Wrestlemania 32 - The Undertaker vs Shane McMahon (Hell in a cell)

[Rocky84]

What a roller coaster of emotion. Marked out like a lil biotch when he came out, and then got depressed when the match was announced. Ugh.

As everyone knows, he's way too old and inactive to just come back on the scene and fight in a Hell in a Cell. No way. I know he's got the grapefuits to go through with it though, which scares me because I realllllly don't wanna see it.

As someone mentioned before, Shane has a history of outsmarting his dad. Maybe he'll trick him into having someone step up for him. I also wonder if Taker will even accept this match to begin with because there's literally nothing in it for him.

It will be an interesting storyline, but like I said, I'm scared to death that they follow through with this as is. I really hope this doesn't happen. It makes literally zero sense.

If someone does step in for Shane, it's slim pickings. Sting may try to work a safe match...as safe a match as you could do in a Hell in a Cell I guess, but I dunno. He's the only one that makes sense...because lord knows they aren't going to pull any NXT guys or Bullet Club guys into this. Maybe Kurt Angle? I dunno.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Ok It's been about 20 hours since I saw this, and I am slowly coming down off of my high. That was the most amazing return I have ever seen in my life! It should be known that I am a Shane McMahon fanboy since I was nicknamed "Shane O Mac".

Last night, I was shaking in suspense knowing somebody huge was coming out in the opening segment. I knew this award was to set up a Mania angle. I figured either something to do with the HHH/Reigns match or The Undertaker matchup. I also knew the rumors circulating that Taker's opponent was not currently signed. I started wondering whom it could be. Kurt Angle? It would be awesome, just don't see it. Goldberg? Please No. Bautista? After that last failure when he returned, NO. Rey Mysterio? David vs Goliath....hmmmm.... intriguing, but no. Convince Mick Foley to come out of retirement? I like that idea, but it's not going to happen. My mind wandered for hours, even days, about who Taker's opponent would be. I even thought Gallows/Anderson vs Kane/Taker, as a great debut for these two at the grandest stage of them all. I went through every scenario I could think of, and, never in my wildest dreams was Shane McMahon the one that I saw either A) coming out from behind that curtain last night or B) Being Undertaker's opponent. I have to say thank you Vince, creative, Steph, HHH, whoever made this possible, for one simple reason. The element of surprise. I felt like a kid again last night, dancing around like a fool, smiling ear to ear. Thank you WWE.

As for the match between Shane and Taker. I'm excited. I don't expect a ton of interference as it is HIAC. Shane'O Mac is a "spot monkey" and Taker is a legend in these matches. I was skeptical at first, as it seems to be a thrown together feud, but now I am ecstatic and can't wait for mania. Thank you, again WWE, for bringing me back to my youthful giddiness, if even just for a short little while

 

[Aberle4Life]

I respect Shane for what he's done in the ring in the past. For not being an actual wrestler, he has skills and has literally risked his life to entertain us.

That being said, I'm not really feeling this match with the Undertaker, not yet anyway. I'm hoping for a swerve or two along the way so Shane's not actually wrestling.

Here's my dream scenario, which I know won't happen so I don't need anyone to shoot it down. Just let me dream!

*Undertaker shows up at Raw next week to confront Vince. He asks Vince why in the hell would he help Vince, and that Shane is right. It is time for change, and Taker is actually going to wrestle FOR Shane at WrestleMania for control of the company. Vince needs to find an opponent to represent him.

*Vince, desperate, brings CM Punk back to wrestle Undertaker at 'Mania! I suppose that would almost make Shane/Taker the heel in this match, but it's my dream so I won't worry about that. The intent would be to bring Punk back as a heel, working with Vince.

That's the dream scenario. A more realistic scenario, if he's healthy, is for John Cena to return to represent Vince after Taker says he wants to wrestle for Shane. Either way, I don't like the idea of Taker doing anything for Vince. They had the Corporate Ministry alliance back in the day, but I doubt today's Undertaker supports the Authority.

If this match goes through as Taker/Shane, I'm sure it will be okay and there will be run-in's like Triple H/Sting last year (even inside Hell in a Cell), but I'm hoping for a little more. Taker's wrestled so many big names at Mania for years now...I don't feel Shane should be on that list.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Here’s what I think will happen.

The Undertaker is going to show up on Monday. He’s going to tell Vince McMahon that he will indeed have a match at WrestleMania…but it won’t be against Shane McMahon. He will not be Vince’s puppet. He wants Shane to have a match at WrestleMania, he can fight his son himself. Then we get the WrestleMania rematch, 25 years in the making.

This way, the Undertaker doesn’t get stuck jobbing to the boss’s son, and can face an actual Wrestler who either needs the rub, or a Legend who wants to comeback in a grand way, on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

 

[Blade]

People are asking why Undertaker is fighting for Vince McMahon. Uh, that's a pretty dumb assumption to make. He's not fighting for Vince. He never said he was fighting for Vince. I don't know where you got that idea from.

What actually happened was Vince, humiliated by his son, decided to book Shane in a match against the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. And Vince thought it was fine, because Vince, in case you didn't know, has an big ol' ego and sees his employees as pawns, including the Undertaker. Vince was either gonna pick Lesnar or Taker to fight Shane. Because he wants his son to be a puddle of piss and blood by the end of Wrestlemania. How are people not getting that?

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea where this match is going. I can see someone fighting on Shane's behalf. I can see Undertaker not taking kindly to Vince using him as a goon. I can see a million different possibilities for the match to change between now and Wrestlemania. The only thing I can't see happening is Shane McMahon vs. the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

People are asking why Undertaker is fighting for Vince McMahon. Uh, that's a pretty dumb assumption to make. He's not fighting for Vince. He never said he was fighting for Vince. I don't know where you got that idea from.

What actually happened was Vince, humiliated by his son, decided to book Shane in a match against the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. And Vince thought it was fine, because Vince, in case you didn't know, has an big ol' ego and sees his employees as pawns, including the Undertaker. Vince was either gonna pick Lesnar or Taker to fight Shane. Because he wants his son to be a puddle of piss and blood by the end of Wrestlemania. How are people not getting that?

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea where this match is going. I can see someone fighting on Shane's behalf. I can see Undertaker not taking kindly to Vince using him as a goon. I can see a million different possibilities for the match to change between now and Wrestlemania. The only thing I can't see happening is Shane McMahon vs. the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match at Wrestlemania.

I think it's possible that Taker will tell Vince that he won't be fighting for him at Wrestlemania. This can lead to two scenarios:
a) Taker fights against Vince and Vince then choses the real opponent for the Undertaker, which can be Angle, Sting, a Wolverine-Cena or anybody else that Vince feels like.
b) Vince backmails Taker that if he won't do it, he's fired and could also lead to this being a career threatening match for Undertaker.

b seems more likely, but if it comes to happen, how can you root for Shane then and not the Undertaker? Also, how can you even boo the Undertaker? It's impossible. The RAW that's coming will indeed be very interesting with Undertaker's return to shed some light to the situation..

 

[dsotm5150]

Im not against the stipulation idea of the match, I just wonder what does a man who has never fought on the side of Vince McMahon and tried to crucify Stephanie get from this match, why would he all of a sudden be aligned with the Authority after be at odds with them all these years? Obviously they'll need to attempt to explain alot in the coming weeks and obviously this was thrown together pretty quickly because they dont have a viable opponent lined up and waiting way too long to start a program with anybody on the roster, but anybody who's was watching WWE before Undertaker went part time knows that he has never sided with Vince McMahon, in fact if memory serves correctly wasn't he aligned with Shane back in the corporate ministry days? so I'm curious to see how this plays out. I just hope they don't phone it in by having Vince say he dug Undertakers urn out of a dumpster somewhere.

 

[Joseph718YaHurd]

From an in ring wrestling (Kayfabe) standpoint .... Now although we haven't seen Shane step into a ring in some years, I myself have always been a fan of Shane's because although he seems like the Average man especially in his chosen attire, he always delivered in big money matches like this one, whether he won or lost. I honestly feel that Shane MIGHT stand a chance given the match type they have been placed in.
However, this IS the undertaker we're talking about ...
So , my question to you is do you think it is possible for Shane to pull off what I feel is the biggest win in his career ? Will there be heavy shenanigans ? What will be the ramifications ? I expect a HUGE bump , given that is what Shane is known for.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

I fully expect some -help- coming to Shane, if that results in a win...or a shocking new feud for Undertaker, who knows? I expect a trademark Shane bump though somewhere, like a chokeslam through the cage, through a few tables and through the concrete as well..

I don't expect any decent wrestling to happen.

 

[Paramecia_eater]

I thought he was pretty entertaining and weirdly high flying on top of that Taker is old now if this was american badass or ministry I don't think he would stand a chance

 

[louchratis]

Ten years ago, this match would have been a spot monkey's wet dream. Now, I expect Shane to take a couple of ridiculous bumps and I expect lots of interference. Shane could win for no other reason than because it's pro wrestling and if Shane agrees to continue working for the company past Wrestlemania, from a credibility standpoint he would obviously benefit immensely from a WM win over Taker no matter how much bs is involved. I think we'll see run-ins by every member of the Bullet Club (or Balor Club, which isn't as cool-sounding), leading to a feud between Taker and Balor that would build to WM 33, during which Taker takes a loss. It helps immensely that the Streak is over because now Taker can truly go out on his back while building a new megastar, which I think is something he wants to do anyway.

 

[BringThePain834]

No.

I doubt that Shane is gonna be sticking around in any capacity past WrestleMania, so for him to win either by himself or with some kind of help would be just ridiculous.

 

[Piss Bucket]

Shane should not beat Taker, it was bad enough that Brock Lesnar ended the Streak 2 years ago, but having Taker job to a McMahon? No, please, no!

Taker has fought and defeated Shane's Brother in law HHH on 3 separate occasions at Mania, so he can beat a guy who hasn't wrestled in over 10 years I reckon.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

Taker is gonna be the one who gives the victory to Shane, somehow they will brawl, crazy bumps, signature moves, and at the end, taker will tombstone the fuck out of shane and then lay on his back and move shane arm over him, so shane gets the 123.

 

[johnbragg]

OK, no one else said it, so I'll say it.

What if Undertaker flat-out lays down for Shane.
The cage comes down,
Taker and Shane have a staredown,
Shane puts his hands on Taker's shoulders
Taker drops to one knee, and slaps the mat. Once. Twice. Three times. He taps out.
Shane does the Shane-O-Mac dance, Taker gets a mic
"LAdies and Gentemen, your new Higher Power of Monday Night RAW:
Shane McMahon!"

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

OK, no one else said it, so I'll say it.

What if Undertaker flat-out lays down for Shane.
The cage comes down,
Taker and Shane have a staredown,
Shane puts his hands on Taker's shoulders
Taker drops to one knee, and slaps the mat. Once. Twice. Three times. He taps out.
Shane does the Shane-O-Mac dance, Taker gets a mic
"LAdies and Gentemen, your new Higher Power of Monday Night RAW:
Shane McMahon!"

Good idea, start a riot at Wrestlemania and piss all over Undertakers legacy at the same time. That would be even worse than when Hogan did his finger poke of doom on Kevin Nash. It just doesn't help anyone involved. I'd rather see Undertaker come to the ring with a white tank top, in his underwear, no black dye in his hair or any make up, a moth holed housecoat on and announce he's going to sing Oh Canada then Shane pins him VIA Satellite somehow.

 

[johnbragg]

Good idea, start a riot at Wrestlemania and piss all over Undertakers legacy at the same time. That would be even worse than when Hogan did his finger poke of doom on Kevin Nash. It just doesn't help anyone involved. I'd rather see Undertaker come to the ring with a white tank top, in his underwear, no black dye in his hair or any make up, a moth holed housecoat on and announce he's going to sing Oh Canada then Shane pins him VIA Satellite somehow.

No, it's a version of the Fingerpoke of Doom that makes some sense. IT made no sense for Nash, a World Title competitor in his prime, to lay down for Hogan and hand him the World Title.

Fingerpoke of Doom was terrible because Nash and Hogan were equals, but NAsh had to completely ignore that and hand Hogan the title for no reason except "I'm a bad guy BWAHAHAHA!"

Undertaker gets nothing from beating Shane McMahon in 2016. By bowing down before Shane, he gets vengeance on Vince for taking him for granted. He becomes Shane's "problem solver"/enforcer on RAW 2-3 times a year.

And, by laying down openly and dramatically, in a way that looks like Shane is almost knighting Undertaker, Undertaker doens't lose anything by losing. Undertaker is a wrestler (and a part-time demon). Shane McMAhon is an owner. They form an alliance, with Undertaker being RAW's special guest star a few times a year.

There can still be a match--Vince orders the cage lifted and sends down the top four or five names not on the card to beat down Shane and Undertaker. Shane takes some bumps, Undertaker lays them out.

But Undertaker is 51 years old. An Undertaker match is not going to be very good, and it's not going to be very long. IS there any point to seeing Taker throw Shane around the ring for 6-8 minutes before they stop the match because Shane "passes out" or a McMAhon orders the cage lifted and the match stopped?

EDIT: OR there is no plan for a Brand Split, and this is just something they pulled out of their rear ends when their real plans broke down. In that case, Shane bumps around for as long as Undertaker can hobble around the ring until Taker makes the pin.

 

[@smarkmouth]

Guys! Guys! I have a swerve idea, and I think it almost makes sense! As I always do, I've included spoiler tags for the courtesy to those who hate seeing fantasy booking.

Spoiler

Okay, okay guys.

So, we get the exact match we're expecting. A beatdown, a shocking bump, etc. No funny business, Undertaker wins with a Tombstone Piledriver. Vince swaggers to the ring as the cage rises. He begins verbally jabbing Shane, with a few slaps peppered in. Shane, in near delirium, chuckles.

"What's so funny, dammit?!"

"Like I said, Dad, you're out of touch. You didn't even read the contract for this match carefully, and my lawyers did one hell of a job... If I won this match, we all know I'd be declared the owner of Raw. You were so furious, you didn't notice that the stipulation was worded that 'the winner will be declared the owner of Raw.' "

Slowly, a look of horrible realization grows on his face. He turns around to face the victor of the match. The new Owner of Raw. The Undertaker.

Tombstone Vince.

 

[LBGetBack]

I'm hoping for a Taker heel turn and a dropping of his gimmick. He's a "Vince guy" because he's been in WWE since 1990. He was the locker room leader for years. Play on that, just in a heel way. Make him a bully who enforces what Vince/Stephanie want both in the ring and out. Let them call him "Mark". Just let him be a regular character and drop that played out, gimmick. It would give his character new life, and would give The Authority new life.

 

[spaldoni]

I'm really baffled by the Taker vs Shane match. Storyline wise this makes Taker the heel. Why would they want people booing Taker at Mania in Texas of all places. I know a lot of people don't want to boo Taker but a lot of people want Shane to take over Raw. I also don't understand why Taker would fight to keep the authority in power. That just doesn't make sense. Where do you guys think this is really going? I'm still hoping Taker does a swerve and ends up fighting for Shane.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

The booking for the whole event just seems so thrown together. Weird considering they wanna get 100,000 into the place.

 

[suleman09]

So I don't think anyone truly buys that Shane can beat Taker at Mania when superstars the caliber of HBK, HHH, CM Punk, Orton etc.. Couldn't do it. I mean if Shane wins what does it say about the rest of the guys, and if he wins in some sneaky way like a quick roll up, do they put another notch in the L column for Taker that way?

Here is my idea,
Shane comes out next week and calls out Vince. He says that Vince may have disowned him as a son, but he is still a McMahon so he still has ways of winning. He says that he has went and found backup for this match against Taker. He found someone who has put himself through so serious HELL, someone Taker is very familiar with (everyone assumes Kane) and Shane follows up with, "BTW this is what MY WWE would be like, you guys think he sucks but believe me. He is exactly who I need by my side, (then he glares Vince in the eye and says) It's true, oh it's damn true"

BOOM hit Kurt Angle's music (Triple H may have met with him recently, so of they come to a deal, Kurt wouldn't have to put on a match until Mania and could work weekly on TV but not wrestle every week) not only does this give Shane some legit backup, plus Kurt could go on to say things like, Vince is the reason I left in the first place so I'm all in to help get rid of him, and he's always wanted to face Taker at Mania so might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone right.

Would you guys like to see this happen?
How would you book it to make Shane beating Taker realistic?

 

[aaronmb]

Guys! Guys! I have a swerve idea, and I think it almost makes sense! As I always do, I've included spoiler tags for the courtesy to those who hate seeing fantasy booking.

Spoiler

Okay, okay guys.

So, we get the exact match we're expecting. A beatdown, a shocking bump, etc. No funny business, Undertaker wins with a Tombstone Piledriver. Vince swaggers to the ring as the cage rises. He begins verbally jabbing Shane, with a few slaps peppered in. Shane, in near delirium, chuckles.

"What's so funny, dammit?!"

"Like I said, Dad, you're out of touch. You didn't even read the contract for this match carefully, and my lawyers did one hell of a job... If I won this match, we all know I'd be declared the owner of Raw. You were so furious, you didn't notice that the stipulation was worded that 'the winner will be declared the owner of Raw.' "

Slowly, a look of horrible realization grows on his face. He turns around to face the victor of the match. The new Owner of Raw. The Undertaker.

Tombstone Vince.

I've got an idea similar to yours....Undertaker beats Shane...then Triple H and Roman are both beaten down. Undertaker comes out and tombstones Triple H. Undertaker pins Triple H to become the new champion.
How is that possible? The contract could say that if Undertaker won HIAC, he would get a MITB type title shot.
Id have him keep the belt til the next Mania, with his final opponent, Cena.

 

[Fugazi]

It's probably been said before, but John Cena will cost Taker this match which will set up Taker vs Big Match John at mania 33. I really don't see this thing going any other way.

 

[The Last Outlaw]

To be honest, I'm quite surprised that a thread hasn't been made about this yet, anyways. It looks like Vince is stacking the deck way too high, he is putting himself in a creative corner in which will be hard to get out of. First off, this storyline has been just thrown together and part of it makes little to no sense. Shane wins, he gets control of Raw, and Taker is no longer a WrestleMania competitor which would essentially mean he'd be retired as that's usually the only place he participates aside from 2015.

Sure, I'll admit nobody knows what's going to happen as the stakes are high. That I like, but this being Taker's retirement match...not good for marketing. Why should Shane get the rub, especially in Texas of all places. I know Taker is probably to retire soon but if this is it...horrible decision. Shane loses, what was the point of him coming back? Either way, it's going to end with a negative. If Taker loses, I don't see Shane reinstating him as that would make Vinces Stipulation for nothing and I think Vince would've known that before making the stipulation.

A lot can happen with this angle, beside the hype to it so far being atrocious, I think this will still be a entertaining bout. I just hope they make the right decision with a Taker win. If Shane wants his spot that bad, there's a way he can get back in the angle. All he would need to do would be to interfere in Triple H's bout and screw him over, get him to take the bait, which will lead to a Triple H Vs Shane at PPV for control over the Raw or Smackdown. One thing is for sure, I know a lot of fans want Shane to beat Taker but being in Taker's home state, the majority will be pulling for a Taker win, so why not send the fans home happy?

They only got one more Raw left to sell this bout, so hopefully it'll make up for what it's been lacking. Comment below, let me know what you guys think. I'd like to know your thoughts as well as speculations.