Shane became a regular while being an on-air character in 1998, during his father's on-air
feud with
Steve Austin. In the early days of that
angle, Shane offered support for his father in cameo roles, but he did not become an
enforcer like
Gerald Brisco and
Pat Patterson. Later, in the summer, Shane was a
color commentator on
WWE HEAT for a short amount of time with
Jim Cornette. During this time, Shane largely played the role of a
face announcer, supporting characters such as members of
DX. After the announcing stint ended, Shane took a role as a regular character, turning on his father by signing Austin to a contract after Vince demoted him to the position of referee. Yet at
Survivor Series, Shane turned
heel by turning on Austin and became an official member of
The Corporation.
Shane became a key component in the Corporation angle, winning the
European title from
X-Pac. The two met in a rematch at
WrestleMania XV; Shane got help from his childhood friends the
Mean Street Posse and
Triple H, who turned on X-Pac during the match, to retain the championship. Shane then retired the title, wanting to retire as an "undefeated champion". Shane later gave the title to
Mideon, who found it in Shane's duffel bag (thus reactivating it).
After WrestleMania, Vince briefly made his second face run and Shane took control of the Corporation. With wrestlers such as Triple H in this new faction, Shane feuded with his father and a new faction made up of former Corporation members,
The Union. On the UPN pilot for
SmackDown!, Shane joined forces with
The Undertaker and the
Ministry of Darkness to form the
Corporate Ministry. Eventually, Vince was revealed to be the mastermind behind this faction, and his face turn was explained to be a plot to get the
WWF Title off of Austin. Austin then met Shane and Vince in a
ladder match at the
King of the Ring for ownership of the WWF (storyline wise, Austin had 50% (which was assigned to him by Linda and Stephanie McMahon, upset by Vince and Shane's complicity in the storyline kidnapping of Stephanie by the Corporate Ministry), while Vince and Shane each had 25%). Shane and Vince won the match when a mystery associate raised the briefcase out of Austin's reach when he climbed the ladder, allowing Vince and Shane to grab the case and regain 100% ownership of the WWF.
With his ownership reinstated, Shane shifted his sights to,
Test, who (
kayfabe) was dating Shane's sister,
Stephanie. Shane disapproved of the relationship, feeling Stephanie was dating "beneath the family's standards", and wound up feuding with Test. With help from the Mean Street Posse, Shane made Test's life a living hell. At
SummerSlam, Shane met Test in a "Love Her or Leave Her" match, with the stipulation being that if Shane won the match, Test and Stephanie could no longer see each other, and if he lost, Shane would give his blessings to the pair. Test was able to get the win, and Shane eventually settled his differences with Test, thus making his second face run by becoming his ally.
Later in the year, Stephanie turned heel, siding with her new husband then-heel, Triple H. With that, the
McMahon-Helmsley Faction began, and all of the other McMahons disappeared from television.