This past Saturday night at WWE Fastlane, Shane McMahon’s son, Declan McMahon, was seen sitting ringside taking in the show. Declan plays for the Indiana University football team, and many of his teammates are seen sitting around him, enjoying the action. Also featured on screen, hurled over Declan’s shoulder, was a custom Indiana University WWE Championship.
The Indiana University football X account has released a video featuring Declan, diving into the significance of the custom championship to the team.
“My name is Declan McMahon, and I was born into the family of running the WWE,” Declan proudly states. “My grandfather, Vince McMahon, founded the company, and just growing up around it has been just amazing.”
The video then cuts to Indiana defensive back Noah Pierre holding the team’s custom title before cutting to him speaking about it. Pierre is good friends with Declan, and it was their idea for the team to get their custom WWE championship. He noted that they wanted to ensure it was something different and unique to the team.
“Me and a bunch of the guys on the team, including Noah, we talk about WWE a lot,” Declan said. “We were thinking of bringing a belt over to IU would be so cool. So, after we got the green light from the captains, we were like, yeah, let’s really make this thing happen. My dad instantly was like, that’s sick. And my dad says all the time, he’s like when you’re the champ, it means something. Right?
“And having that belt and having that meaning just on the sideline, it just creates a lot of energy and a lot of momentum. The first rendering of the belt, we just wanted to get it right away, obviously, you know, so we just had the two side plates rendered in. And then in the other belt that we’re gonna be bringing out, that one, it took a little bit more rendering.
“It felt like a lot of pressure at first because you’re like, wow, you know, a lot of people are gonna see this. Right? You know? And it’s not like the set belt that everybody sees on TV, right? It’s truly one of one. There’s none other like it in the world.”
Pierre added that when the belt arrived, it was much heavier than he expected. As a child, he had a toy version of the WWE title, but holding the real deal in person drove home how cool it was for the team to have its own championship.
“In taking like a brothership that my family has created,” Declan continued. “Something that started so, so small, and it just turned into something so incredibly massive. To tie that part of my life. You know? Just my family history into something that I really have gotten into, which is Indiana football. It’s just, it’s surreal to see. To have those two worlds collide is incredible.”
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