Tony Khan Says Shane McMahon Is "Always Welcome In AEW"

Tony Khan would welcome Shane McMahon in AEW.

by Andrew Pollard
Shane McMahon Tony Khan
WWE/AEW

With recent speculation that Shane McMahon could work with AEW in some capacity, Tony Khan has now outright addressed such rumours.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated, the AEW President noted how Shane is "always welcome" in All Elite Wrestling.

As Khan put it;

Advertisement
"I heard the rumor he might be interested. I’ve never met Shane, but we have a lot of mutual friends. I have a lot of respect for him as an executive and a professional wrestler. Shane is always welcome in AEW."

The "Shane to AEW" rumour started on an episode of the excellent Grillin' JR podcast, with that topic brought up during a Q&A segment. When asked about the chances of Shane McMahon joining AEW, Jim Ross labelled that idea as so crazy that it might work.

Following on from this, a subsequent Grillin' JR episode saw Jim's co-host Conrad Thompson add how this might not be as far-fetched as people think, adding how a friend of his told him Shane had reached out to an AEW talent to hypothetically discuss that possibility. This in itself was then explained by the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer as McMahon speaking very loosely to a former WWE wrestler now in AEW about how crazy it might be for him to appear on Dynamite - all with no real intent or seriousness behind those words.

Advertisement

As for WWE, Shane McMahon was last seen at WrestleMania 39, where a surprise appearance was cut painfully short when McMahon suffered an unfortunate quad tear after confronting The Miz.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.