Nick Khan talks Vince McMahon, Netflix deal, The Rock, more

[Chris]

For the first time, WWE CEO Nick Khan addressed the recent lawsuit and allegations against Vince McMahon in addition to dropping several interesting quotes about the future of WrestleMania and WWE business in general.

On The Town podcast, Khan said this year's WrestleMania in Philadelphia is the last one that he inherited from the previous regime and process, and a deal that was in place for four years.

In talking about the timing of WWE's Peacock deal coming up in March 2026 a month before WrestleMania, Khan said they "like the timing of that" and intimated future WrestleManias may be "a little later in April which we're talking about now."

Here are some other threads from the conversation:

Vince McMahon & Netflix

Khan said Netflix did not tell TKO leadership to get Vince McMahon to resign before they announced their mega-deal for both Raw domestically and the entire package of content internationally.

Asked if the allegations from the Janel Grant lawsuit would have killed off the Netflix deal, Khan said, "I don't know about killed, but it certainly wouldn't have helped the deal."

Khan also addressed the allegations publicly for the first time, saying they are "obviously horrific and serious and we take them and interpret them the same way any other reasonable person or organization would interpret them. You saw the quick resignation.”

Khan reiterated what others have answered when asked about McMahon's daily involvement in TKO/WWE business: "zero, zero, zero."

Khan was not asked about his name being revealed as one of the "corporate officers" named in the Grant lawsuit.

Other Netflix notes

Khan said the initial feedback from Netflix before they met was that they weren't interested in getting involved in production (trucks, etc) for live sports which interested WWE because they have what Khan called a turnkey operation.

He said once they began talking, it was a "quick process" and that the reported internal disagreement on bringing WWE on within the Netflix co-CEOs never made it down to them.

Khan credited a Netflix executive he and others had met with years ago with some sage advice: get your international rights lined up first in order to negotiate a big, big deal.

He said having Netflix as their international partner will make it easier for them to get into countries worldwide without having to negotiate individual deals.

The Rock returning

Asked about The Rock/Dwayne Johnson's return to WWE and his TKO Board seat, Khan said the conversation began within TKO leadership after they officially went public, saying having his input on TKO business was "something we were desirous of."

They had wanted to bring Johnson back into the fold but Johnson was hesitant as he "needed to figure out the why." Khan said the TKO board is very growth-minded and the time was finally right.

Khan said Johnson is going to film his A24 movie on former MMA fighter Mark Kerr a week or two after WrestleMania and then is moving into work on the live action Moana film for Disney.

The future

Asked about future growth opportunities, Khan said, as he has in the past, international events are a priority as well as maximizing their "treasure trove of IP" using horror movies on the backgrounds of The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt as possible examples.

He said they want to continue to maximize revenue for live events without pricing a family out of coming and looking at creating "new product" they could also go out and sell which he said they are in the middle of doing.

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/wwe-nick-khan-addresses-vince-mcmahon-allegations-future-wrestlemania-changes

 

[Death By Looch]

Khan also addressed the allegations publicly for the first time, saying they are "obviously horrific and serious and we take them and interpret them the same way any other reasonable person or organization would interpret them. You saw the quick resignation.”

No, you didn't do what any other reasonable person would've done. You did what any corporation, regardless of size, would've done to save as much face as possible. Cutting out the one name, while hoping that the waves around your company quiet down as fast as possible, so you don't have to actually try to get to the bottom of what has been happening for years in the company you run now.

That has nothing to do with "doing the reasonable thing". That is just showing that the company doesn't give a shit about the people who work for it, nor the possibly way larger amount of victims the company had under contract over the years.

 

[Deezy]

No, you didn't do what any other reasonable person would've done. You did what any corporation, regardless of size, would've done to save as much face as possible. Cutting out the one name, while hoping that the waves around your company quiet down as fast as possible, so you don't have to actually try to get to the bottom of what has been happening for years in the company you run now.

That has nothing to do with "doing the reasonable thing". That is just showing that the company doesn't give a shit about the people who work for it, nor the possibly way larger amount of victims the company had under contract over the years.

Welcome to capitalism.

 

[Deezy]

Also it's not like Netflix never done live content before......Chris Rocks last special was live.

 

[Storm Trooper]

I think I really like the fact that Mania can be moved to later in April. I feel like they're tempting fate with outdoor arenas anyway but weather in the northern states is better in Late April than it is in early April.

Granted they'd need another PLE for March.

 

[epo1984]

I think I really like the fact that Mania can be moved to later in April. I feel like they're tempting fate with outdoor arenas anyway but weather in the northern states is better in Late April than it is in early April.

Granted they'd need another PLE for March.

For sure. This gap between rumble and mania seems to be taking forever, imagine another three weeks between.

I guess they could push the rumble later too if needed

 

[Dale]

Id rather they didn't do another PLE, I think how it is right now is fine. Might just have to add an extra week after the Rumble before the Elimination Chamber if they do it in the same spot next year.