Bruce Prichard On Who Decided To Put Shane McMahon On Commentary For WWE Sunday Night Heat
Sunday Night Heat debuted on August 2nd in 1998 and the host of that shows debut was Shane McMahon. McMahon was introduced to the crowd by Vince McMahon as the host and star of the show. On an episode of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Prichard explains how they came up with the idea to have Shane on commentary. Prichard credited the idea to Vince and Kevin Dunn.
"Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn were behind that because they wanted a young and different look," said Prichard. "Shane McMahon was coming into the business. Shane was young and had the look that they were looking for. Young, good looking guy who grew up in the business; third generation, so why not? Give him a shot man."
"It was in his genes and in his DNA, so it was time to teach Shane McMahon that aspect of the business. Shane was doing play by play, he did color and analysis. There was a lot of training that he did for this, but it was a new experiment to get Shane McMahon out there for the audience."
Shane McMahon was removed from commentary in 1999 to become part of the corporation. McMahon was a color commentator with Jim Cornette and Kevin Kelly before leaving the commentary table.
You can listen to the full episode of Something to Wrestle With, where Prichard discusses the 1998 SummerSlam PPV here