Shane McMahon is without a doubt one of the most recognizable figures in professional wrestling, and back in 2024 a photo of Shane meeting with Tony Khan at an airport surfaced online.
While speaking to Vince Russo and Jonathan Coachman about the meeting Tony Khan said that Shane reached out to him and they had a nice conversation. Tony also stated that he thought it was unusual that a photo of their meeting got out and added, “You can see in the photo I’m very surprised, and I noticed he wasn’t as surprised as I was.”
Khan continued as he called Shane a “really interesting guy,” and noted that he didn’t get the impression Shane was looking for an on screen role with All Elite Wrestling.
“I’ve only had the one really nice talk with him. I thought that was interesting and I also thought it was quite impressive that in one conversation, somehow it got out that I had talked to him. It was a very 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 particularly the thing he was interested in, but he had a lot of interesting things and experiences that are totally different than mine. But I don’t particularly think he went into it thinking, ‘I want to be a character on this guy’s show.’”
Following his meeting with Tony Khan, Shane McMahon revealed during an interview in 2024 that they connected through a mutual friend, and indicated that he and Tony talked about their shared love of the business.
“Tony and I were connected through a mutual friend and we had a great meeting. We talked about many things, but mostly about our shared love for the business and the rewards and challenges of working with family. I congratulated him on the five year anniversary of AEW and look forward to how he evolves the business moving forward.”