Shane McMahon met with Tony Khan last year and there was a lot of speculation regarding Shane possibly joining the company following the meeting. Former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman recently made some claims about the meeting on The Coach & Bro Live when he said that Shane allegedly wanted to run the company.
“Well I have it on good authority that Shane McMahon asked for the world. He wanted equity in the company, and he wanted to come in and run the entire show. Honestly it was probably the first time I said to myself, ‘I actually agree with Tony Khan ghosting him.’ Because Tony ghosted Shane. It wasn’t the other way around.”
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that people in WWE rolled their eyes at the idea of Shane McMahon doing creative for All Elite Wrestling. It was noted that Shane doesn’t know the talent, nor the landscape in AEW, and he has never run, or been a key part of creative anywhere.
Fightful Select recently reported that there was never an expanded plan for Shane to appear on AEW programming, and that people within AEW said that Tony Khan didn’t speak extensively about the meeting beyond acknowledging that it happened. A source close to Shane McMahon also noted that Tony Khan didn’t follow up with Shane following the meeting, but the former WWE European Champion didn’t take it personally.