Shane McMahon, son of WWE founder Vince McMahon, has met with AEW boss Tony Khan. Is a surreal engagement in the offing for the longtime fan favorite?
Is this shaping up to be one of the most surreal moments in wrestling history?
Shane McMahon, son of WWE founder Vince McMahon and for many years the defining face of the showdown market leader, has met with AEW boss Tony Khan to explore a potential collaboration. The Fightful and Wrestletalk portals both report this – the latter backs up the news with a photo of the meeting, which is said to have taken place in Arlington, Texas.
A photo of Shane McMahon and Tony Khan having a meeting this week.
(Image obtained by @WrestleTalk_TV) pic.twitter.com/0r3RpDPOR8
– Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) July 31, 2024
A potential sensational debut of “Shane-o-Mac” with WWE’s biggest rival – which has been publicly rumored in the scene for some time – could take shape if the two get together.
Shane McMahon explores options with AEW boss
The 54-year-old Shane McMahon has been a popular TV character in his father’s former empire since the legendary Attitude Era at the turn of the millennium, having been involved in many legendary wrestling moments – including the TV staging of the real-life purchase of former rival WCW on the final edition of its former flagship show Monday Nitro. Shane also got into the ring many times and amazed the audience time and time again with daredevil stunts.
In 2016, Shane-o-Mac made a spectacular comeback with a WrestleMania match against The Undertaker after a years-long rift with WWE, last appearing on WWE at WrestleMania 39 in the spring of 2023 in a surprise appearance that ended in a horror injury.
After a rocky relationship with his father Vince, Shane is seemingly no longer a part of WWE under the new regime of the TKO conglomerate and is apparently open to change.
As early as last month, podcaster and promoter Conrad Thompson raised eyebrows when he reported Shane chatting with an AEW wrestler about a potential engagement. At the time, it was probably just a gimmick that seems to have turned serious: Khan had recently made it clear to Sports Illustrated that he had never met Shane, but that he was “always welcome at AEW” if he was interested. Now it should soon become clear whether this will actually happen