Nothing is concrete, but all signs seem to be pointing to Shane McMahon at some point being officially declared as ‘All Elite’ and made a part of the AEW roster/broadcast team/on-screen character/something.
As you’ve already seen from the headline of this, I do believe that there is a way in which Shane McMahon showing up in AEW can actually do some good for the company. But, please believe me when I tell you that I 100% understand the cynics, we’ve seen invasion angles before and rarely have they worked…ironically the biggest blunder involving Shane himself.
The big reason that I think Shane will be able to work in AEW as an on-screen is all about who he has above him in terms of management. There is a vastly different power dynamic when you’re working for somebody who understands the constraints of building a business under a billionaire father, as opposed to the actual billionaire father himself.
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Tony Khan “gets” Shane McMahon
There are not a lot of people in pro wrestling right now that can claim to have the sort of similar background that Tony Khan and Shane have. Two businessmen who were brought up in the midst of their father’s massive influence, with said fathers having both built their empires and not coming from an extremely affluent background themselves. Khan’s background was not in pro wrestling, but he still had an upbringing surrounded by the entrepreneurship of building out a business and then venturing out further. Granted, Shahid Khan has been more successful than Vince McMahon probably was in that regard, with the Flex-N-Gate owner purchasing the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and Premier League’s Fulham FC as opposed to the XFL and WBF.
No one, aside from Stephanie McMahon, currently works in the pro wrestling industry that has had this sort of upbringing, and whilst we know the sort of difficult power dynamic that Shane faced under his father Vince, he will have insight of working with close family that will be completely invaluable to Tony Khan.
Shane McMahon always wanted to prove himself to his father at a business level, and clearly you can see that Tony wants to make All Elite Wrestling as big as it can be, with the new announced deal with Warner Bros Discovery showing that there is longevity in the now 5 year old brand. Tony understands, probably at more levels than we are really aware, how Shane has had to work in the industry over the past 30+ years, and I think that synergy between them could work on a creative level.
Shane, Jon Moxley and the gang
The new group with Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir, Claudio Castagnoli and PAC is clearly made out of former WWE names, so the idea of Shane being the one “controlling” them isn’t completely out of the question. Again, I completely see why people would be cynical of this, and there’s a good chance I’ll read this back in a year and laugh at my naivety, but there is not an overarching story in the company right now, so maybe THIS is what could give some more cohesion at the top of the card and a long term goal of building some “homegrown” AEW stars?
You learn from your mistakes, and while the WCW ‘Invasion’ of WWE was a complete waste and travesty, you’ve got people here that experienced it both as an overly analytical fan in Tony and as an actual talent in the midst of it in Shane.
I am remaining confident/naive that there is a creative direction in place here that will help move the company well in 2025, and if that means we get Shane McMahon as an on-screen character then ok.
But, for the love of all that is holy…do not let him wrestle.
Jake Skudder
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