WWE often draws plenty of criticism from fans online, and Nick Khan has now shared his thoughts on how the promotion handles that feedback while praising Chief Content Officer Triple H. With WWE continuing to expand through major media partnerships and TKO posting growth across its portfolio, Khan believes the company cannot allow social media reactions to dictate its decisions.
During an appearance on “The Varsity” with John Ourand, Khan was discussing WWE’s relationship with ESPN and ESPN Unlimited when the conversation turned to fan complaints. Ourand noted that some fans were frustrated when ESPN Unlimited was not initially available through every provider, and Nick Khan explained that the issue has since been addressed, with the service available through platforms including YouTube TV and Comcast.
The WWE President then compared social media criticism to the comment cards that restaurants and airlines used to receive from customers. He explained that those cards were naturally more likely to contain complaints than praise, and he believes social media works in much the same way.
“Sports fans in general, it’s sort of why Twitter now X was created. It’s almost like, do you remember comment or complaint cards? Restaurants would have them, airlines would have them.
“Rarely, yeah, you got the nice person who would put in a comment card of, ‘I just wanna let you know how exceptional the service was tonight.’ But that’s not what that medium was created for. What it was created for was, ‘The service was terrible, the food was terrible, I didn’t like it,’ so you’d only get complaints.”
That does not mean WWE completely ignores what fans say. Khan acknowledged that some criticism can be legitimate and lead to changes, but he stressed that the company cannot build its strategy around every online reaction.
“Those complaints, some of them we look at and say, ‘Hey, there’s some truth to this. Let’s make a little adjustment here, this or that.’ But you cannot cater.”
Nick Khan also warned against assuming that social media represents the wider audience. He used politics as an example, pointing to the Michigan Senate Primary and arguing that online sentiment can produce predictions that ultimately prove wrong.
“You’ve seen this in politics. If you believe what social media says, you will incorrectly predict so many outcomes.”
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Nick Khan Praises Triple H As WWE’s Best Creative Mind
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Khan believes the answer is for WWE to trust the people responsible for running the company rather than constantly reacting to online criticism. That led to one of his strongest endorsements yet of Triple H and the rest of WWE’s internal teams.
“So you cannot be reactive to that sort of thing, you have to rely on your team. To know we have the best creative in terms of all of wrestling in Triple H, real name Paul Levesque. We have the best live events team in my opinion. We have the best merchandise, consumer products team. They’re able to monetize it.”
Khan pointed to the broader performance of TKO as another reason for that confidence, noting that WWE is only one part of a portfolio that also includes UFC, On Location, IMG and PBR.
“And if you see the growth at TKO – that’s UFC, WWE, On Location, IMG, PBR – each of these continue to grow every year. It’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be easy. So you’ve gotta continue to develop and redevelop what you do, and you’ve gotta make sure you’ve got the right team in place that can help you make the right decisions.”
Nick Khan’s comments suggest WWE will continue listening when criticism has merit, but the company’s leadership does not intend to let the loudest voices online determine its overall direction.
