Bruce Pritchard and Nick Khan were front and center as WWE marked the end of what Paul Levesque called “the biggest Wrestlemania ever” last night in Philadelphia.
Cody Rhodes, after winning the “undisputed” world title in the main event at Wrestlemania 40, invited Pritchard, Vince McMahon’s long-time right-hand man, to the ring to celebrate the title win with him, then walked down to the spot at ringside where Khan, the company’s CEO, was standing, for a hug and exchange of pleasantries.
Pritchard’s presence is noteworthy given how former WWE and UFC star Ronda Rousey has singled out Pritchard as a key McMahon toadie still on the company payroll who she thinks could be helping McMahon, who resigned his position with WWE under pressure in January amid explosive sex-trafficking allegations that surfaced in a lawsuit, run the company basically in absentia.
Khan, meanwhile, is reportedly among the unnamed executives at WWE who had prior knowledge of the allegations.
It’s either just incredibly tone-deaf for WWE to put Pritchard and Khan on camera as the confetti fell on Rhodes and the revelers after his win over long-time “undisputed” champ Roman Reigns last night, or, flip side, it’s just typical WWE, flipping a double-middle finger, a la “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, at the accuser, Janel Grant, and the world.
My money is on it being the latter; there’s no way that the people in charge of an event as meticulously planned to the finest degree of detail as a Wrestlemania would have somehow overlooked that one.
No, this was WWE saying to the world, we just don’t care.