More details have surfaced regarding the previously reported meeting between AEW President Tony Khan and Shane McMahon, including why nothing ultimately came from it.
Back in 2024, it was revealed that Khan and McMahon had met to discuss potential opportunities “moving forward,” with a photo of the two together quickly making the rounds online. Despite the buzz, no partnership or role ever materialized.
Behind the scenes, it was said that Shane McMahon had interest in a major role within AEW, even expressing a desire to “run things.” However, sources indicated that his lack of familiarity with AEW’s product and overall business model became a sticking point.
Now, Khan himself has opened up about the meeting.
Speaking on the Coach & Bro Show with Jonathan Coachman and Vince Russo, Khan described the interaction as positive, while also addressing the unexpected leak of their meetup photo.
“I had one really pleasant conversation with Shane,” Khan stated. “Shane reached out to me and said, ‘I’d love to get together. Where are you going to be?’ I was going to be in Dallas. ‘I can meet you here.’ We had a nice conversation. We talked for a few hours in the airport. I thought it was really strange that a photo came out from it. I thought it was pretty unusual. It could just be somebody who worked at the airport, but I know I had nothing to do with it. It’s very unusual. I talk to people all the time from all different media places. Shane is a very recognizable face in sports and the world of wrestling. That could be what it is. Somebody recognized we were in a room and wanted to take a photo. I’m in a lot of rooms with a lot of people and I’ve only had that happen to me one time. I thought that was pretty unusual. You can see in the photo, I’m very surprised. I noticed he wasn’t as surprised in the photo.”
Khan went on to reiterate that the meeting was a one-time discussion and gave insight into McMahon’s mindset heading into it.
“I’ve only had the one really nice talk with him,” he continued. “I also thought it was quite impressive that in one conversation, it somehow got out that I talked to him. It was a pleasant chat and he seemed like a really interesting guy. I don’t think the role of being an on-screen person in a wrestling show seemed like the thing he was particularly interested in, but he had a lot of interesting things and experiences that are totally different than mine. I don’t think he went into it thinking, ‘I want to be a character on this guy’s show.’”
One meeting, plenty of intrigue.
But no deal.
