Nick Khan discusses the build to create some of WWE‘s hottest stars.
With WWE now officially merged with the UFC, WWE President Nick Khan surveys the landscape of WWE’s current crop of superstars. That list of names includes LA Knight, Dominik Mysterio, and Roman Reigns. Speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Khan addressed the rise of LA Knight, who is one of WWE’s biggest names.
Knight is frequently compared to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. However, Khan asserts that Knight has carved his own unique path and character. “You mentioned LA Knight [as having high star power]. I think what’s proven in combat sports is the next one never looks like the last one. So you see folks, WWE included, you get a John Cena, and part of the thought is, ‘Oh, we just need to find the next John Cena.’ There is no next John Cena Yeah. The next one never looks like the last one,” Khan said. “If you look at UFC, same thing.”
“When you saw Conor McGregor, who obviously is a mega star in terms of marketability and then the kid Darren Till came around and it was, ‘Oh, Darren Till’s going to be the next Conor McGregor.’ There’s never going to be a next Conor McGregor. If you look at boxing, when everyone was looking for the next Muhammad Ali, it didn’t look like Muhammad Ali. It looked like Sugar Ray Leonard. Whoever was looking for the next Ray Leonard didn’t look like Ray Leonard. It looked like Mike Tyson and then Oscar, Floyd, Pacquiao, whatever that might have been.”
Nick Khan said that sometimes people get fixated on “the next” but it doesn’t work like that.
“LA Knight is the first LA Knight, and that’s part of why we think that he’s resonating.”
Patience Is A Virtue
While Knight’s rise in WWE was relatively quick compared to a majority of his cohorts, other stars take some time to mold. As an illustration, Khan referenced Dominik Mysterio‘s three-year build to becoming one of WWE’s hottest heels.
“When I started with WWE, which is now well over three years ago, height of COVID, Dominik, young wrestler, obviously Rey’s son was sort of seen as Rey’s son. By the way, [Dominik is] a great kid, great young man, but it wasn’t really working. I think that the patience that Vince [McMahon] and Paul Levesque, Triple H, show with the talent, you saw it with Roman [Reigns] where people were not buying him as the monster face, if you will. And then all of a sudden during COVID, he came back to the Florida facility when we were taping down there, came back as a heel and boom, Roman Reigns takes off.”
“Dominik Mysterio is ‘Hey, I’m the good son of Rey Mysterio.’ It was great. They stuck with it. They again, Vince. Paul, the creative team turned them into a heel and all of a sudden was amazing. You can’t even hear him speak on the microphone because the boos are so loud. And this is a kid who’s in his early 20s. So, if he stays healthy and the creative stays strong, he can go for a long period of time. And I think the sticking with it and giving people a shot to really be the best versions of themselves on the mic night. LA Knight, Dominik Mysterio just two off the top of my head.”
In addition to Dominik Mysterio and LA Knight, Nick Khan believes Jey Uso is another prime example of this concept. Jey Uso, one of the Usos, a mid-card tag team, if you will. And then boom, over the last year and a half or so just exploded with The Bloodline storyline. Jey as a singles performer, Jimmy as a singles performer, and Roman going to the next level with Paul Heyman, of course. I think sticking with what you think can work is probably a good plan.”
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