As noted earlier, the all-employee meeting ordered by WWE President Nick Khan was held today at the new WWE HQ in Stamford, CT. The original report revealed that Khan was joined by Endeavor/TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO Executive Chairman Vince McMahon, among others. It was also said the 12-15 minute meeting was held at around 11am this morning, and was very much described as a “rah-rah” gathering, with officials promising that the future and outlook for WWE is great, while also praising each other, the success of the WWE – UFC merger into TKO, and WWE as a whole.
In an update, a new report from PWInsider notes that there were several hundred employees present for the meeting. It was greatly pushed that this post-acquisition era is the next evolution of WWE.
The meeting opened up with Khan coming out first with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H, WWE Executive Vice President of Operations & Chief of Staff Brad Blum, and WWE Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn.
Khan was the only one to speak from this group as he put over McMahon. Khan also said it was unfortunate that the company had to let go of people last week, and then he thanked everyone for their hard work.
Khan then introduced McMahon. The WWE Founder praised Emanuel and talked about the respect he has for Ari. McMahon said WWE had already plateaued and to get to the next level, the Endeavor deal was needed. This line reportedly caused a lot of eye-rolls and reactions within the company, from people who pointed to how WWE has been touting record numbers. This comment also led many to reaffirm their beliefs that McMahon did a deal so he could return to WWE.
McMahon then introduced “my new boss” Emanuel to the group. Emanuel recalled how he and his partners pursued McMahon 20 years ago, in hopes of representing WWE and becoming their agent. Emanuel said he’s looked to McMahon for advice in the past, and McMahon always gave him the right advice, so he’s excited for this new era.
Emanuel also revealed that his daughter Ashlee now works for WWE, and mentioned how she recently became engaged to be married. PWInsider notes that Emanuel’s daughter has been with WWE for some time, long before the Endeavor acquisition. Fightful adds that she is working as a creative assistant.
McMahon left immediately after the meeting, but the rest of the Executives stayed around to converse and chat with employees.
Khan called today’s meeting after the dozens of post-acquisition layoffs were made this past Friday, which you can read about at this link.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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