Beyond its co-founders Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega, several top names have passed through All Elite Wrestling. The biggest is CM Punk, who jumped ship back to WWE last year. But one thing these talents never had was a blood connection to the latter’s First Family – the McMahons.
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AEW might turn this fact on its face, if current speculation is accurate, and acquire someone with that familial distinction. Nobody would have thought it to be the case, but the name Shane McMahon has come up in conversation related to the promotion.
To be fair and before any alarms or white flags are raised, no deal is on the table. No negotiations are currently going down between the son of Vince McMahon and AEW boss Tony Khan. As far as we know, they’ve never even met.
The inside dirt of the communication between Shane and AEW originated from wrestling podcaster Conrad Thompson on his cast with legendary announcer and Khan employee Jim Ross. And the extent of any conversation, Thompson said, were text messages McMahon exchanged with wrestlers from his WWE days that now work for AEW.
The parties in question weren’t named but could be any number of people Shane McMahon worked with before, from Chris Jerich to the former “Big Show” Paul Wight to Adam “Edge” Copeland and Christian Cage to name a few.
There isn’t much substantial to go on but the word of alleged texts was enough to chum the waters. Wrestling news sites, and others – even Forbes – covered the rumor.
A lot of entities see the untapped potential of AEW mixing it up with a McMahon despite the tarnished name. One of Thompson’s fellow podcasters, however, is not thrilled with the idea of Shane joining the company.
Solomonster Weighs In
Jason “Solomonster” Solomon, host of the podcast Solomonster Sounds Off and one of the top voices in the game, doesn’t want to see Shane McMahon or any of his family members become All Elite, especially not his father, as crazy and far-fetched as that is.
Calling the story more like fantasy, Solomon said, “I don’t know why anyone would fantasize about this.”
He added, “Who asked for this? The whole appeal of AEW was there were no McMahons. It was a McMahon-free zone.”
Solomon doesn’t want any McMahon in AEW, not even Shane, who is “the tolerable one.” While the eldest offspring of the disgraced promoter has had a good rapport with fans and workers, his best days are behind him.
Solomon notes Shane McMahon was good for the occasional match, but his most recent ones weren’t good. He also tore his quadriceps in the ring one year. Worse, he was sent home from the Royal Rumble by his own father after his surprise appearance was an embarrassing flop.
McMahon won’t be a benefit to AEW, Solomon argues, because of his age and conditioning. The latter is dubious when he cuts promos and tries to wrestle. Hiring would create an unbelievable moment, but the aftermath is a question mark.
As Solomon opined, once the shock and awe of a McMahon on AEW television wears off, it will return to business as usual. Shane would just be another body on the roster who might attempt stunts performers half his age are doing every week for less money.
Wondering if they would build to a match, hypothetically and sarcastically, between Khan and McMahon, Solomon ended his thought. “I’m gonna stop now before I start giving them ideas,” he quipped.
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