WWE President Nick Khan Addresses Fan Criticism of WrestleMania 42 Build

WWE President Nick Khan has addressed the fan criticism surrounding the build to WrestleMania 42 directly — and his message is simple. Wait until the weekend is over before passing judgment, because the company’s internal belief is that both main events will exceed expectations. Speaking with the Las Vegas Review-Journal ahead of the two-night event, Khan pushed back on the noise surrounding ticket sales and the storyline build while expressing genuine confidence in what audiences are about to see.

“Let’s see the reaction when the show is done. I think a lot of times with WWE storylines, they take a moment to develop. We have the good fortune when we’re on the inside of knowing where we’re going. If you look at the two main events, there is real heat there and when the storylines are blurred between reality and pre-determined outcomes in WWE, we think that always delivers. And with the Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes — especially with the addition of Pat McAfee — we think both will overdeliver. Let’s see,” Khan said.

Nick Khan’s Confidence in Both WrestleMania 42 Main Events Comes Despite Ongoing Criticism of the Pat McAfee Angle

The specific mention of Pat McAfee’s addition to the Orton versus Rhodes dynamic as a positive rather than a negative is a notable choice from Khan given the widespread internal and external criticism the decision has generated. With Cody Rhodes himself calling it the most ill-received angle in wrestling history and multiple WWE talent expressing displeasure publicly, Khan’s framing of McAfee’s involvement as something that will help the match overdeliver puts the company’s position on the record clearly. Night One headlines with Rhodes defending the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton, while Night Two features CM Punk defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns. Both nights take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, streaming live on the ESPN App in the US and Netflix internationally.