WWE President Nick Khan recently shared a personal story about The Rock and how he was inspired to get into pro wrestling. Khan and The Final Boss became friends early in their lives, growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The former talent agent has been with WWE since August 2020, when he was named president and chief revenue officer. He was named co-CEO with Stephanie McMahon in July 2022 following the resignation of Vince McMahon.
When Endeavor bought WWE and merged it with UFC to become TKO Group, Khan became president of the global juggernaut again, as well as a member of the board of directors along with The Rock.
Speaking on the latest edition of What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon, Nick Khan opened up about how The Rock’s grandmother, Lia Maivia, inspired him to become successful in the entertainment world as an agent and eventually as part of WWE.
“We were kids at the show, and we all loved wrestling. So we’d sit and talk about the show, and he [The Rock] would sort of humbly say, like, ‘That’s my grandmother in the ring.’ You know when you’re a kid, you’d be like, ‘Is he lying? Yeah, that’s my grandmother, too,”’ he said.
Nick Khan continued:
”Then one time you saw him get in the ring, and again when you’re on the outside, and I think most of media and sports executives grow up on the outside looking in and sort of saying, like, ‘I want to be in that guy’s spot. How do I get in the field, or how do I get near the wrestling ring?’ I remember sort of seeing that and saying, like, ‘Hey, instead of paying to come here, I’d like to sort of be involved in this sort of thing.'” [0:20 onwards]
Nick’s older sister, Nahnatchka Khan, is a TV producer and writer who also grew up in Hawaii. She co-created the show Young Rock with The Final Boss himself.
Wrestling veteran calls himself a ‘Nick Khan guy’ after successful Worlds Collide event
Speaking on his Keepin’ It 100 OFFICIAL podcast, Konnan shared his conversation with Nick Khan after Worlds Collide 2025. The event was held at Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on June 7.
At the event, Konnan shared the commentary booth with Corey Graves. In a recent edition of his podcast, the WCW veteran revealed that Khan loved the show so much that he called it a ”grand slam” success for WWE and AAA.
“I spoke to him briefly, to Nick Khan. Yes, I’m a ‘Nick Khan Guy.’ I said, ‘I think we hit a home run,’ and he said, ‘No, we hit a grand slam.’ So there’s that. That’s the president. They’re happy,” he said. [16:36-16:49]
WWE announced the purchase of AAA at WrestleMania 41. It will still be managed by Dorian Roldan and Marisela Peña.
If you take quotes from this article, please credit Stephanie McMahon’s X and Keepin’ IT 100 OFFICIAL podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcriptions.
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