It’s interesting how when the photograph of Shane McMahon meeting with Tony Khan dropped before Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite and just before WWE SummerSlam.
Whatever happens following this meeting, it’s a smart PR move from AEW. It’s the kind of thing out of the WWE playbook to try and generate buzz.
Although Shane is seen as a controversial figure in pro wrestling, for various valid reasons, the wrestling fandom is talking. The prospect of a McMahon in AEW is… well… risky.
If nothing comes of this talk, AEW wins in terms of grabbing attention. But if Shane were to join AEW, this would be crossing the Rubicon in various respects. The outcome could go either way, depending on how Shane would be utilized.
If Shane worked with AEW in some capacity, backstage or on-screen, it would be divisive.
Some might be busy fantasy-booking crazy spots for Shane to take. Wondering how long until Shane finds himself in the Chris Jericho vortex. Or joining The Elite as some on-screen authority figure to try and revive the inconsistent struggle for power storyline.
There probably is a good and bad version of both, until it’s attempted. Yet with the context of the current momentum, AEW is riding on heading to All In, adding a new face could more than likely do more harm than good in the short term.
However…
For Shane – Business Expertise
Shane as a businessman, as a mind, and as a member of AEW’s management could be a great benefit.
When writing about what AEW needs to compete with WWE on all levels, I outlined that growth is dependent on the development of the business aspects of the company, rather than just the wrestling product.
Marketing, publicity, merchandise, rights deals and finding innovative, cross-promotional opportunities need to be pursued. Otherwise, WWE will try to ringfence AEW in if they can.
AEW must learn to use WWE’s methods of business against WWE. Particularly in combating the current negative narratives that are impacting the company’s perception within the wrestling bubble and more widely in pop culture as the number two brand.
Momentum isn’t just for wrestling matches. It exists with wrestling companies too and the idea that it cannot swing back in AEW’s favor ignores history and possible legal troubles facing WWE in the future.
If you are going to take on WWE’s business strategies, who will know these better than a McMahon? Although some fans think WWE has moved on from Vince because of strong booking, the infrastructure as I explain here, is still the mansion Vince built.
Shane was brought up working in various aspects of the WWE machinery. Understanding the enemy’s mechanisms is invaluable.
It’s easy to forget also, that Shane left WWE to be his own man. With expertise and knowledge beyond wrestling.
Being a board member for International Sports Management gives Shane an understanding of athletes across sports and likely various sports/media business connections.
Likewise, Shane was CEO of You On Demand, the first video-on-demand and PPV service in China. China and Asia are lucrative markets. Imagine if AEW could carve a greater slice of that market because they had the right connections.
First Against – Name and Perception
Shane’s last name is always going to be a problem for AEW fans. To quote Alfred Konuwa of Forbes:
“Shane McMahon is an enemy of the Internet Wrestling Community, where most of AEW’s core fanbase resides. As a representative of the establishment, and a middle-aged performer whose glory days were exclusively in WWE, one could argue there are too many AEW stars who currently share Shane’s accolades: Christian Cage, Adam Copeland and Billy Gunn are just a few.” Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.
Being a McMahon is enough to make him the antithesis of everything AEW stands for. AEW was built on the DIY indy spirit. Its identity is on being the opposite of WWE. So, to introduce a McMahon, for many is to bring stigma.
AEW is perhaps rebounding, but the perception of AEW, at least within the wrestling bubble is still one of contention. Elsewhere I’ve analyzed how Tony Khan’s AEW is “under attack” narrative suffers when AEW has tried to have it both ways.
AEW can’t be the “savior of wrestling” while also trying, according to perceptions, to be like WWE. This was an issue AEW Creative faced last year during MJF’s AEW World Championship run.
Although in hindsight the face turn was necessary, the borrowing of WWE tropes created dissatisfaction. You can read a full analysis of MJF’s run here.
Depending on who you talk to, Chris Jericho’s Learning Tree gimmick is either the remaining sore spot of each Dynamite with its campy sport-entertainment retread, or you’re not getting the joke. But that’s still a division within AEW’s core fanbase.
It’s a sore spot.
In becoming hot again, AEW needs to eliminate sore spots. Perception is key for AEW right now.
Second Against – Descent to Parody
If Shane McMahon appeared on Dynamite, some would reference the final Nitro where Shane became the owner of WCW.
While it would create a buzz-worthy moment, it may run the risk of parody, like The Elite TK driving Tony Khan in Jacksonville.
Would it also put attention fully on AEW, or highlight AEW as the competitor to WWE?
I’ll admit, my optimism for The Corporate Elite and power struggle was high. But in writing about the group (here), I recognized they were walking a very thin tightrope with a margin for error.
The idea of Shane joining The Elite is one I’ve seen posted. If the horse had not already bolted on the storyline power struggle (that I’ve analyzed here) it could have worked.
Additionally, there are wider historical risks.
First, AEW’s history of free agent signings. Criticism that new top signings haven’t moved the needle. The idea of Shane debuting and the ratings becoming another stick for the cottage anti-AEW industry to use to beat AEW is an avoidable blow.
In terms of wrestlers, even if Shane was signed to a backstage role, the perception could be the same as another ex-WWE guy too many.
AEW has a roster of incredible talent. The “just one more mentality” that some AEW fans still indulge in is flawed. Adding Ricochet or Bobby Lashley and a new Hurt Business to the promotion is unsustainable greed.
It’s an issue that plagued WWE pre-COVID. It’s an issue that has contributed to a dent in some fan’s investment in AEW creative.
And if ultimately, things go wrong, even if not disastrous, critics and detractors will make it a disaster.
Second For – On Screen, Without the Restraints
On the other hand, no one has seen Shane McMahon in a wrestling venture without the control of his father. Vince’s micromanagement of shows and segments is a thing of legend and a nightmares for many WWE fans.
Although Shane brought concepts to WWE like Raw Underground, we might never know how much of that concept was diluted or altered. Let me be clear, Underground was not good in execution. As an idea also, like the Brawl for All, it made no logical sense in the sports entertainment realm of WWE.
However, Tony Khan, as well as members of his creative team like Jennifer Pepperman and Will Washington, could take good ideas and find a way to make them fit.
No creative mind has genius ideas 100% of the time. However, in the right environment, good things are possible. The concept Shane pitched does exist. It’s Josh Barnett’s Bloodsports.
Also, significantly, Shane has always been more sports-orientated in his preferences. Shane tried to convince Vince to get in on the ground level with UFC.
Without the restraints and filter of Vince, Shane could contribute ideas that with a different filter of Khan and others, could result in something different for AEW. Whether sports-orientated or different, there are places for AEW to experiment. ROH for example. Rampage.
Similarly, as an on-screen character, again, done in the right doses, paired with the right individuals, there may be something AEW could get from Shane’s unique personality and style of wrestling.
Sting being made to feel invincible again was one of AEW’s greatest success stories. Even with CM Punk, AEW gave Punk the platform to be captivating. Shane isn’t Sting or Punk.
Yet if AEW were able to capture and showcase the right elements of morbid curiosity, they could make Shane somehow an attraction.
Third Against – Can Shane Be Managed?
Given the memories also of his last run in WWE, the hilarious Royal Rumble 2022 performance, plus his various high-profile stinkers before this, it paints a particular picture of Shane as egotistical. The rumor mill post-Rumble was that Shane allegedly booked himself to be the centerpiece.
Tony Khan’s management of personalities has been fairly questioned. Allowing veterans like Adam Copeland lots of creative leeway, going to extreme measures with The Elite and CM Punk to keep both separated without addressing the problems. It paints a certain picture.
I replied to one Reddit thread recently about the idea of bringing MVP to AEW. Given previous issues with Chris Jericho, I said I would prefer a calm and peaceful summer with no drama.
Even though I as a loyal AEW fan who’s stuck with the promotion through difficulties and is optimistic about its future, I’m aware that the company and its management could step on their genitals.
This worry about incoming talent and stability in the AEW locker room will persist for years to come. Whether it is fair or not, it ties back to the biggest common factor linking all the cons on this list: perception is reality.
The fact that fans on both sides of the divide, no matter their intentions or hopes, can consider AEW might make a misstep so soon again after Punk, suggests this is not the time to gamble.
But then again, AEW’s entire history is gambles.
As much as many also want AEW to retain the DIY indy mindset, there is the problem that for the company to grow, it’s got to evolve. Like the Elite it has to become more corporate. Not just as a fun parody. For real.
Yet, no one’s asked the most important question… What does Shane get from AEW?
A River Many Don’t Want to Cross
If this river is crossed, then what comes next is new.
Part of the reason many fans may be so hesitant to entertain the idea of a McMahon in AEW is that keyword. Entertain. Right now, the product is entertaining them. Many, including myself, do not want that tampered with.
AEW in existence, embedded in its bones, is this repeated narrative that AEW saved wrestling from sports entertainment. It’s been central to their creative since day one. Yet with Vince gone, the dynamic changed, and the effectiveness of this storyline has worn thin. Read about it here.
It’s a story that some commentators on AEW, including fans like me, wish that its importance would be lost. Like an appendix, I want AEW’s body to evolve past the need for this story-telling organ.
Shane McMahon in AEW, whether just in a business capacity, not even an on-screen one, will change things in ways we can’t predict. Whether or not Shane and his history could flare up and cause AEW harm, or bringing Shane in somehow leads to the ultimate end of this narrative is debatable.
Or, like a lot of things in wrestling, it might remain as a what-if. Buzz that dies away in a few weeks if nothing comes of it.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – WWE – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube,
