Nick Khan says one person actually runs WWE, and it’s Vince McMahon.
McMahon retired on July 22, 2022 amid a WWE board investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and hush money. Upon his exit, Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon were named the co-CEOs. Mr. McMahon returned to WWE on January 6, and he was voted the Executive Chairman of the Board on January 10. Stephanie McMahon also announced her resignation, making Khan the sole CEO.
Speaking with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN First Take, Khan stated that Mr. McMahon is the one who runs WWE. Smith had noted that Khan runs the sports world, and the WWE CEO clarified that plenty of people help him in his role, but McMahon is the one who runs the company. Khan went on to recall how he joined the company in the first place.
“Well, just one note on that I don’t run the WWE. There’s only one person that actually runs WWE, and that’s Vince McMahon,” Khan said. “A lot of folks help me to help run WWE. Look; I was 45 years old at the time COVID had hit.
“Vince called me and said, hey, I have made some changes with his executives. I had the good fortune of helping to represent WWE and their media rights, the TV deals if you will, and that he and I had a conversation about joining the company as the president of the company at that time. I talked to my wife and decided it was the right time to do it. And here we are, three years later.”
Khan continued by describing how WWE responded to McMahon’s retirement in 2022. He made it clear that the team’s goal was to ensure that the shareholders knew that “good people” were running the company, and they wanted to focus on the product despite the chaotic situation.
“The most important thing for us, there were two things that we were primarily focused on,” Nick Khan said. “Number one, our shareholders making sure that they knew that hey, there were good people in the pocket helping to run this company.
“Number two, our employees, my colleagues, it was important that everyone knew, even though it seemed like chaos and chaotic times, let’s stick with the calm. Let’s get through this. Let’s focus on the product. If you look at it from that moment, our ratings went up our relevancy, I think went up. Everybody focused on the core business, and you know the drill if you focus on that, usually, you’ll get good results.”
As for McMahon’s return to the company. Khan noted that McMahon is the controlling shareholder, and WWE management was fully supportive of his decision to come back.
“Look, he’s the controlling shareholder, which is, you know, also that’s not a marketing brand. That’s an actual legal term,” Nick Khan said. “He controls the shares in the company. So he decided to step out, let sort of the dust settle, if you will, and decided to come back. Management, I as management, other management folks were fully supportive of that. It’s been great since his return.”
Per a new SEC filing, McMahon is officially a WWE employee again. More information is available here.
READ MORE: Nick Khan Says To Expect ‘A Bunch Of Surprises’ At WWE WrestleMania 39
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit ESPN First Take with a link back to this article for the transcription.
