WWE President Nick Khan's path to running the biggest wrestling company in the world began with a Wheel of Fortune win and a chance meeting with an unknown boxer named Manny Pacquiao in a Hollywood motel room.
Khan shared his remarkable origin story during an appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, revealing how a $16,500 game show win changed the trajectory of his life.
I was in law school. I worked full-time in law school. My monthly nut at that time was $2,000 a month or so," Khan explained. "I knew that to study and pass the bar exam, I had to not work and study for two months to have a chance to pass. If I worked and studied, I'd be spread too thin.
With no relatives willing to loan him money, Khan turned to an unconventional solution: auditioning for Wheel of Fortune.
There's a thousand people auditioning. The good thing for me is 990 of them were like 80 years or older," Khan recalled. "I go on the show, I win $16,500. When your account goes from zero to $16,500... I paid for the bar review course. I passed the bar exam and sort of went on to my career.
Khan's legal career led to an encounter that would eventually connect him to the combat sports world. He defended legendary boxing trainer Freddy Roach in an assault case after Roach knocked out a man who had swung at him in a retail store.
We got the charges dismissed. Freddy says, 'I have a fighter. No one's heard of him. He's going to be the next big thing in boxing,'" Khan recalled. "I go to the Vagabond Inn in Hollywood. I walk in the room. There's like 15 Filipino guys in one room. Freddy says, 'Hey, I want you to meet Manny Pacquiao. Nobody knows who he is.'
Managing Pacquiao launched Khan's entertainment career, eventually leading him to CAA and ultimately to his current position as WWE President - a job he first encountered decades earlier as a $7-per-hour usher at WrestleMania 9.
