Shane McMahon was ghosted by Tony Khan after their viral meeting in the Summer of 2024 because the son of the former WWE chairman wanted control of AEW.
Photos of McMahon meeting with the AEW President at an airport became viral last year amid rumors of him joining the company. Many at the time believed Shane might appear on AEW TV soon but nothing came out of it.
Former WWE broadcaster Jonathan Coachman made the topic hot again recently after claiming some interesting things about the meeting on his podcast. Per Coach, Shane had demanded equity in the company and he wanted to run the entire show. Khan, not willing to give in to his demands, then ghosted McMahon.
Fightful Select has since provided an update on these claims confirming that Tony Khan did not follow up on his airport meeting with Shane McMahon. They also confirmed that McMahon did want to ‘run things’, believing that his insight and ability to run the show was ‘valuable’
Though despite the tall demands, Shane did not have familiarity with the AEW product or their business model and Khan almost thought that McMahon was joking when he mentioned the possibility of running things. Sources close to the high-flying star noted that Shane did not take the lack of further communication from the AEW owner personally.
As is always the case in wrestling, the possibility of Shane McMahon making a cameo appearance down the line has not been ruled out, but there never seems to have been an extensive plan for him to work in AEW.