TKO President Mark Shapiro is all in on WWE’s current leadership—and he’s crediting Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Nick Khan for boldly taking the product beyond Vince McMahon’s legacy.
During his appearance on The Main Event with Andrew Marchand, Shapiro praised the direction of WWE under its new creative and business heads, saying they’re pushing boundaries and not afraid to reinvent what a WWE event can be.
He pointed to the creation of Wrestlepalooza, WWE’s newest Premium Live Event, as proof that the company is no longer leaning solely on Vince-era ideas. The event, launched as part of WWE’s ESPN deal, has already turned heads—and made serious cash at the merch table. According to Shapiro, Levesque and Khan aren’t content to just follow old patterns.
“They never seem exhausted. They’re ready to take on a new shot, a new risk, a new opportunity. ‘Hey, Nick, let’s talk about launching a new event.’ Right now, a lot of our PLEs were created by Vince McMahon. We need to get in the business of taking that torch and moving past that.”
That new direction paid off. Shapiro confirmed the Wrestlepalooza name was acquired as intellectual property specifically to sell merchandise—and it worked.
“Nick and Triple H created Wrestlepalooza, which is the launch event for our new ESPN deal, which did incredibly well and may turn into a superfranchise. Not to mention from a merch standpoint, I don’t need to tell you, securing the I.P. rights and then selling merch at Wrestlepalooza, let’s just say it was a real winner…”
This marks a new era for WWE, one where big business decisions are being made outside of Vince McMahon’s old system. With new ideas, new branding, and a focus on long-term value, the team running WWE now seems determined to reshape the company from the top down.
What do you think about Triple H and Nick Khan steering WWE’s future? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
November 7, 2025 11:11 pm
