Vince McMahon 'Fine' with WWE Sale Where He Wouldn't Have Creative Control, Khan Says

WWE CEO Nick Khan suggested Friday that a sale of WWE could result in chairman Vince McMahon no longer having any involvement with the company.

During an appearance on CNBC (h/t WrestlingInc's Raj Giri), Khan said McMahon is "completely fine" with the idea of a sale leading to his permanent removal from WWE.

McMahon, who purchased WWE from his father in 1982, retired from his positions as chairman, CEO and head of creative in July amid a board of directors investigation into payments he made to multiple women.

It was found that McMahon did not properly report to the board that he paid several women millions of dollars in exchange for their silence about sexual relationships they had with him, and even allegations of sexual misconduct in some cases.

McMahon's retirement was short-lived, though, as he returned to the board of directors last month and was re-elected president. McMahon's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, was named chairwoman and co-CEO with Khan when Vince retired, and she resigned from WWE to accommodate Vince's return.

Khan has acknowledged that McMahon's return to the company was due to his desire to explore "strategic alternatives," namely a potential sale.

CNBC's Alex Sherman reported last month that WWE hired investment banking company JPMorgan to serve as an adviser in sales negotiations, and noted that a sale will likely occur in the next three to six months if it happens.

Sherman named Comcast, Fox, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, Amazon, UFC owner Endeavor Group Holdings and Formula One owner Liberty Media as the possible buyers.

While every indication thus far is that McMahon has only been involved on the business side of things, fans and journalists have speculated on the possibility of McMahon trying to return to creative power as well since it was a position he held from 1982 until his retirement last year.

McMahon's son-in-law, Triple H, was named head of creative after McMahon retired, and he has remained entrenched in that role.

Khan said on CNBC that McMahon has had no involvement with creative, and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of ThirstyForNews.com) also reported recently that McMahon has not attended any creative meetings since his return.

WWE has been McMahon's passion for decades, but if Khan is to be believed, the 77-year-old executive is prepared to do what is best for shareholders, including himself, from a financial perspective, even if it means no longer being part of the company he is chiefly responsible for building into a global empire.

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