Nick Khan: WWE Is A Meritocracy, But Everyone Has The Same Opportunity To Earn Their Way To The Top

WWE has been called the “land of opportunity” throughout the years and there have been many references to wrestlers “grabbing the brass ring.”

WWE President Nick Khan has made waves since signing on with the company in August 2020 as release numbers have been higher than ever with WWE citing “budget cuts” as the reason why. WWE, like any sport or entertainment property, has also dealt with negative publicity throughout the existence of the company.

Nick Khan appeared on The Town podcast and was asked about WWE’s relationship with wrestlers throughout his time there and through the negative experiences.

“Number one, everyone is treated humanly and everyone deserves to be treated that way. There are analogies with our company and other companies. Was Shaq treated better than any player on the team other than Kobe? Of course. That’s the way it is. Will Smith wasn’t grabbed and escorted out of the room (after slapping Chris Rock). Part of it was, people didn’t know what to do because they haven’t experienced it before, but part of it is that he’s Will Smith. Tough to have security grab him and toss him out of the building. It’s the same way with us. It’s a meritocracy. If you’re at the top of the card, maybe you have a bigger dressing room than the person at the bottom of the card, but everyone has the same opportunity to earn their way there. You’ve seen people that are not stars…..”

Khan stopped as he saw host Matt Belloni smile, which led to a conversation about The Rock and how he distanced himself from WWE when he first entered Hollywood by doing Disney movies before coming back around to become one of the top action stars of all-time.

Khan picked up the conversation, bringing it back to WWE by saying, “The inner voice has to match the outer voice. It’s the same thing with our characters; Rock, John Cena, Stone Cold (Steve Austin), Roman Reigns, who they are now are we they are in real life just amplified. That tends to work best for us. When you miscast someone or you cast them non-character, it never works in the film business, or it rarely works in the film business.”

Roman Reigns is set to headline WrestleMania 38 against Brock Lesnar, who has become his true self on WWE television since returning at SummerSlam 2021.

Fans can check out the lineup for WrestleMania Sunday by clicking here.

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