Here is a writeup of Nick Khan on Bill Simmons podcast (comes from the Observer website):
Nick Khan sat down with Bill Simmons for a wide-ranging interview covering everything involving Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H in the last week.
On Simmons’ podcast, Khan spoke with Simmons for over an hour regarding the events of the last week. When asked if he thought the last week was insane, Khan didn’t think so, seeing it as someone from the inside. He also said it was his viewpoint that McMahon would always eventually return, despite announcing his retirement in July.
“When you're on the inside, you see things that may be coming," he said. "My thought was that there’s only one boss in the company, and that ain’t me,” referring to Vince McMahon. “I think it was always my point of view, Stephanie’s point of view he would come back. The way he played it to me was smart in that he went away for five, six months which people, meaning the audience, seems to like when somebody does that and he came back and took control back of his company as a company shareholder. So it is the public’s company as a publicly traded company. But with that, the controlling share gave him a lot of authority and he used it, and I applaud him for doing so.”
When asked why McMahon would return when there’s a risk of hurting the company’s image, Khan pointed out a similar situation regarding Ray Rice and the NFL in which people were asking NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to step down.
“Well, no advertiser has fled. Ratings aren’t down. The product seems to continue to build. Why would he resign? Why would he do that?” Khan said in reference to Goodell. “I think it’s just a three-mile radius of LA thing. ‘Hey, step down. And you know, you have to sort of be punished for it.’ It didn’t used to be that way. So I think for somebody like Vince, and [referring to Simmons] you and he are two different people, but you’re both founder CEOs and I think founder CEOs are different from regular CEOs. So to me, WWE is Vince, Vince is WWE, and we’re going to do the best we can to keep building the company”.
Khan noted that during McMahon’s absence, he and Stephanie were given total freedom from McMahon, as has Triple H, and since his return his focus has only been on the potential WWE sale and other Board of Directors business. Right after that, he said that he visited McMahon during his “sitting out,” though it was more for personal and social reasons.
“You know, when he stepped down, anyone who believed that was permanent didn't know him,” Khan said. “That was never going to happen, but I’m appreciative of the fact that he gave it five, six months, let the dust settle a little bit, then came back in the way that he’s come back.”
When Simmons pointed out the perception that McMahon had brought in former co-Presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios back to the company to put people he likes on the Board of Directors, Khan said bringing in two people that understand how Vince McMahon is the majority shareholder and will be the one in charge of facilitating a sale was the determining factor.
“[As] the controlling shareholder, Vince is going to run that process. So to have board members who understood that with the controlling shareholder, ‘this is going to be the way it is', and people who would embrace this, I think that was a determining factor.”
Khan pointed out the misperception always was that WWE had a Board of Directors that was puppeteered by Vince McMahon, but that has since proven to be not the case.
When Simmons brought up Stephanie McMahon’s leave of absence prior to Vince McMahon resigning, Khan said he doesn’t get involved in the family side of the family business.
“I don’t get involved in the family business. That is rule number one,” he said.
Later, when asked why Stephanie had decided to leave a second time after Vince McMahon returned, Khan opened the door to the possibility of her returning to the company in the future.
“At this moment in time, I think she felt her work was done for now. Nothing is permanent. Life is long, let’s see.”
Khan said that the rumors regarding a sale to Saudi Arabia last week were “100% fake, 100% made up.”
“So in this process, [Vince McMahon is] there to oversee it, it’s his controlling share. I’m involved in it. Triple H is involved in it. The board’s obviously involved in it with Triple H being on the board, as I have the good fortune of being in as well. And we’re going to see how it plays out. It should not be a lengthy process.”
“If you’re looking at it, connecting the dots, it made absolutely no sense,” Khan added in regard to the rumors. “In terms of what the actual process will be, we’re just starting it.”
When asked if he was worried about more revelations coming out regarding McMahon, Khan said that he was not.
“It feels like wherever happened, happened and it’s out there. And people know I’ve always found him to be a very honest broker with this stuff. So even when the process started last summer, there was nothing that he hid, there was nothing that he covered up. I think he was very honest about it and I appreciated that, and I think a lot of other folks did too.”
Simmons later brought up Rita Chatterton’s name and asked if possible suitors will wait and see how that and other possible situations play out.
“I think everyone’s just plowing ahead. Because in all of these businesses there’s never a clean, clear path. There’s always some encumbrance, something in the way, some hurdle in the way that you have to get around or get through. So I see that like I would any other item like it.”
In regards to Vince McMahon returning to television, Khan said not at the moment, but things could change.
While discussing the prospect of a sale, Khan said there was potential for McMahon to only sell a part of the company, emphasizing the “strategic alternative” phrase that was used constantly during the interview.
“When he’s using the term ‘strategic alternative,' it’s not to be cute. It’s basically, we’re looking at everything.”
Tony Khan’s name was also brought up. When asked when he saw Tony Khan and AEW as a threat, Nick rejected the idea that he felt threatened by Tony.
“I don’t feel threatened by anyone on anything,” Khan said. “It’s just not how I do business. I don’t care what anyone else is doing. I care what we’re doing. And as long as we can have the best product on with the best talent and the best writers, I think we’re going to be in good shape.”
