purchased WCW and people would get chances as they presented themselves.

-Foley brings up the chemistry Vince and Shane had in the segments they would do such as the chicken chasing among other things. Foley had always heard that Vince could tough on Shane behind the scenes. Shane brings up how he asked Vince to be the best man as his wedding. He says that Vince could be brutal and that his expectations could be extremely high. Plus Shane had to be an example to everyone else. Shane mentions that it did bring out the best of him to a point, but at times he wished for a pat on the back. Foley seems caught off guard by that and Shane says that the pats on the back were few and far between, but he doesn’t want anyone to confuse that with Vince not being a loving father. He calls him a great father!

-He talks about how his grandfather was against bringing in Hogan as the WWF Champion. Vince Sr. didn’t think someone the size of Hogan could be a baby face and get the fans thinking he was in any kind of danger. This all relates to why Shane left as now his father wasn’t listening to any of his ideas and then when it wasn’t any fun he decided to leave. He didn’t want to cause any bitterness in their personal relationship from their professional one. He also wanted that ability to go out on his own and see if he could do something on his own.

-The day he left he thanked Vince for everything he taught him and that it was bittersweet. It was caused Vince to be hurt, shocked, and proud all at the same time. From there Steph took on a larger role in the WWE and Shane says he loves his sister and he is proud of her. It didn’t change the relationship between the two and Shane says that he has a good relationship with HHH as well. Foley seems to not but that and Shane seems to get a little miffed, so Foley just takes him at his word.

-He asks Shane about Steph and HHH marrying and says that he was only hurt that they hid things from him. As long as Steph was happy then he was ok with it. He also says there was no jealousy with how Steph has ascended in the company.

-The reason he returned is because he got a call from Vince and a call from The Undertaker. That coupled with the fact that he wanted his kids to see him wrestle live. Foley asks Shane what was going through his mind in the match with Taker. Shane goes back to the call from Vince and Taker. He says he has been friend with Taker for years and they would always talk about having a match together. Foley brings up how the roster was depleted and the show needed a boost and Shane says that is also part of the reason he got a phone call. For Shane it was just the right time to come back.

-Shane came up with the idea of his entrance, and asked his kids to join him during his entrance just minutes before it happened. It is one of the proudest moments of his life, and he was amazed as to how much his kids were into it and not scared by the moment. Shane meant what he said when he wanted to get the buzz back in the business and product.

-Speaking of buzz, Foley brings up how everyone was suspecting that Shane would fly off the roof of the Cell. Shane says that everyone told him it was a bad idea, but it was his decision. Foley says he had no clue what he was getting into and if he could have found a way to get down the Cell he would have and calls it the worst decision he ever made. Shane on the other hand knew what he was getting into and still went through with it. Foley also points out that the Cell Shane came off of was higher than the one he did.

-Foley asks Shane if he wanted to go off the Cell or if he needed to and Shane says as an adrenaline junky he felt it was something he needed. Foley says that it was important to him that he was the first person that Shane saw when he made it to the back. Foley defines things by moments and he remembers Shane as the guy who put an arm out to him when his (Foley’s) father passed away and he hopes Shane remembers that he was the first one to meet his after the match with Taker. Foley says that Shane told him that he set the bar high as they hugged after the match.

-Foley wants to get to the current product and Shane says that they are going to go a little longer on the Network and wants to go back to the Cell Match. They go off on a separate story now and Foley talks about how he told Vince he would never speak to him again, and then a few years later he asked Vince if he could come home. Hilarious story as Foley talks about how he once forgot his line of “it’s great to be here in Baltimore, MD” and had to whisper to someone for the line. It just showed him how far his skills had fallen.

-Back again to the Cell Match and how much fun it was working with Taker. He feels they stole the show, and I am sure most would disagree with that as the Cell bump was only thing memorable about the match. After the match Vince embraced Shane with a hug, and Shane broke down in tears. It was one of the few pats on the back he got from Vince and it felt great.

-Shane asks if it means that they are done and Foley says no point in getting into the current product after that story of getting Vince’s pat on the back finally. Foley thanks us for watching and tells us to have a nice day.

-Thanks for following along.