The WWE Network Collections section featured collections of different subjects. These are essentially playlists of whatever theme happens to be discussed. For example, the TLC Tag Teams Collection focuses on the feud between the Dudleys, the Hardys, and Edge and Christian. The WWE has stated new collections will be added to the service every month, with most likely not to be removed. The only real drawback for this series is a lack of an auto-play feature on the service, otherwise the collections have a lot of potential.
I am reviewing the Legacy of Shane McMahon collection in three parts. The first part was quite entertaining, with some really fun moments and the beginning of Shane McMahon from punk kid to a corporate leader. Part two looks to be the best of the bunch, as it’ll have two of his most notable high risks, his best match, and arguably his most memorable moment. Let’s see how the second part is, shall we?
Hardcore Awesomeness
WWF Hardcore Championship
Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman
This clip came from an episode of RAW. It was the 378th episode of the longest weekly episodic series in history and it took place on August 21st, 2000. That means we jumped over year from the last entry in this collection.
This was a pretty basic story here. Commissioner Mick Foley put Shane McMahon into a Hardcore Championship match with Steve Blackman. As Blackman was on his way out, he got jumped by Test. They had a typical Hardcore Match from that period before Albert ran down. T&A double teamed Blackman, but he was still able to fight them off but soon Edge and Christian also ran down. Somehow Blackman was still keeping strong, but Shane came down with a cane and eventually picked up the win. It took five guys, but Shane is champion again!
After the match ends, Foley meets them backstage and congratulations them for the big win. He then puts Edge and Christian in a match but more importantly, Shane has to defend the WWF Hardcore Championship against Blackman.. at Summerslam. This was effective. Very typical Attitude booking without a lot of quality, but it was fun and commissioner Foley is always entertaining.
Winner: Shane McMahon
Battling The Lethal Weapon
WWF Hardcore Championship
Shane McMahon vs. Steve Blackman
Summerslam 2000 aired on August 27th, 2000 and it has one of the most memorable spots in history. After Shane stole the Hardcore Title from Blackman, this was Blackman’s chance to get revenge, and boy did he. He beat Shane down for a long time, with the video itself lasting almost fourteen minutes and most of that saw Blackman hurting the young McMahon.
Of course, Test and Albert showed up again but this time, Blackman was able to handle them. This led to Shane running, and climbing up the set, only for Blackman to follow with his cane. He hit Shane several times, and well, the picture tells the story. This is one of the most memorable spots in wrestling, and certainly in the Attitude Era.
It is worth mentioning that Blackman did his own jump not long after, landing on Shane. Interestingly enough, nobody ever really talks about that one. Still, this was exciting and worth watching, especially if you saw this before Wrestlemania and wanted to see just how nutty Shane could be.
Winner: Steve Blackman
An Honorable Challenge
Before I get started on discussing this clip, I do want to mention a nice touch. During this video, once Shane made the challenge, a graphic popped up. This ad told the viewer that the match in question is available in another collection, the Wrestlemania Show Stealers collection. That is really neat and a good idea to encourage people to explore more throughout the service. And to follow in the Network’s footsteps, to read our review of Wrestlemania Show Stealers, click here.
Anyway, this took place on RAW 408, which was on March 19th, 2001. Shane McMahon challenged his father to a match at Wrestlemania in a good promo. This led to Stephanie coming out to try to talk him out of it, which didn’t work. Vince then comes out and agrees to the match, and the two almost fight but Triple H comes out and beats Shane up instead. Vince then drops the great line that he’ll never forgive Linda for giving birth the Shane. This was a good segment. Everyone played their part well.
The Contract Does Say McMahon…
Here we are. Arguably the biggest moment in Shane’s career and arguably one of the biggest moments in wrestling history. This took place on RAW 409, which took place on March 26, 2001. Vince McMahon was gloating about finally beating World Championship Wrestling. Here it is, his biggest moment. Or was it?
Not so much, as in Panama City, Shane McMahon was live at Nitro and interrupted his father. He revealed that he bought WCW under his dad’s nose and that just like Nitro beat RAW for awhile, he’s going to do the same to his father. This was a huge moment, one that dramatically changed the business. No matter how you feel about the invasion, the impact this had is unmistakable. Must see viewing for those who don’t know it already.
A Leap of Faith
Last Man Standing Match
Shane McMahon vs. Big Show
April 29th, 2001 was the date Backlash took place, and it featured one of the scariest moments in Shane McMahon’s career. Which, if you know his career at all, says something! This was Big Show and Shane McMahon in a Last Man Standing match, and as you’d expect, Big Show dominated. Shane did a lot to try to contend, going as far as using chloroform to try to keep the big man down, but his dad would run in and cut that off.
Big Show’s advantage would return only for Test to show up and help out Shane. This eventually led to an entrance way brawl, which would culminate with Shane jumping off of the tron onto Big Show, with Test helping Shane beat the ten count. Yeah, another ridiculous stunt by Shane and it is one to witness. Crazy. What do you even say about this? Just wild.
Winner: Shane McMahon
Unceremonious Return
Ah! Shorter video! Finally. At five minutes exactly, Unceremonious Return took place on RAW 417. This aired on May 21st, 2001 and had Kurt Angle celebrating only for Shane McMahon to interrupt. This was kind of weird, but Shane basically hinted at WCW coming soon, then made fun of Angle, only to get beat up. Not sure why this was put in here, I guess to build to the next video, but it seemed out of place.
Shattering Expectations
Street Fight
Shane McMahon vs Kurt Angle
On June 24th, 2001, Shane McMahon had the best match of his career at the King of the Ring. He took on Kurt Angle in Angle’s prime, and the match was just unreal. The match worked like so many of Shane’s: He would get beat up, a lot, but he would also find ways to get offense, usually thanks to weapons or underhanded tactics. But Shane worked so hard to hang in there with Angle, even doing a shooting star press!
Of course, the most memorable part of the match had to be the suplexes into and eventually through the glass. You can visibly see Kurt trying to tell Shane enough is enough, but instead he keeps hitting and eventually going through glass. Both guys end up battered and bloody, and destroyed.
Kurt Angle would end up winning with a super Angle Slam, but both guys got a ton of respect for this one and they absolutely killed it. While you really wouldn’t call Shane a non-wrestler at this point, Angle still had a classic with him and it was, in my eyes, undoubtedly the best match of Shane’s career. Great stuff.
Winner: Kurt Angle
Closing Thoughts
Well, part 2 was just fantastic. It had the biggest shocks of Shane’s career with his two falls/dives, the best match of his career with Kurt Angle, and the biggest moment of his career with the WCW buyout angle. And it was all in this part of the collection. Where can you go wrong?
With only one part of the collection left, it will cover the Alliance angle and anything he did after that until he left the company. Again, I wanted to get this entire review done before Wrestlemania, but time just wasn’t on my side. Regardless, Shane is still around and this is still very relevant. Especially if a rumored match with a certain family member ends up taking place. Could we see something else crazy from Shane? At this point, I wouldn’t doubt it.
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