Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon is set for a character change heading into Wrestlemania 35. In this picture, McMahon raises the WWE World Cup trophy following the match as part of as part of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Crown Jewel pay-per-view at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Nov. 2, 2018. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

WWE Smackdown Live commissioner Shane McMahon could be undergoing a "character change" next year.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as per Wrestling Inc, it will take place in the first quarter of 2019, meaning it would likely occur heading into Wrestlemania season.

"There's no word yet on exactly what they have planned but this will tie in with Shane's World Cup tournament win at Crown Jewel and Team SmackDown losing all of their matches on the main card of the Survivor Series pay-per-view," Wrestling Inc wrote. "Shane's character change will likely be a set-up for his match at WrestleMania 35."

It was believed that the original plan was for McMahon to turn heel and face Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. However, the latter's heel turn en route to winning the WWE championship earlier in November changed plans. It is no longer a direction for the showpiece event.

A likely opponent for the 48-year-old could be The Miz, however. The two are currently in a storyline together, with McMahon notably stepping in for an injured Miz to defeat Dolph Ziggler and win the WWE World Cup tournament.

Ironically, The Miz was expected to be in a program with Bryan heading into Wrestlemania, but the latter's heel turn complicated that as well, while the former is one of the best heels in the business today.

Should it be a McMahon vs. Miz feud though, it's hard to see what exact character change is employed with the minority owner of the company.

However, it will certainly be intriguing with McMahon being a part of major Wrestlemania matches ever since his return to WWE programming in 2016. He notably faced The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 32, Styles at Wrestlemania 33, and partnered with Bryan to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at last year's Wrestlemania.

Considering he left the company in 2009, fans are lucky to see him in action today at all, but some might not be pleased with McMahon, a part-timer, getting another big spot on the Wrestlemania main card.

There's already criticism that he's making the rest of the roster look weak whenever he does perform, such as at Survivor Series earlier this month where he was the last man standing for Smackdown.

"This is far from the first time this has been the case with Shane at Survivor Series, however," Bleacher Report's Graham Matthews wrote. "He has been a part of Team SmackDown for the past three years, outlasting almost everyone else in the matchup each time."

"In the process, WWE has sent the message that Shane is superior to the rest of the roster, despite his not being an active competitor. He is nowhere near the level of part-timers such as Triple H, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, but because his booking suggests otherwise, the rest of the roster is paying the price for it."

Despite the unhappiness from some fans, Shane O'Mac will more than likely still appear when Wrestlemania 35 takes place April 7 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

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