By Eric Gall, Torch specialist

Welcome to the first installment of "On the Contrary." I'm Eric Gall, and I will be examining certain generally believed concepts in the wrestling industry. I will then offer a differing take on the matter, stating what I feel are reasons that the accepted consensus may need re-examining. Reader response is absolutely encouraged, so send in your feedback through the comments section below or email me at ericgall@optimum.net.

The prevailing thought: Shane McMahon should not be portrayed as a dominant, let alone a competitive, week-in, week-out wrestler.

A few months ago, Shane McMahon appeared on Raw to challenge Randy Orton in the ongoing storyline of Orton challenging and assaulting McMahon family members. Shane not only went toe-to-toe with Orton, but he actually manhandled Priceless in the process. Many wrestling fans and writers labeled McMahon as "SuperShane" after this, citing both the implausibility of a single "non-wrestler" looking dominant against the top heel faction in the company and also diffusing the incredible momentum Randy Orton had at that point as the hottest heel in the business. Additionally, the fact that Shane is the owner of the company's son makes this appear to be nepotism of the worst sort. The thought is that Shane, as a 39 year-old non-wrestler who needs to wrestle in a t-shirt, looks far too effective against full-time wrestlers, especially the Legacy.

On the contrary: Shane McMahon IS a wrestler, and his status as being competitive in-ring on the upper-mid-card level is good for the company.

The first disagreement would be that Shane actually is a wrestler. To be sure, he's not a full-time wrestler, but this clearly is not a David Arquette or Dennis Rodman situation we're talking about here. I remember Shane having a well-booked feud with Kane years ago that involved a lot of crazy moves and cinematic moments. He had the entertaining Mean Street Posse serve as a group of spoiled, rich-kid flunkies in his feud against Test. He's also had an excellent match against Kurt Angle, particularly memorable for the spot in which he was accidentally dropped on his head in Angle's attempt to break a Plexiglas window by suplexing Shane through it. Shane McMahon may not be a lifelong, full time competitor, but he's been seasoned enough to at least deserve to be called a "wrestler."

Secondly, it doesn't matter what fringe internet fans and websites think; as long as the mainstream fans connect with the McMahon family presented on television, Shane's presence is justified. His spot on the program is sure to be temporary, so it's an occasional change of pace from the more frequent appearances of Vince and Stephanie McMahon. The family involvement is nothing new, except this time Shane may have looked a little too impressive against a talent who was in perfect position to be launched into true superstar status. As far as the voice of the dissenters, it seems as though the "smart marks" are the only ones voicing disagreement with Shane's character. Live fan response and ratings show no negative impact with his appearances, and until it does, he'll likely remain in his current role.

Third, Shane as a McMahon allows for the possibility of plot twists. There has been speculation that there would be a revelation that Shane was involved with the Legacy as a multi-generational wrestler himself. There was also mention that Stephanie would be involved in this, as well. It's possible that the original plans have been scrapped or revised, but Shane's being dominant against the Legacy, and generally ONLY against the Legacy, would look like good long-term booking should it wind up revealed that the Legacy was selling Shane's offense all along.

My take: I don't see a problem with Shane being booked the way he has been. He's had enough feuds and action inside the ring to grant him enough credibility in the eyes of most fans to appear believable. Shane's role as support in Triple H's battle against the Legacy gives a "worked-shoot" aspect to the angle, as this is the first time that the company has openly acknowledged in a storyline that Hunter is related to the McMahons.

Shane also competes mainly against the Legacy, and most of his offense is against Rhodes and DiBiase. Priceless's role is to be Orton's interference, so Shane looking impressive against them is not going to diminish their standing. Shane will not be in the Raw mix for very long, so it's not as though he will be diminishing any other wrestler's push in the long run, either. Shane, as a McMahon family member, gives the casual fan a net positive experience in his current role on WWE programming.

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