Shane McMahon’s WWE WrestleMania 38 Status; AEW Rumors on Toni Storm, Ember Moon

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Shane McMahon Will Reportedly Be in Dallas Area for WrestleMania

Although his role is unclear, Shane McMahon is reportedly scheduled to be in the Dallas area for WrestleMania 38 this weekend.

According to PWInsider (h/t Bhupen Dange of Ringside News), multiple sources have confirmed that McMahon will be in attendance for the entirety of WrestleMania weekend, but it isn’t clear if he will have any role on the show itself.

McMahon hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since he was a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match in January. After his appearance in the Rumble, several reports surfaced regarding backstage issues involving Shane-O-Mac.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingInc’s Matthew Wilkinson) reported that McMahon had been scheduled to compete in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship and then at WrestleMania in a match against Seth Rollins.

WWE reportedly reversed course due to heat on McMahon for the way he handled producing the men’s Royal Rumble match.

If plans are back on for McMahon to appear at WrestleMania, there is some thought that he could still face Rollins.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon granted Rollins a WrestleMania match before Monday’s episode of Raw, but McMahon said he would handpick Rollins’ opponent and said Rollins wouldn’t know their identity until he is standing in the ring at WrestleMania.

It has been widely assumed that Cody Rhodes will be Rollins’ opponent after leaving AEW, but nothing has been confirmed on that front.

If the plan isn’t for Rhodes to face Rollins, Shane would make sense given Vince’s involvement in the storyline.

AEW Reportedly Has Heavy Interest in Toni Storm

AEW reportedly has its sights set on Toni Storm, who is among the hottest free agents in professional wrestling.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Dange), AEW has tremendous interest in Storm, with many in the company pushing for AEW to sign her. It was also reported by Fightful that some in AEW expect her to be signed in the near future.

Storm, 26, was under contract with WWE from 2017 until her release in December. Storm was in the midst of a push on SmackDown that saw her challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

The Aussie requested her release after she went home following a Triple Threat match against Flair and Sasha Banks at a WWE live event, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (h/t the New York Post).

Meltzer (h/t Wilkinson) reported at the time that Storm left because she was burnt out.

While in WWE, Storm was the second-ever NXT UK women’s champion. She also won the second Mae Young Classic tournament in 2018.

Previously, Storm held major titles in Progress Wrestling, Westside Xtreme Wrestling and Stardom.

The women’s division has been one of AEW’s biggest weak points during its existence, although that has been due more to a lack of exposure and consistent storylines than a lack of talent.

Storm would join a women’s division headlined by AEW women’s world champion Thunder Rosa, TBS champion Jade Cargill, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida, among others.

Given Storm’s combination of age, talent and marketability, there is little doubt she would have what it takes to reach the top of the AEW women’s division in short order.

AEW Has Reportedly Had Talks with Ember Moon

While Storm may be AEW’s primary focus among female free agents currently, former WWE star Ember Moon is reportedly on the company’s radar as well.

After wrestling under the Moon name in WWE, she is now going by the name Athena, which was her gimmick name before signing with WWE in 2015.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Dange), there have been talks between AEW and Moon in which both sides were “gauging interest.”

Fightful added that those with knowledge of the situation have described it as a “feeling out” process, and they have also said that signing Moon imminently isn’t a top priority for AEW.

Moon, who was trained by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, found instant success in WWE as part of the NXT brand, winning the NXT Women’s Championship in 2017.

That same success eluded her on the main roster, as she was plagued by injuries and booked inconsistently when healthy.

Moon returned to NXT in 2020, however, and she eventually won the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships with Shotzi Blackheart.

After Blackheart got called up to the main roster, Moon was left in a state of flux was eventually one of several Superstars released by WWE in November.

Moon was consistently among WWE’s best in-ring workers in the women’s division, and she would help elevate the AEW women’s division if the promotion does ultimately sign her.