Backstage Update on Tony Khan’s Private Meeting with Shane McMahon in July 2024

As noted before, Shane McMahon and AEW CEO Tony Khan held a private meeting this past July in Arlington, Texas to discuss “possibilities moving forward” in regards to McMahon potentially working for AEW in the future. These talks did not involve any plans for McMahon being involved in Jon Moxley’s current Death Riders and attempted AEW takeover storyline.

Fightful Select reported that one source close to McMahon confirmed recent comments made by former WWE backstage interviewer Jonathan Coachman about Khan did not follow up after their conversation.

It was reported that while they were unable to confirm the portion of Coachman’s comments about McMahon had requested equity in AEW for a potential deal, McMahon reportedly did express interest in “running things” despite lacking familiarity with AEW’s product and business model.

This same source reportedly also stated that McMahon did not seem to take Khan’s lack of a response personally and that Khan may have even perceived McMahon’s proposal as a joke.

This same source reportedly also stated that McMahon appeared to believe his experience and leadership skills were valuable given the sentiment among fans and industry figures who wanted an alternative to Vince McMahon in that role.

It was reported that there were no serious discussions at any point about McMahon appearing on AEW television or joining the company in any capacity. Those spoken to within AEW stated that Khan had not spoken about the meeting in detail beyond acknowledging that it happened and no deal was made.

It was reported that the same source close to McMahon stated that a cameo appearance on an AEW show in the future wouldn’t be out of the question for McMahon but emphasized that a deeper working relationship seemed unlikely at this time.