Dave Meltzer Explains Why Shane McMahon & AEW's Tony Khan Both Wanted Photo Out There

Shane McMahon and Tony Khan shook the wrestling world to its core on July 31 when it was revealed by Fightful Select and WrestleTalk that the two men had recently had a private meeting in Arlington, Texas, with the possibility of McMahon being brought in to AEW being a lot more real than some may have first suspected. 

To go along with the report, a leaked photo of the two men talking was released online. However, some people aren't convinced that the leak was 100% genuine and that either McMahon, Khan, or both men wanted the picture out in public. Dave Meltzer offered his opinion on "Wrestling Observer Radio," that there is every chance that the leak was intentional.

"Both wanted it out there," Meltzer said. "Why would they want it out there? Well in the case of Tony Khan, I think he wanted something to intrigue people. Every wrestling show has gotten destroyed by the Olympics in the ratings, which we knew going in was going to happen, and Dynamite should be no different, so he was looking for something that would get people talking, and 'maybe Shane McMahon's going to be on Dynamite tonight,' and hopefully that would make a difference and they would do better in the ratings than they would have done otherwise."

As for McMahon, Meltzer was a little more hesitant to answer as he said people never know what he's going to do next. He noted that there is every chance that this is simply a leverage move to try and get back into WWE, while there is also a chance that he could be serious about joining AEW as either a talent or a backstage presence. 

Please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.