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NICK KHAN: WWE ISN'T A MOM & POP SHOP, NOT LOOKING TO BE SOLD

By Mike Johnson on 2022-01-25 16:26:00

WWE President Nick Khan was interviewed by Sports Business Journal in a piece obviously timed to this weekend's Royal Rumble event, providing insight into exactly why there have been such drastic changes and a restructuring of much of WWE's internal divisions.

Of note in the piece given the constant turmoil that has come with the sweeping changes within the company since Khan has taken control of the company (that has led many to believe WWE is bring primed to be sold) is the following excerpt:

The WWE has undergone so many changes since Khan joined in August 2020 that rumors have run rampant that WWE is prepping itself for a sale. Khan said the company has taken some inbound calls from companies looking to buy. But he stressed that WWE is not in active conversations trying to sell the company and is not actively looking to sell.

On those changes, Khan points to Vince McMahon's own changing mindset:

"If it once was a mom-and-pop shop, Vince certainly didn’t believe it was anymore,” Khan said. “Part of what I believe he was looking for in bringing in someone from the outside was to make sure the community at large didn’t treat it that way. We believe we’re a global content company.”

The article noted that the impetus for the changes began during the company's most recent TV negotiations with FOX and NBC Universal, back in 2018:

"Khan was struck by the attitude of some WWE staffers, most of whom were not steeped in the intricacies of media. Some of them, he said, acted as though they were fortunate just to have a seat at the table. They were content to negotiate with executives far down the chain of command.  Khan believed that business attitude — not to mention an overall knowledge of the media marketplace — needed to change at WWE."

In regard to why there were so many executive changes under Khan and so many from outside the company brought in, the WWE President explained:

"For the company to be treated the way that Vince, Stephanie, [WWE executive] Kevin Dunn and myself and others believed it should be treated in the community, you needed executives who reflected that, who had range, who could get people on the phone and who could be taken seriously by their peers."

 

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