On April 3rd, 2023, wrestling fans were shocked by the announcement made by WWE that the company had entered into a transaction agreement with Endeavor that would see the merging of WWE and UFC. The deal was expected to be completed by the end of the year, resulting in the formation of a new publicly traded company. In light of this news, Vince McMahon, the legendary wrestling promoter and WWE Chairman, made a statement in an interview with CNBC, revealing that while he would continue to be involved in creative decisions at a high level, he would no longer be “in the weeds.”
Following this announcement, on the April 3rd episode of WWE Raw, McMahon was reportedly seen making multiple changes to the show, and was present in the Gorilla position during the night. However, it has been reported that McMahon has not been seen at subsequent television tapings, leaving fans wondering about his level of involvement in the company going forward.
To address these concerns, Nick Khan, the President and Chief Revenue Officer of WWE, was interviewed on LightShed Live on April 7th, where he shed some light on McMahon’s creative involvement in the company. Khan revealed that on the day the deal was officially announced, McMahon had sent out a company-wide email to all employees, including himself, in which he outlined the structure of the new company. In this email, McMahon made it clear that Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, would remain the sole Chief Creative Officer of the new company.
Khan went on to explain that while McMahon had stepped back from the day-to-day running of the company, he remained a vital part of the organization, and his input would always be valued. “We wouldn’t seek input from Vince McMahon, who created this entire empire? That would be a mistake on my behalf,” said Khan. He went on to praise both McMahon and Levesque for their contributions to the company, stating that the family relationship between the two men was a key factor in WWE’s continued success.
“On Monday [April 3], when this deal was officially announced, Vince sent out a company-wide email to our thousand or so employees, including myself, and in the email he laid out the structure of the NewCo. Specifically, he articulated that Paul Levesque remains the sole Chief Creative Officer. Sole. How does that work? Does that mean that technically because I’m in charge of the business side of the business that I don’t seek input from other people. I wouldn’t seek input from Vince McMahon, who created this entire empire? That would be a mistake on my behalf. Paul and Vince, a family relationship, a relationship that spans back to the mid-90s. Paul is in charge of creative. If he wants input from Vince or Vince has ideas that he and Paul are going to communicate, that’s always going to be the case. We’re lucky to have Vince. We’re lucky to have Paul in control of creative. We’re lucky that the set up that Vince created, that the company could continue to exist, even when Vince stepped out for that five month period, the company kept flowing. We think the best organizations are set up that way and that’s the way Vince set up WWE.”
Khan also acknowledged the importance of McMahon’s legacy to the company, stating that “We’re lucky to have Vince. We’re lucky to have Paul in control of creative. We’re lucky that the set up that Vince created, that the company could continue to exist, even when Vince stepped out for that five month period, the company kept flowing. We think the best organizations are set up that way and that’s the way Vince set up WWE.”
