Shane McMahon On Why He Returned To WWE, His Relationship With His Family and The Undertaker

Shane McMahon appearing on the Michael Kay Show on 98.7 FM radio in the New York City market on Friday discuss returning to WWE and his match against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 32. The interview was simulcast live on the YES Network.

The segment opened showing clips of McMahon’s return to WWE this past Monday, followed by the announcement he would face Undertaker. They noted they don’t talk wrestling a lot on the show but they talk things that move the needle and this did it, trending worldwide on Twitter for two days.

McMahon, who was there via telephone, said that he was humbled by the reaction of the crowd. He said it was so electric, it went through his body. He noted that he thanked the fans live in Detroit without knowing WWE would later air the footage. He said his hair was standing up and his nipples got hard and he thanked everyone in the Arena again for something that was so special and emotional.

He said he didn’t know how the crowd was going to react and that you hope for that but never know. He said it was amazing.

McMahon was asked how much he missed the feeling of being in the ring. Shane said there is truly nothing like it and when you are out there and you feel the energy and something is “hot”, you feel that crowd come through the TV and it creates an energy. He said you can only imagine how much bigger it is when you are there live and especially when it’s directed at you.

They noted that Shane used to have to show the wrestlers that he wasn’t just Vince’s kid and whether that was the case. Shane said there is some truth to that and he grew up paying his dues working all sorts of different menial jobs. He said that he got to see the injuries and the pain as well as the love and passion. He was always athletic and it was something he wanted to do. He told a story of being in Worcester, MA when Mr. Fuji invited him to try a top rope dropkick and when he did it and hit Fuji’s hand (which he held as a target) and when he hit the mat, all the air left his body and it was his first true understanding of how hard the business is. He said he always wanted to wrestle and went for it and had a match, which he expected to be his first and last but liked it and kept going. He just goes and tries to leave it all out there.

They asked him about some of the crazier stunts he’s done in the past. He was asked if he would jump off the scoreboard of AT&T Stadium. He said there are limitations and he’ll be locked in a Cell but you never know what will happen in WWE.

Shane was asked if there was any real animosity between him and Vince. He said there are in private moments like there are in any business. He said there’s also a lot of rewards to working with family.

He was asked how much of a factor was his children being old enough to see him wrestle. He said it’s a primary “driver” and he’s emotional thinking about it. He said he’s really excited and proud. He said he is fourth generation in the business and hopefully they will be fifth generation if that’s what they want. His children didn’t know he was going to Raw and his wife secretly filmed their reactions for him and he said that was amazing and a private video for him.

Shane was asked his memories of Wrestlemania III. He said he was 15 at the time and he remembers walking to the very top of the Silverdome because his father said he had done it earlier in the day and the view was amazing. McMahon said it was a phenomenal card and was the pinnacle. He said it’s possible they will break the attendance record and they feel like they have a shot of that and they will see.

He was asked how they kept his return a secret. He said he was very old school and everything was kept close to the vest and it should be. He said that no matter what he’s watching, he loves when there are surprises. With today’s media, it is so hard to accomplish that because people are everywhere and there are phones but they kept it quiet.

Shane was asked his favorite wrestler to watch as a kid was Superstar Graham, although he also had a great respect for Bruno Sammartino. He said Graham’s model later became Hulk Hogan in his view. He also noted Ivan Putski and said a lot of those guys just roughed him up as a kid, but he wouldn’t change anything growing up as he had a lot of great memories and an amazing childhood.

The Shane-O Mac shuffle was inspired by Muhammad Ali, Apollo Creed in “Rocky” and Rocky Johnson.

McMahon said he loves the New York Yankees and they have the best bullpen in baseball, period. He said it the pitching staff can stay healthy, they have a good chance to go all the way. He said that as long as they beat the Sox, he’s happy. He said he’s a huge sports fan, naming the New York Knicks.

McMahon said he’s training three times a day for Wrestlemania and actually started to get in better shape last summer for surfing as his kids love it. He’s been training for that and started getting serious and has been into Muay-Thai for awhile.

The last question was whether he returned to help with the business side of the company. He said that “as of right now”, he is focused on Wrestlemania and anything after that, “we’ll see how it goes.”

He was asked if he had any message for The Undertaker and he joked to tell him to stop training and take it easy and don’t work on your cardio. He said he’s known Undertaker for 25 years and what they do is a serious thing. When you step into the ring, you have to deliver for your opponent and give it every single thing that you have for the fans, or you’ve failed. They have a lot of pride and with friendship will come a lot of “stiff” liberties.