By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
The following are the highlights of WWE President Nick Khan’s appearance on Tuesday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN.
-Khan said the Netflix deal and adding Dwayne Johnson to the TKO Board of Directors is a great start to the new year for the company. Khan pointed out that Raw and Smackdown were once on TNN and UPN.
-Khan touted being “the first movers with Netflix live on a consistent basis.” He said the Netflix deal “came together over a couple of months.” McAfee touted it as a ten-year, $5 billion deal and pointed out that Khan smiled when he listed those numbers. Khan said there’s been an overwhelmingly positive reaction within the company to the new deal.
-Khan noted that he’s a public school kid. McAfee praised Vince McMahon for being an abused kid who turned WWE into what it is today. Khan said Vince had a very tough upbringing and said he would always have admiration and respect for the heights that McMahon brought the company to.
-McAfee praised Khan and asked him about the key to his success. Khan said he thinks it’s because he is a good listener. He also recalled meeting McAfee at a wedding years ago and walked away saying that McAfee is a tremendous listener, which he said wasn’t common for people who were his age at the time.
-McAfee asked about Paul Levesque’s role. Khan said Levesque was the first person to introduce him to WWE. He said Levesque made an unsolicited call to introduce himself. Khan recalled him being Terra Ryzing. Levesque made a pitch for Tim Tebow vs. Big Show. Khan said that he and Tebow had a top secret meeting with Vince and Levesque, but ultimately it didn’t happen. Levesque invited Khan to meet with Vince McMahon following that meeting and they ended up striking a deal.
-McAfee spoke about how it’s wild and “awesome” to deal with Vince. McAfee compared it to meeting a dog and said that if you act “like a little bitch” the dog will treat you that way. He said that if you go in confident and comfortable with Vince, it sets the terms for the whole conversation. McAfee said he took that approach with Vince even though he was scared to death. McAfee asked Khan about how relationship with Vince and how much they speak today. Khan said that in a private setting, you can say anything you want to Vince. Khan said Kevin Dunn and Paul Levesque had the trait that you’re not going to call out Vince in a meeting. Khan said he could say anything to Vince in private and he would listen to it. Khan said he saw Vince earlier. McAfee asked if Vince still has the mustache. Khan confirmed that he does.
-Khan was asked about the future of the premium live events and whether they will be on Netflix. Khan said Peacock is still the streaming partner in the United States. He said the deal with Netflix is for the PLEs outside the United States aside from markets where they have an existing deal. He said the Raw deal is essentially global. Khan said they are the second most popular sport in India behind only cricket (he acknowledged that WWE isn’t a pure sport).
-Khan was asked if Raw will still be on Mondays. Khan said at this moment in time, it remains Monday Night Raw. He said that the deal runs for 10.5 months, but they are looking at what everyone else is when it comes to Monday Night Football and other stiff competition. Khan touted their success against the competition and said it could work if they kept the show on Mondays or move to another night.
-Khan praised The Pat McAfee Show as being great partners and said they have always been easy to deal with.
Powell’s POV: It was crazy to hear this being such a love fest for Vince McMahon with no mention of why he was essentially forced out of power. That said, McAfee did share an interesting story about advice that McMahon gave him over the years. The talk of Raw potentially moving to a new night should not surprise anyone. I am curious to see whether the show stays at three hours. Of course, Smackdown will be moving to USA Network, so it’s always possible that it could become a three-hour show. With Netflix, there shouldn’t be any limits in terms of the show needing to fit within an actual window of time unless there are certain parameters laid out in the deal. For instance, perhaps Raw could be two hours one week and and two-and-a-half hours the next.
Be the first to comment