Dating back to the founding of the Capitol Wrestling Corporation in the early-1950s, the name “McMahon” has been exclusive to the pro wrestling company now known as WWE.
That, however, could soon change.
According to Fightful and WrestleTalk, All Elite Wrestling owner and president Tony Khan recently had a private meeting with Shane McMahon regarding “possibilities moving forward.” The 54-year-old McMahon is the son of former WWE chairman Vince McMahon and grandson of Vincent J. McMahon, who is credited with founding the aforementioned CWC.
While it’s unclear how close McMahon is to potentially joining AEW, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that Khan has been “very open to using Shane McMahon for several weeks now, and has also made it clear that he was open to the idea of talking to McMahon when people have brought the topic up to him backstage.” Fightful reported in June that he was no longer under any sort of contractual agreement with WWE.
WrestleTalk obtained a picture from the meeting between Khan and McMahon, which reportedly took place at a private airport in Arlington, Texas on Monday.
Shane McMahon’s involvement with pro wrestling dates back to the late-1980s, when he served as an on-screen referee for what was then known as WWF. He later evolved into an on-screen character and part-time wrestler, who was best known for his willingness to perform dangerous bumps and stunts, such as jumping off the Hell in a Cell cage through an announcers table at WrestleMania 32 in 2016.
While he previously served as WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Media until his departure from the company in 2009, his involvement in pro wrestling has predominantly been as an on-screen character/wrestler since returning to WWE in 2016. He hasn’t appeared on-screen for WWE since April 2023, when he made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 39 and proceeded to tear his quad muscle during an impromptu match against The Miz.
While the idea of a McMahon joining AEW would have seemed unfathomable even just a year ago, WWE is now a different company than the one Shane has spent most of his life around. Following the company’s merger with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings and Vince McMahon’s resignation earlier this year following allegations of sexual misconduct including assault and trafficking, the reality is that the company is no longer run by the family it has been synonymous with since its inception.
Should McMahon, in fact, join AEW, it would undoubtedly generate a significant amount of buzz based on the pure spectacle of a member of the McMahon family joining WWE’s rival promotion. Whether it would be a prudent long-term business decision is a different conversation. But as AEW continues to negotiate its next media rights deal, it would hardly be surprising to see Khan prioritize a short-term boost.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.