Declan McMahon, son of Shane McMahon and grandson of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, announced this week that he’ll be playing for the University of Indiana football team next season as a walk-on. He received the offer last month, along with offers to play at Duke, Rutgers, Fordham and East Carolina. In a new interview with the Indianapolis Star this week, Declan talked about his football dreams along with the possibility of eventually joining the family business in the WWE.
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“I think I’m gonna fit in well,” McMahon said. “I’m a tough-nosed running back and I’m not afraid to bowl a person over.”
Regarding the world of wrestling, Declan said, “As a kid it’s been great because you get to look up to guys you look at as superheroes. Then you see them come home and they’re banged up. They don’t really look like heroes when theure you’re parents. Just being around everybody, I think it’s helped me build my character, just being mature as a young age.”
“I’ve tried [pro wrestling] in my house,” McMahon said. “I have two younger brothers, so if we’re joking around I’ll pick them up and throw them on the couch. I’m going in with the mindset that I’ll cross that bridge when we get there. So right now no plans yet, but down the road, who knows? If I have to jump off a cage like my father, maybe that’s what I’ll do.”
Both Shane McMahon and John Cena congratulated Declan on the news on Thursday. Shane wrote, “So proud to be Declan’s father. Hard work pays off. Go Hoosiers!”
Declan has actually made cameo appearances on WWE programming in the past. Fans will likely remember that Shane brought all three of his sons out with him to the ring ahead of his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. That bout infamously ended with McMahon diving off the top of the Cell, only for Undertaker to roll out of the way and cause Shane to crash through a table below.
Shane was last seen on WWE programming at the Royal Rumble in January and reports that he had been sent home due to disagreements over booking started popping up in the days that followed. He was reportedly in Dallas for WrestleMania 38 over the weekend.
