I'm not going to directly engage in any of the other various arguments Derka is getting into here - and I have mixed opinions on all of it - but this is not true.
Shane blew up then he got absorbed into the Rogan borg and I am very confident that I have that timeline correct. That said - he hasn't really needed Rogan for anything - and among Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe's crew Shane is the most marketable and enjoying the greatest PUBLIC commercial success of any of them including Joe and Tony (because Rogan obviously makes stupid money behind the scenes...). If anything Shane elevates their whole operation. Kind of like Adam Ray.
He is an elite stand-up, his podcast produces a ton of funny clips, and he has this All-American, aw-shucks vibe to him that is non-threatening enough to get him gigs like hosting the ESPYs.
All of his success - however - all of it - mainly stems from how killer he is on stage. You can like him or his comedy or not - but that is a fact.