Nick Khan Wishes Stephanie McMahon Hadn’t Left WWE
Nick Khan wishes Stephanie McMahon had stayed put in WWE.
Stephanie McMahon originally took a leave of absence from WWE in 2022 only to return just a very short time later when her father Vince McMahon stepped away from his roles as Chairman and CEO as a result of an investigation into “hush money” payments made to former employees of the company.
He announced his retirement in July of that year and Stephanie McMahon took over as permanent Chairwoman and co-CEO alongside Nick Khan. When Vince McMahon returned, however, in early 2023, Stephanie McMahon announced her complete resignation from WWE on the same day her father was installed as Executive Chairman.
Speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, WWE President Nick Khan discussed the topic following WWE’s takeover by Endeavor and he admits he wishes she was still part of the company but he respected McMahon’s decision:
“She decided to step away. Initially, she was on leave of absence, some of the Vince stuff started to happen, he stepped out for a moment. She was asked by Vince, by myself, by the board, to come back. She came back, which we were extremely gracious for her in doing so.
“Ultimately, when Vince came back, she decided she was ready to go and step out. I respected the decision, I wish she hadn’t done that, and she knows that from me personally, she’s a terrific executive and a terrific person. That’s her decision, her relationship with Vince is theirs and when she made it, I have full respect for the decision.”
“The WWE Universe would embrace Stephanie McMahon’s return” – Nick Khan
As far as a return for Stephanie McMahon somewhere down the line, it’s something that Khan thinks the company as a whole would embrace:
I don’t know what the future holds, but with Vince as the Chairman of the company, Paul [Stephanie’s husband Paul Levesque aka Triple H] the head of creative, me in the role that I’m in, if Stephanie wanted to do something with WWE, WWE would embrace that, the WWE Universe would embrace that.
“I think she’s enjoying some time off. After grinding hard, as she grinded hard, take a few months off. She still has school-aged children, she and Paul do, I think she’s enjoying herself.”
Vince McMahon has become Executive Chairman of WWE’s new parent company TKO Group following the takeover while Triple H remains as WWE’s Chief Content Officer but fell short of finding a place on TKO’s Board of Directors.