Published: Apr 7, 2026 by Connel Rumsey | Last Updated: Apr 7, 2026 by Connel Rumsey
Connel has over five years of wrestling journalism experience writing about some of the biggest stories from across the wrestling world. Being a fan for 20 years, Connel has an expansive knowledge from a wide range of various wrestling promotions, including WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA and Joshi.@connel1405
AEW/WWE
AEW President Tony Khan has opened up on meeting with Shane McMahon, says he didn’t seem interested in being an on-screen character.
It was reported by WrestleTalk and Fightful back in 2024 that AEW President Tony Khan had a meeting with Shane McMahon, which led to speculation about Shane potentially joining AEW.
Shane would ultimately not end up joining the company, and Khan has now opened up on his meeting he had with Shane.
Shane McMahon Had No Interest In Being On-Screen Character Says Tony Khan
Speaking to Vince Russo and Jonathan Coachman, Tony opened up on the meeting he had with Shane, believing he had no interest in becoming an on-screen character in AEW.
He said:
“I had one really pleasant conversation with Shane. Shane reached out to me and said I’d love to get together, where are you gonna be? I was going to be in Dallas, we were doing a bunch of shows around Arlington, Texas, and I said to Shane that’s where I’m gonna be, I can meet you here, and we had a nice conversation, and talked for a few hours at 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 someone who worked at the airport, but I had nothing to do with it. It’s very unusual, I talk to people all the time, from all different media place, Shane’s a very recognisable face in Sports and the world of wrestling where any wrestling fan would recognise him.
“So that could be what it is, someone recognised we were in a room and wanted to take a photo, I’m in a lot of rooms with a lot of people, I’ve only had that happen one time, so I thought that was unusual. You can see in the photo I’m very surprised, and I noticed he wasn’t as surprised as I was.
“I’ve only had the one really nice talk with him, I thought that was interesting. I also thought it was impressive how in one conversation somehow it got out that I talked to him, but it was a very pleasant chat and he seems 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 interested in, but he had a lot of interesting experiences that are different than mine, but I don’t think he went into it thinking I want to be a character on this guy’s show”
If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.
Should Shane McMahon Join AEW?
Over the past few months, AEW has begun to once again find it’s own identity as a wrestling promotion, with ratings and interest in the company growing in 2026.
While bringing in Shane McMahon would naturally lead to a lot of headlines and eyeballs, there is not really much he would bring to the AEW product in the long term right now.
In the interest of remaining an alternative to WWE, Tony Khan continuing to lead the charge in AEW as opposed to a McMahon is the natural best move for the promotion.
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