- WWE President Nick Khan addressed multiple hot topics during his appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, including WWE’s approach to signing former AEW talent and the company’s response to the Netflix docuseries Mr. McMahon.
- Khan clarified that WWE does not intend to sign wrestlers just to sideline them, praised AEW’s talent while signaling interest in future acquisitions, and offered insight into the internal reaction to the controversial final episode of the Vince McMahon documentary.
Here are the highlights from the interview:
WWE’s Approach to Signing AEW Talent
In recent months, WWE has signed several notable names from AEW, including Ricky Saints (formerly Ricky Starks), Penta, Rey Fenix, and Ethan Page. While the list continues to grow, Khan was clear that WWE isn’t signing talent just to keep them off TV.
That’s something we won’t do. We won’t sign and bench people. We sign people who we want to use,” Khan stated. When host Bill Simmons noted that stockpiling talent is common in wrestling, Khan responded, “That’s what I’ve been told from time to time. Not us.
Khan emphasized that WWE’s focus is on bringing in performers who can contribute on-screen. Referencing AEW indirectly, he said:
In terms of the other wrestling promotional company, they have a lot of talented wrestlers and we’re happy about that. When, contractually, they are available to talk to and have conversations with, assume a number of them will come over.
He added a respectful nod to AEW’s ownership structure:
Nothing but respect to the father who finances it and owns the Jaguars and all those other things.” This was a reference to Shad Khan, with AEW operated daily by his son, Tony Khan.
Reaction to the Mr. McMahon Netflix Docuseries
The six-episode docuseries Mr. McMahon premiered on Netflix on September 25, chronicling Vince McMahon’s rise and fall. Episode six in particular spotlighted serious allegations against the former WWE Chairman, including sexual misconduct, hush money payments, and a federal investigation. Khan addressed the company’s internal reaction to the documentary.
Episodes one through five, it was all fine. Episode six obviously had a lot of tawdry allegations in there,” he said. “The most important thing in the company was, ‘Hey, this is not for us to spike it.’ That’s not what the deal was and the deal that was struck with Netflix was prior to me joining WWE on a full-time basis.
He described the range of reactions from within WWE:
It went everywhere from ‘Hey, it was phenomenally done’ to ‘Oh my God, this thing is not true, it’s not factual.’ There were people who loved it as an objectively told profile of a person, and people who were close to the subject who didn’t like it, which I would understand, and I think you understand.
Simmons, who produced the documentary, acknowledged the challenges but expressed pride in the final product. All six episodes are currently available to stream on Netflix.
