10 Booking Steps For Shane McMahon In AEW
After meeting with Tony Khan, if Shane McMahon joined All Elite Wrestling, how should AEW book him?
It was rumored in June that Shane McMahon had spoken to Tony Khan in some fashion about joining All Elite Wrestling.
While denied, Khan went on to tell Sports Illustrated that Shane is "always welcome in AEW", sparking even more discussion something could be in the works. This week, all of that came to a head with an official meeting between the two, which now has the wrestling community scrambling for more information and speculating on what could come about from Khan and McMahon getting together.
It's important to note that this could have just been a friendly meeting between businessmen. There may be nothing more to it other than a cordial chat, as McMahon himself had put out a statement saying.
But there's no fun in that! Let's jump to some conclusions and dive into fantasy booking ideas of what could happen if Shane McMahon were to not only join the AEW roster, but be a major player in things going forward.
If Shane McMahon is all elite, how should that go down? Should he be a babyface or heel? Who should he align and feud with?
Here are 10 steps to take in booking McMahon in an epic company-wide storyline in AEW.
10. How to Introduce Shane McMahon
The first step is the most obvious: Shane McMahon has to be announced as part of the company in some fashion.
There are lots of ways to do this, but one thing AEW should avoid is putting up the traditional "Shane McMahon is all elite" graphic on X and leaving it at that. It's too bland and the social media numbers gained from that one tweet have no comparison to the benefits that could be gained from almost any other announcement.
That includes a press release or press conference, which would be a step up and suitable for the situation. It would be a huge deal for a McMahon to join a rival wrestling promotion. Such an unprecedented move would be grounds for media outlets to milk like crazy and the press coverage would be a better outlet for AEW than just social media.
But there's nothing quite like getting a pop from a crowd for a live reaction, and if fans knew about McMahon ahead of time, the audience's response would be muted.
What AEW should do in this scenario is not even remotely hint at it. No big tease of a big signing. One day, out of the blue, Shane should just pop up on Dynamite and leave the fans begging for more information, a la Scott Hall showing up in WCW.