Shane McMahon is the son of former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and no stranger to in-ring action. He's become known for all manner of dangerous stunts and made a surprise return at last year's WrestleMania 39 for an impromptu match with The Miz...immediately tearing his quad.
It was an embarrassing moment but there's always a risk with in-ring action and Shane has since undergone surgery (as far as we're aware, he's made a full recovery).
With his father no longer calling the shots, it's unclear whether there's still a place for the former European Champion in WWE. While fans have long joked that Shane could choose to become "All Elite," Jim Ross' Grilling JR co-host Conrad Thompson recently claimed to have heard he's reached out to someone in the company about possibly appearing on AEW programming.
It was a "friend of a friend"-type of report but one which generated a great deal of speculation online.
Dave Meltzer followed up by saying Shane had simply had a conversation with an unknown party in AEW and that there was nothing serious about it. Now, we know who it was he crossed paths with!
Following a PWInsider report saying Shane had bumped into Mercedes Mone (formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE) at the airport, she's now confirmed that it did indeed happen.
"After it all, by only the fates aligned – I walked into the airport, was in line by the bagel shop when I suddenly looked up, and there he was, just as surprised as I was," Mone revealed in her latest newsletter. "My first day being a double title holder and the first wrestler and former WWE Superstar I see is McMahon…come on, if that isn’t the universe working in divine timing, I don’t know what else it could be."
"I’ve always loved Shane. When we locked eyes, we both kind of looked at each other like IS THAT YOU? Our faces lit up as we got to talking a bit and before he boarded his flight, he gave me his number… the rest as they say a history or maybe a mystery!"
While we don't anticipate Shane signing with AEW, Mone has talked a lot recently about choosing to sign with the company rather than return to WWE. However, based on last night's AEW Dynamite, that company's fans are already turning on her...