Kemo
01-18-2023, 10:49 PM
WWE CEO Nick Khan has come a long way in his few years with the promotion, but he doesn’t consider himself the top dog.
Khan joined WWE in the summer of 2020 as the company’s president, replacing Michelle Wilson and George Barrios who had departed earlier that year.
Following Vince McMahon‘s resignation in 2022, Khan was appointed co-CEO with Stephanie McMahon and now serves as the promotion’s sole CEO.
Khan’s rise to the top of WWE has been unparallel in the company’s history, but even he acknowledges Vince McMahon as the head of the company.
On the Bill Simmons podcast, Khan spoke about the hierarchy in WWE and knows that he is not on top.
“My thought has always been that there’s only one boss at WWE and it ain’t me. Vince is obviously the founder, the creator of the company. He’s also the controlling shareholder, which is not a ‘work’ term. It’s a legal term. So it was always my point of view and Stephanie’s point of view that he would come back.
“I think the way he played it, to me, was smart. He went away for five, six months. The audience seems to like when somebody does that. He came back and took control back of his company as the controlling shareholder. It is a public company, it is a publicly-traded company. But with that controlling share, gave him a lot of authority and he used it and I applaud him for doing so.”
For decades, it was assumed that Vince McMahon would never retire from WWE given his workaholic attitude.
Once he did retire, WWE’s entire corporate system needed changing, and at the time, many felt that the board of directors, now against McMahon due to the allegations of misconduct, forced him out of the door.
On the podcast, Khan refuted the idea that McMahon was forced out by anyone other than what he personally believed.
I didn’t see it as a force. I think Vince saw, the tonnage of things that were coming at him and us. One thing he’s always said, you’ll know as a long-time fan and I’m a long-time fan also, is he’ll do whatever is best for business. Whether it’s bringing the Ultimate Warrior back twenty years ago (referencing Warrior’s 1996 WWF return) or whatever it may be.
“I think at that moment in time, what was best for business was for him to step away for a while. So he did, and he really did step away. There was no ‘hey why are you doing this,’ or ‘I wouldn’t do it this way.’ It was, in my opinion, total freedom, for Stephanie, myself, and Triple H on the creative side.”
Once McMahon retired, fans thought that they would never see him again, only to be proven wrong by the 77-year-old billionaire for the second time.
Speaking about what the future may bring, Khan was optimistic that McMahon’s return will make a potential sale of WWE all the easier.
“It’s only been a week, but he really, I believe, what he said publicly about ‘hey, I’m here to engage in strategic alternatives and the media rights,’ so far the engagement has been that, and other board issues.”
“It’s his company. To me, WWE is Vince. Vince is WWE and we’re going to do the best we can to keep a living company.”
When asked about McMahon reportedly speaking to multiple departments, Khan said there has been “zero” interactions between McMahon and the company’s creative team.
Khan joined WWE in the summer of 2020 as the company’s president, replacing Michelle Wilson and George Barrios who had departed earlier that year.
Following Vince McMahon‘s resignation in 2022, Khan was appointed co-CEO with Stephanie McMahon and now serves as the promotion’s sole CEO.
Khan’s rise to the top of WWE has been unparallel in the company’s history, but even he acknowledges Vince McMahon as the head of the company.
On the Bill Simmons podcast, Khan spoke about the hierarchy in WWE and knows that he is not on top.
“My thought has always been that there’s only one boss at WWE and it ain’t me. Vince is obviously the founder, the creator of the company. He’s also the controlling shareholder, which is not a ‘work’ term. It’s a legal term. So it was always my point of view and Stephanie’s point of view that he would come back.
“I think the way he played it, to me, was smart. He went away for five, six months. The audience seems to like when somebody does that. He came back and took control back of his company as the controlling shareholder. It is a public company, it is a publicly-traded company. But with that controlling share, gave him a lot of authority and he used it and I applaud him for doing so.”
For decades, it was assumed that Vince McMahon would never retire from WWE given his workaholic attitude.
Once he did retire, WWE’s entire corporate system needed changing, and at the time, many felt that the board of directors, now against McMahon due to the allegations of misconduct, forced him out of the door.
On the podcast, Khan refuted the idea that McMahon was forced out by anyone other than what he personally believed.
I didn’t see it as a force. I think Vince saw, the tonnage of things that were coming at him and us. One thing he’s always said, you’ll know as a long-time fan and I’m a long-time fan also, is he’ll do whatever is best for business. Whether it’s bringing the Ultimate Warrior back twenty years ago (referencing Warrior’s 1996 WWF return) or whatever it may be.
“I think at that moment in time, what was best for business was for him to step away for a while. So he did, and he really did step away. There was no ‘hey why are you doing this,’ or ‘I wouldn’t do it this way.’ It was, in my opinion, total freedom, for Stephanie, myself, and Triple H on the creative side.”
Once McMahon retired, fans thought that they would never see him again, only to be proven wrong by the 77-year-old billionaire for the second time.
Speaking about what the future may bring, Khan was optimistic that McMahon’s return will make a potential sale of WWE all the easier.
“It’s only been a week, but he really, I believe, what he said publicly about ‘hey, I’m here to engage in strategic alternatives and the media rights,’ so far the engagement has been that, and other board issues.”
“It’s his company. To me, WWE is Vince. Vince is WWE and we’re going to do the best we can to keep a living company.”
When asked about McMahon reportedly speaking to multiple departments, Khan said there has been “zero” interactions between McMahon and the company’s creative team.