“IS HE GOING TO DO WHAT I THINK HE IS GOING TO DO!!??”
The first time Shane McMahon glanced upwards, the audience and myself knew something crazy was in his mind. Minutes later, as he lay outside the ring, he took another glance up.
“Oh boy….he’s not going to climb up there is he?”
As he climbed that cage you could feel the entire audience gasp for air. I shouted at my TV and said:
“This guy is crazy! He’s 46! I hope he’s not going to really consider doing this!”
When he got to the top of the “Hell In A Cell” cage, you saw just how high it actually was. We’re talking 20+ feet high! Seeing him on top of that cage was a scary sight. Not because he climbed it, but we all knew what he wanted to do next!
To do what he was planning to do took a lot of courage. There were millions of people watching around the world who saw what he wanted to do. The top was not his finally destination. He was going to take one of the biggest risks of his entire life.
Shane did something that 99.999% of the population would never do…HE JUMPED!!
MIKE’S CHILDHOOD WRESTLING FANTASY
Ravishing Rick Rude
I was a major fan of wrestling in my childhood years. This 80’s baby grew up when WWE (formerly know as WWF) started to peak.
I remember waking up Saturday mornings in my pajamas and seeing the morning WWF show with Rowdy Piper, Million Dollar Man, Macho Man, Bret Hart and others. I remember seeing the Saturday afternoon show as well with my sister, who had a crush on Ravishing Rick Rude.
As a kid, I loved the drama of it all. It was all the action of my cartoons but with great soap opera storylines. There was nothing better than getting behind your hero and seeing him vanquish a bad guy.
Teenage Wrestling Years
After awhile I obviously realized that wrestling wasn’t real. They were just athletic acrobats doing choreographed live action stunts. Despite knowing this I still watched periodically during my teenage years. That was the period the WWE labeled the “Attitude Era”.
This was the time period that introduced us to new icons like Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley (aka Mankind aka Dude Love aka Cactus Jack), Kurt Angle and of course the people’s champ, The Rock!!
During this era it was more about the show. Trying to one up your competition with great one-liners. As I approached my college years, I started to watch wrestling even less. It was something I watched every few months just to catch up with the soap drama.
Then like magic, sometime in late March/Early April, the fascination starts all over again!
WrestleMania
There’s just something magically about WrestleMania. WrestleMania is the WWE’s biggest event of the year. It’s the one show where you should expect the performers to put on the best show of their year. The bar was set high with the first WrestleMania set back in the eighties so the athletes today try to keep up with that tradition.
What Does WrestleMania Have To Do With Taking Risks & Being In Shape?
I know not every cares about wresting that reads this blog. That’s ok because there’s a lot of things you could still learn from these guys. It’s true that it may be fake but what isn’t fake is the months of physical pain these entertainers put their bodies through.
WrestleMania 32 was two years ago. What separated this Wresltemania was the fact that it’s main superstars were all hurt. The biggest matches between its superstars had to be replaced with suitable replacements.
Enter Shane McMahon & The Undertaker .
Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon is the son of the of WWE founder/chairman/CEO, Vince McMahon. He is also a minority owner of the company. With his family so involved in the day-to-day business of running of the company, he’s basically your typical corporate millionaire.
Well maybe not exactly typical. During the nineties he decided he wanted to become a part of the visual side of the WWE business and developed his own character based on himself. He was going to be known as the son of the owner who had everything handed to him. He played it nicely because it was pretty much true.
What no one expected though was the fact that he would challenge the roster’s superstars to matches. During these matches he would perform some unexpected wrestling daredevil moves that won the respect of the wrestlers and audience:
The Undertaker
Most people who know a little about wrestling would have at least heard of the Undertaker. His biggest draw was the fact that he was undefeated at WrestleMania.
That changed at WrestleMania 30 when he lost to Brock Lesnar. The lost had less to do with his legacy and more to the fact that he wanted to past the torch to someone else. The moment seemed like a perfect time for the Undertaker to retire, and that’s what he pretty much did by rarely appearing in WWE events from 2014-2016.
McMahon vs The Undertaker Unexpected Match
Still what does these two guys have to do with being in shape?
Well, as I mentioned WrestleMania 32 was plagued with injuries. Someone had to step up and try to put together a show. That’s exactly what the Undertaker and Shane McMahon voluntarily decided to do!
Behind the scenes, the 46 year old and the 51 year old wanted to save a business they both are passionate about. They wanted to keep WrestleMania relevant. A guy that hadn’t wrestled in over 15 years and a guy who should be retired decided to get in decent athletic shape and steal the show!
No disrespect to the women’s championship match between Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch & Charlotte (A great great great great great……did I say great match!) but Shane McMahon’s risky move stole the night!
Having the courage to go up that high and jump!
That’s one of the biggest leaps of faith I have ever seen in a long time! Dedication to climb that cage, look down and know you’re suppose to go through the announce table.
Bring It On!
As I get ready to go to the gym today, that has me fired up!
Knowing that everyone else just settles for getting by while there’s one in a million who takes a chance. I don’t know about you but I want to be that one in a million!
I’m putting faith in my body and training program.
I’m putting my faith in the fact that I can help busy people get in shape!
I want to be that risk taker like Shane McMahon……….. I’m just not going to jump off a cage to prove it!
