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Ever since WWE officially became part of the Endeavor oeuvre, merging with UFC to become a work/shoot fighting juggernaut, fans have had one question that has risen above all others: who is in charge of WWE's creative output moving forward, Vince McMahon or Paul “Triple H” Levesque?
During the first RAW after WrestleMania 39, the answer appeared obvious; the show reeked of Mr. McMahon's signature booking decisions, from the general lack of wrestling, to the quick squash matches, and even the on-the-fly changes that reportedly happened throughout the show. Still, since that fateful night, which still holds a sub-1.0 show rating on Cagematch, things seem to have settled down, with the “old” way of doing things returned, signaling that maybe Levesque isn't gone after all and instead simply had to weather one night of his father-in-law's overly inflated influence because he was on site for the show.
Fortunately, fans were afforded at least some further insight into the story by way of Nick Khan, WWE's CEO, who, in an appearance with LightShed Live, provided some insight into who is responsible for what within the company.
“When this deal was officially announced, Monday morning, 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, which certainly you guys have read about and are familiar with,” Khan said via Cageside Seats. “In addition to Vince being the Executive Chairman, Ari Emanuel being the CEO, Mark Shapiro being the President, Dana White continuing as President of UFC, and me at WWE — specifically Vince articulated that Paul Levesque [Triple H] remains the sole chief creative officer. Sole.
“So, how does it work? Does that mean because I’m technically in charge of the business side of the business that I don’t seek input from other people? Or I wouldn’t seek input from Vince McMahon, who created this entire empire? That would be a mistake on my behalf.
“Paul and Vince, have a family relationship, a relationship that stands back to the mid-90s. Paul’s in charge of creative. If he wants input from Vince or Vince has ideas then he and Paul are gonna communicate, that’s always gonna be the case. We’re lucky to have Vince. We’re lucky to have Paul in control of creative.”
Khan then went on to address Levesque's job security and noted that, as of now, the plan is to leave the on-screen product untouched.
“What we want to always be protective of, our creative team, our production team, keep in mind none of us have anything to sell, and the company would not have been transacted at this sort of price point if the product wasn’t great,” Khan added. “So the most important thing is to leave the product untouched. Untouched, meaning if Triple H and Kevin Dunn, our longtime executive producer, want to evolve it, great. But in terms of cutbacks there, that’s not what we’re looking to do.
“So other efficiencies all around the company, we’re getting in the middle of, and let’s see how it shakes out.”
Could this all change in a hurry? You bet; Endevaor's interest in WWE went from rumored to official in roughly a day, and as oh so many Superstars have learned over the past few years, even top guys like Bray Wyatt aren't safe from “budget cuts” if the company wants to start trimming costs. Still, for now, it appears Levesque is safe as WWE's head of creative, and all things considered, that is very good news for the state of the Universe.
Nick Khan doesn't expect new television deals to further enrich WWE talent.
Elsewhere in his LightShed Live appearance, Khan was asked if WWE's new television deals, which could prove very lucrative, would provide for an increase in pay for the company's wrestlers or if, like UFC, it could ultimately lead to smaller bags for the people who make the company work. Unfortunately for the folks in the back, it doesn't sound like Khan expects much to change for the workers.
“Well, look, in terms of the UFC’s business, that’s their business to manage,” Khan said. “Vince, myself, Triple H, the other WWE senior management have seen what Dana White and [previous UFC owners] the Fertittas did in terms of creating an entire empire. We’ve then subsequently seen what Dana White and his team and Endeavor did. So, you know, that goes untouched by us. We’re not getting involved in any of that stuff.
“In terms of our performers. We think a lot of them are well compensated. Certainly, all talent wants to be paid more. Management wants to try to manage those costs. Each individual deal is unique in and of itself. We’re confident with our position in the marketplace in terms of our WWE Superstars.
“And depending on what the rights fee increases on the media rights, we expect a lot of that to drop to the bottom line.”
Should WWE pay their Superstars better if they are making more money? Obviously, yes, but as Khan pointed out, the company's position in the marketplace makes it so that they don't necessarily need to. Take from that what you will.
