5 possible next steps for Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon has always been a polarising figure in the world of professional wrestling, and yet, he's still considered to be the most likeable member of the McMahon family by a country mile. Over the last two years since his return in the lead-up to WrestleMania 32, he's been involved in some great moments and some bad ones in equal measure.

But regardless of that, at the age of 48, we're interested to see what might be next for him. We've never fully understood why he stuck around in the wake of his match against The Undertaker, and while we believe that he still loves the business, we're curious to know whether he had a game plan when he initially came back regarding how long he wanted to stay for.

With that being said, here are five possible next steps for Shane McMahon.

#1 Heel turn

Towards the end of last year and the start of 2018, it really did seem like Shane-o-Mac was going to turn heel for the first time in well over a decade. He was tussling back and forth with Daniel Bryan regarding pretty much every issue imaginable, and while it was clear to see that his true feud was with Owens and Zayn, fans were still wondering whether or not WWE had a trick up their sleeve.

Alas, they didn't pull the trigger, but that doesn't mean they can't do so in the next few months. Shane has felt a little bit stale for quite some time now and it'd be fun to see what kind of injection of life this would give his character. There's no guarantee that it'd pay off for him, and we've already got enough heel McMahon personas, but maybe it's what he needs.

#2 Retirement

Shane has always been someone who didn't want to be stuck in his father's shadow, and we can respect that. As opposed to sticking with the company and working under his dad's creation like Stephanie did, Shane felt like he needed to go out and make a name for himself as a businessman on his own. As you can tell, he was pretty successful in the end.

Perhaps, now that he's conquered the business world and had a few more matches, he's ready to ride off into the sunset and spend all of his time with his family. It's not like he's got anything left to prove, and he's probably got more money than he could spend in ten lifetimes. He could quietly slip away or he could give a big retirement speech on SmackDown Live, but either way, it's certainly a possibility.

#3 HHH showdown

While we may have seen these two square off at Survivor Series last year, they only really scratched the surface when it comes to what these guys could produce from a storyline perspective. It really does write itself: Triple H is next in line to take over from Vince McMahon as his 'adopted son' of sorts, whereas Shane, his actual son, has been wishing for a pat on the back for years now (as seen in the WWE 24 special).

These two men have thrown subtle digs at one another over the last few years in interviews, and it feels like they've been slowly planting the seeds for a future one on one match. It may not be a technical masterpiece or anything like that, but if they make it No Holds Barred, then there's no limit to the fun that can be had with this.

#4 Surprise takeover

As we mentioned in the previous post, the stars have been aligning for Triple H to become the new man in charge of World Wrestling Entertainment for years now. Shane went away and The Game stepped up to the plate, becoming Vinnie Mac's right-hand man. However, now that Shane is back, perhaps the roles will be reversed.

Think about it: Vince will want someone to take over who will maintain his main roster vision, and there have always been question marks regarding just how different HHH's style is from Vince's. All you need to do is look at NXT as evidence of that.

We aren't saying this is likely, but nobody can deny that it'd be a huge, huge moment in the history of professional wrestling.

#5 One last match

While many fans aren't in favour of seeing Shane McMahon wrestle on a regular basis, we'd argue that plenty would pay to see him have one last hurrah before hanging up his boots for good. After all, his efforts at WrestleMania 33 and WrestleMania 34 were both well received, with his AJ Styles bout in Orlando being seen as the match of the night by many.

We aren't sure who we'd want his opponent to be or anything like that, but one thing is for sure, Shane-o-Mac would give us something to remember him by - and that actively excites and frightens us in equal measure.

What do you think should Shane-o-Mac do next? Tell us in the comments below!

Vince Russo answers who killed WCW HERE