Shane McMahon's return last week on Monday Night Raw, still has the WWE Universe buzzing in excitement.
After all, it had been six years since Shane-O-Mac appeared on the company's programming of any sort. Add that to the fact that he made it quite clear that he wants full control of Raw and that his father, Vince McMahon, laid down the gauntlet, telling him he'd grant his wish if he could beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 on April 3 ... and business has picked up like it hasn't in quite some time.
Well, as the reality of Shane being back in WWE fully sets in, one rumored report is already leaning toward the ramifications of his role and the outcome on the company, overall.
According to PWInsider.com, there has been talk backstage at the WWE about there possibly being a brand split for the company. Adding to the speculation is an alleged ad for an upcoming WWE live event being listed as "WWE vs. Raw," which PWInsider spotted, but was reverted back to WWE Raw. The report didn't mention the date of that aforementioned card, otherwise the WWE Universe would have further indication for when such a planned change would happen.
The report does add that if the rumors pan out as being true, it doesn't look like NXT would be involved. Hmm ...
Is WWE eyeing a return to Raw and SmackDown touting their own rosters? The company ran with that for quite some time, before allowing Superstars from one show to cross over to the other more frequently.
With that being said, Raw is still regarded as WWE's main show, featuring its top Superstars, while SmackDown has been relegated to middle- and lower-tier wrestlers.
Still, it would be intriguing if Shane-O-Mac could somehow get a victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, getting full control of Raw, and forcing Stephanie to run SmackDown. Stephanie's regular presence on the show would definitely impact its ratings, especially if she reaches into his Raw roster to extract some key Superstars.
Hey, such an event could even spawn the return of the WWE Draft, in which the McMahon siblings vie to beef up their respective rosters with talent.
Whatever transpires, it's clear that Shane's return has lit some much-needed fire and excitement under the WWE and its Universe, alike.
Let's see what unfolds tonight on Monday Night Raw to perhaps further fuel these rumors.
