Vince McMahon stomping on a framed portrait of him and his son Shane McMahon earlier this week on Monday Night Raw was cringeworthy ... even for hardcore WWE fans knowing it's just part of an enthralling storyline.

However, one WWE Hall of Famer believes that there could be real-life heat between the father and son, adding that there definitely is tension between Shane and his sister Stephanie.

"Maybe it's storyline, maybe it's not," Bret "the Hitman" Hart said on the debut episode of WrestleZone Radio's The Sharpshooter Show. "I know there's a lot of tension between Stephanie and Shane. It's my understanding, unless I'm wrong, that there was a lot of tension there for quite a long time — which is why Shane left. They kind of passed him over and gave everything to Stephanie to run. There's a lot of question marks about the legitimacy or the reality of what's going on. For me, as WrestleMania gets closer, the wrestling fan in me is kind of excited about seeing where it goes."

Since Shane's return to WWE last month, when we instantly learned he'll be taking on the Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, Vince has repeatedly denounced him as his son, while Shane-O-Mac has gone as far as to call his old man a "bastard." Each has done everything in his power to drive home the point that they're seriously at odds.

Is there a bit of what Hart alluded to as possible real-life heat between the two, though, and between Shane and Stephanie as well?

For what it's worth, Vince had a sitdown interview with the Orlando Sentinel earlier this week, describing working with his son in the company once again as both "awesome," yet "difficult," while also alluding to the two butting heads.

"It's been awesome. I was hoping that one day we might get back together. It's difficult. Fathers and sons sometimes, in the same business at a certain stage, it can be very difficult," Mr. McMahon said. "You love each other just as much but you see things a little differently. You have the old bull and the young bull and the old bull is not ready to give it up, his horns are still sharp."

As McMahon continued, he didn't seem to be ready to set Shane's position within the company in stone just yet.

"It's great that Shane is back. Whether or not there's a corporate place, we'll wait and see," Vince offered. "From a performer standpoint, I so enjoy performing with him. And when the three of us are out there, Stephanie and Shane and me, and throw in Paul (Triple H) because that has happened in the past, oh my God! We could stay out there and entertain each other, much less the audience, for an hour."

Well, we're more than ready to be entertained.

Hopefully, for the McMahons' sake — and the sanctity of WWE — whatever real-life heat that may linger is eventually put to bed.