In an interview with WrestlingInc.com, former WWE star Aruro Ruas commented on if Shane McMahon was heavily involved in the RAW Underground concept from 2020:
“Yes, he was. He trained as well. Me and him, we have a friend in common, Renzo Gracie, and the Gracie family is friends of my family in Brazil, the Jaoude family. And I talked to Renzo often, and he (McMahon) trains Jiu-Jitsu with Renzo Gracie. And when I met him, like years before, at WrestleMania in catering, he did that match, and I was like, ‘Shane, your punches are cool,’ and he was punching me and we had a talk. And I met him after on RAW Underground, and he is a cool guy. He’s amazing, and he always wants to help you and teach you. He was helping to produce the matches, and because of my Jiu-Jitsu background, I felt that he was trying to build me there in that environment. It was fun, and he knew all the moves I used to do. He was calling the match on the fly because he trained. It was a good experience.”
“He [Shane] never told me that it was his idea. Vince [McMahon] was on the set. He came on the first week. He was looking at the papers and talking to people. Shane was, all the time, with the many producers there, and I don’t believe that one person had the idea. They have a team. They talk. They bring ideas up. I played. I had fun. I didn’t have the chance to talk to him [Vince] because of the virus, so people were staying away. I didn’t feel the necessity to go to him and talk to him because he was very busy. He came in. He talked with some guys, talked to some producers and left. I knew he was behind the whole thing.”
