Tony Khan comments on Lee & White’s AEW debuts, if he’d be interested in Shane McMahon

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, AEW president and CEO Tony Khan revealed that Keith Lee’s AEW debut is something that he had dreamed about since Lee was released by WWE.

Lee made his AEW debut by defeating Isiah Kassidy in a Face of the Revolution qualifying match on Dynamite this Wednesday. The match was Lee’s first in-ring action since being released by WWE last November.

“Keith’s debut was incredible,” Khan told Sports Illustrated. “Much to my amazement, Keith got released. As soon as I saw that he was released, this was the moment I dreamed about.”

Lee officially became a free agent last week after his 90-day non-compete clause expired. Lee also debuted in AEW just days after he and Mia Yim got married.

“It was crazy timing,” Khan said. “I’m so happy with how the debut has been received. It’s very well deserved, and I am very excited to have Keith in AEW.”

Lee is the first participant to be confirmed for the Face of the Revolution ladder match at next month’s Revolution pay-per-view. The winner of the ladder match receives a future shot at the TNT Championship.

Wednesday’s Dynamite also saw NJPW’s Jay White make his AEW debut, appearing in a segment with The Young Bucks, Adam Cole, and Roppongi Vice. Khan told Sports Illustrated that we’ll be seeing more of White in AEW.

“Expect to see more Jay White in AEW. He came through the ‘Forbidden Door,’ and there were many reasons his arrival transpired the way it did on Dynamite. That wasn’t finalized until Sunday, and I’m so happy that we could bring that excitement to the fans,” Khan said.

“I wanted to have that ‘Forbidden Door’ element to our show. It was intentional to have that moment backstage, reuniting members of the Bullet Club against their old rivals from Chaos in Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta.”

With Shane McMahon no longer with WWE, Sports Illustrated asked Khan if it’s possible that Shane could end up coming to AEW. Khan said he’d take a call from Shane, but he hasn’t heard from him and doesn’t know if he’d be a fit for AEW.

“I’d certainly take the call,” Khan said. “I’m sure he’d be an interesting person to talk to about wrestling. I’m not sure exactly if he would be a fit. I have not heard from him, and I don’t expect to hear from him, but in this business, you never know.”