Tony Khan to bring in WWE legend to counter Randy Orton's NXT appearance? Exploring the chances

AEW President Tony Khan could debut a former WWE Superstar to go head-to-head with Randy Orton's NXT appearance on October 8. The star being discussed here is Shane McMahon. He last appeared in WWE at WrestleMania 39 and reportedly has no ties with WWE as of now.

Last month, rumors of a possible alliance between The Boy Wonder and AEW gathered speed and fans started speculating about the possibility of him becoming All Elite. The rumors became even stronger after a picture of him and Tony Khan went viral a few days ago after the duo had a private meeting.

WWE's NXT is set for big things as the brand has signed a deal with CW and will be the new home henceforth for the weekly developmental show. The network will be holding its first show on October 1, 2024 on Tuesday. The second show will be taking place on October 8, which will be going head to head with Dynamite: Title Tuesday.

WWE has announced a couple of special appearances from huge superstars for the first two episodes of the NXT show on The CW Network. The first week will feature CM Punk while the second one will be blessed by The Viper's appearance. Tony Khan could be planning something huge as he would surely not want to lose this Tuesday ratings war.

To get the upper hand on NXT, the AEW's Head of Creative could announce the arrival of Shane McMahon on Dynamite: Title Tuesday. This could bring many eyes to AEW's flagship show and attempt to beat the Stamford-based promotion's show in the ratings battle.

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Tony Khan reveals why he met Shane McMahon

Wrestling fans went in a frenzy after a picture of AEW President and Shane-O-Mac surfaced online. The latter's involvement in AEW could mean a lot of things in terms of the company's management.

While speaking on ESPN, Tony Khan revealed he knew Shane wasn't WWE-bound and stated he heard about Shane being 'interested in talking.'

"Well, as I understand, he's 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 thought it would certainly be worth talking, and I have a lot of respect for him," he said.

It will be interesting to see if the 54-year-old veteran appears on Dynamite this October.

About the author

Tejas has been an AEW writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling since 2021. Possessing a degree in Food Processing Technology, it was his brother who introduced him to Sportskeeda, and he has never looked back since.

Tejas’ writing style is analytical and descriptive style, mostly sticking to statistics. He believes in thoroughly checking all statistics and information before using them in his articles to ensure his readers get nothing but the best and most accurate stories. He also does not indulge much in speculation in his content.

His all-time favorite wrestler is Roman Reigns for his journey from being one of the most unlikable babyfaces at the start of his career to one of the greatest modern WWE superstars. If Tejas ever got the chance to go back to the Attitude Era and manage a superstar, it would choose high-flying, risk-taking diminutive entertainer Spike Dudley. Tejas would assure him that he would be involved in long-term storylines, something that he wasn’t part of during his time.

In his free time, Tejas enjoys singing and learning new things.

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Edited by Harish Raj S