It was no surprise to see Shane McMahon take the biggest fall at Hell in a Cell last night. However, his attempt to defy death looks to have supplied Shane-O-Mac with a litany of injuries.
WWE.com released an update on Shane’s health a few hours after the match. Needless to say, it doesn’t sound like Shane will be jumping off of cages anytime soon.
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SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon has been taken to a local medical facility after leaping from the top of Hell in a Cell and crashing through an announce table during his brutal Falls Count Anywhere Hell in a Cell Match against Kevin Owens.
A preliminary report has determined that Shane may be dealing with multiple injuries, including neck trauma, fractured ribs, and a dislocated shoulder.
While nothing has been confirmed at this time, WWE.com will continue to monitor Shane’s condition.
By this report, we can assume that Shane McMahon won’t be getting physical anytime soon. Speculation has already risen about Shane being temporarily relieved of his duties as SmackDown’s Commissioner. Those same theories typically end with Triple H filling in as an interim authority figure. While this is indeed possible, consider it unlikely.
By Sami Zayn getting involved last night, the story between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon just got a new character. For now, we can assume that Sami is at least considering a heel turn (if he hasn’t actually hasn’t already made his deal with the dark side).
Shane now has the motive to make a prompt return to action to settle the score with Owens and Zayn. With this element at play, introducing Triple H as Shane’s replacement would kill a narrative that WWE has clearly made a priority.
However, this doesn’t mean we can stop hoping for a Triple H run on Tuesday nights. It feels, sounds, and looks like the 14-time WWE Champion will be competing again, but his participation may have been delayed a month or so. The Zayn/Owens pair is only just beginning and will easily coast through Survivor Series.
If the late November show is the goal WWE is working towards, then we can expect to see a Team Owens vs. Team Shane at the Houston show.
