Last month, AEW President Tony Khan met Shane McMahon to discuss the possibilities of moving forward in an office at a private Arlington airport. A photo of the meeting was also circulated on social media. Mercedes Mone claimed she took the photo.
On July 31st, Shane McMahon issued a statement via WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray about the meeting. McMahon stated that he and Khan talked about their passion for pro wrestling. McMahon also stated he congratulated Khan on AEW’s 5th anniversary.
In an interview with ESPN LA, Tony Khan was asked about meeting Shane McMahon.
“Well, as I understand, he’s [Shane McMahon] not doing anything with WWE, and I had a really nice visit with him. I heard from a lot of people that he was interested in talking, and it had become a big media story to the point where I was getting asked on the record questions about it. I answered them, just like I’ll answer you now. In advance of my first conversation with him, there was a lot of buzz about this. I thought it would certainly be worth talking and I have a lot of respect for him. I had never met him, but he seemed like a really nice guy.
A mutual friend, who is one of the bigger wrestling names, linked us up and put us on a group chat. We had a really nice talk, I really enjoyed visiting with him. Clearly, there was a lot of interest in it. Somebody, in the middle of talking in an airport conference room, just busted in, I guess, and took a photo. I think that’s fine, and I enjoyed the conversation. There’s nothing wrong with a couple of people getting together to talk wrestling. That’s part of what makes wrestling so great. There’s a lot to talk about, we’re all fans at heart.”