Appearing on the Bill Simmons podcast, WWE President Nick Khan had a lot to say about a lot of things.
Cena’s Heel Turn
“Here is what I find interesting about the whole process. John Cena’s merchandise is still off the charts. Top of show to every event or almost every event. The sort of collective decision to make that heel turn, Triple H, Cena, Dwayne Johnson, Cody, everyone was immediately on board with the whole thing…When HHH, Cena and everyone else decided to do it, I thought it was phenomenally effective and really smart.”
The Bloodline
“It goes up there with DX. It goes up there with The Four Horsemen. It goes up there with any of those great factions.”
Cody’s Story
“What is interesting about Cody’s story is he saw it before anyone else saw it and to ask to be let out of his WWE agreement eight or nine years ago was a classic bet on yourself moment…It doesn’t work out for a lot of people. There are people who leave WWE and you never hear from them again…He leaves. He doesn’t like the Stardust thing. He thinks he can do much more than that. He hits the indie circuit, left that guaranteed money to go on a night-by-night basis. He took a full bet on himself. He left, started another league and then you saw him fade out over there. It is something we talked about at WWE…He doesn’t talk a lot of shit in a negative way. That is something I admire about him.”
CM Punk’s Return
“I always found him to be a gentleman. I found him to be honest and responsive…He has been a gem to work with.”
WWE As A Business
“We are always the underdog at WWE. We always feel that people underestimate us, that we are looked down upon. We like it that way. Bet against us. We prefer that. Allow us to show you what we can do…In terms of the other wrestling promotional company, they have a lot of talented wrestlers. We are happy about that. When contractually they are available to be talked to and have conversations with, assume a number of them will come over and nothing but respect for the father who finances it and owns the Jaguars and all those other things.”
Acquiring Talent
“That is something we won’t do. We won’t sign and bench people. We sign people who we want to use.”
