WWE History: When Vince and Shane McMahon went to church

When did this happen?

This was back in 2006 when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was involved in a feud with The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. After Vince was defeated by Michaels in their brutal street fight match at WrestleMania 22, Vince—aware of HBK's close relationship with God, visited a church with Shane as HBK was scheduled to team up with God to face the two McMahons at Backlash.

What led up to this?

This feud initially started on December 26, 2005, after the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" which occurred in 1997. Eight years after the infamous night on Raw, Vince claimed that he "tricked" Bret Hart in the hours of his match at Survivor Series in 1997, where The Hitman lost the WWE Championship to Shawn Michaels. At the event, HBK applied the Sharpshooter on Hart (his own finisher) and McMahon called for the bell. Shawn Michaels then confronted The Boss and told him to "let it go" and "move on" from the events of Survivor Series, which, at that time, occurred 8 years ago.

McMahon wasn't too happy about that so he replied to Shawn by telling him that he indeed screwed Bret Hart and added, "Shawn, do not make me screw you." At the Royal Rumble PPV in 2006, Shane McMahon made a surprise appearance when he eliminated HBK from the Rumble match, even though Shane was not part of the match. This led to an intense rivalry with Michaels in a two on one situation against the two McMahons. After a few battles, Vince booked himself and Shawn Michaels in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22.

At the event, the Spirit Squad and Shane involved themselves by interfering on Vince's behalf, but Michaels still got the victory after defeating The Boss by pinfall. The following night on Raw, The McMahons confronted Michaels and informed him that his win at WrestleMania was "an act of God," therefore setting up the tag team match at Backlash which included The McMahons facing Michaels and God.

Taking things a little further, Vince McMahon, along with his son Shane, visited a church in a comical segment during an episode of Raw, which then led to Vince mocking Michaels, who is a Christian, and precisely the relationship that he shares with God.

What went down?

During an episode of Raw, Vince and Shane attended a church in order to "find" Michaels' tag team partner. As they entered the building, The Boss proceeded by praising the interior design and as they entered the church, he was about to wash his hands with the holy water on the baptism stand, before Shane stopped him. McMahon then mocked Triple H by spitting the water out in the style of The Game.

Vince and Shane would then walk up to the altar and The Boss began talking to God, listing his own achievements and comparing them to God's, praising himself in the process. Vince proceeded by reading through a list of his own commandments, and then made his son recite a prayer at the altar that he wrote about himself. McMahon ceased off by telling Shawn Michaels that he would "unleash the apocalypse" on him and if he doesn't then God may "strike him down".

The aftermath

The McMahons showed up at Backlash 2006 for their tag team match against Shawn Michaels and God. The two entered the ring and Vince proceeded by calling God out.

The match, however, turned into a 2-on-1 handicap No Holds Barred Match, and the odds were heavily stacked against Michaels. Vince McMahon covered HBK for the pinfall victory after assistance from the Spirit Squad.