Shane McMahon was not on Smackdown last week due to the injuries he suffered after getting a comprehensive beatdown from Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. That cleared the path for Daniel Bryan to make his return to the ring after finally being cleared medically to, well, also get beaten up by Zayn and Owens, although in more competitive fashion.
The general expectation has been that those four would be involved in a match at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, with Owens and Zayn facing Bryan and McMahon in a tag match, but no official announcement has been made. On Monday, WWE announced McMahon had been hospitalized due to “acute diverticulitis” and and “umbilical hernia” that would require surgery, which cast some doubt over his involvement in WrestleMania.
The full release can be read below, and it’s somewhat hard to tell how much of this is kayfabe (signaled by the attachment of the injury to the attack) and how much of this is real, considering the timing and close proximity of WrestleMania.
Shane McMahon is currently recovering from acute diverticulitis and an umbilical hernia in a New York-area medical facility, WWE.com has learned.
Two weeks ago on SmackDown LIVE, McMahon announced he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence from his position as the blue brand’s Commissioner. Following that announcement, McMahon was brutally attacked by Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. WWE medical staff initially diagnosed him with a laryngeal contusion and trapezius and rhomboid strains as a result of the beating.
Following the vicious assault, McMahon went to the Caribbean with his family to rest and recuperate. While there, Shane developed a massive infection due to acute diverticulitis and was hospitalized for several days in Antigua before being flown back to a New York-area hospital, where he is currently being treated with heavy doses of antibiotics. The doctors in New York have also discovered that Shane suffered an umbilical hernia during the attack, which will require surgery once the infection has been eradicated.
It could all be a work, and McMahon could still make his triumphant return on the go-home Smackdown prior to Mania to announce a match involving himself, but it also could be that McMahon really did suffer something serious enough to require surgery and needs to miss WrestleMania. We should know which of those two it is over the coming weeks, but it certainly makes for a bit of mystery surrounding the storyline involving Zayn and Owens.
UPDATE: According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the ailment, hospitalization, and surgery are all legitimate, and it is unlikely that McMahon will be able to perform at WrestleMania. The build had been for McMahon to team with Daniel Bryan against Zayn and Owens, but WWE will likely now have to go with a backup plan.
