Ronnie 2K

7:40Steph McMahon:Or is it just a different business altogether?

7:42Ronnie Singh:I think it's gotten so specific on the individual superstars that you can sort of see how it would simulate a real-life match and matching up the styles of two superstars before they get out on the ring. It's definitely like that exists. I don't know if we've leaned in as much on the WWE side just because it's probably newer. But it's definitely something that we need to do for. I wonder how we could use it. It's interesting. Yeah. You could have matches before you have matches, just like we do. Yeah, like right now, it's the after. Yeah.

8:18Steph McMahon:Right, like people will recreate the matches. But if you did it before.

8:22Ronnie Singh:Simulation in advance.

8:23Steph McMahon:Kind of interesting.

8:24Ronnie Singh:It was a lot of fun. I mean, like gaming, what has really kept me in this industry for 18 years is like the sky's the limit. You know, like you really can use all of this technology and learn so much about how the sport is played. and that kind of stuff is so fascinating. And our fans just eat that up. 2K has become such a synonymous culture brand for people that love the game. And a lot of it's based on that authenticity.

8:55Steph McMahon:Yeah. And I will say, having worked with 2K as a partner on the business side, it is always about getting the best product possible and really trying to be responsive to fans and the audience and getting ahead of things. And, you know, because there was a big bump in the road at one point in time. And I think the re-correct and since where we've been since then has all been so positive. But it was always with this listening mentality and owning whatever happened. And then how are we going to build together going forward? I really enjoyed the, when I was here, I really enjoyed the partnership from the business side.

9:34Steph McMahon:100%.

9:34Ronnie Singh:I remember that first meeting we had with our exceptional team at 2K and Visual Concepts. Like we all got together and we're like, this is how this franchise needs to go forward. And, you know, you helped us set that tone and it was exciting. And look how far we've come. It's amazing. Now we have the island and, you know, a lot of the things that we've learned. Yeah, that we talked about. Yeah. So cool. It's pretty incredible to see it a few years later.

10:01Steph McMahon:And then some crossover.

10:02Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

10:02Steph McMahon:Right?

10:03Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

10:04Steph McMahon:We just interviewed Jalen.

10:06Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

10:06Steph McMahon:Yeah.

10:07Ronnie Singh:It was so much fun to have him, Shaquille, and Tyrese. I mean, it means so much to those guys. Tyrese calls me every few weeks. He's like, I just saw some fan play me in WWE. I'm like, I thought you were talking to me about basketball, but that's cool. So great. It's amazing what you guys have done in terms of crossing over those sports. But I mean, it's just WWE. Well, I think it's what we're doing together, right? 100%. Yeah. It's been an amazing partnership in that way.

10:32Steph McMahon:Yeah, it's super cool.

10:33Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

10:34Steph McMahon:please speak to me about your role as an executive in the company.

10:37Ronnie Singh:Yeah. Yeah, obviously everybody sees the forward-facing stuff that I do with celebrities and athletes. I also had originally created our influencer program, our social media program. I'd say my gig at 2K that you don't see is taking on new territories. A few years ago, influencer marketing, you guys have really, at WWE, have captured it so incredibly being ahead of the game. But, you know, we started that work like 12 years ago. We were very ahead of it in terms of the video game industry. And that was like my team leading that. You know, now there's a bunch of people that head up influencer departments.

11:15Ronnie Singh:So I passed that work off to somebody else. And now I'm chasing new ground. I think that's been pretty the epitome of my 18 years here behind the scenes. I'm sort of like the new innovation chaser. That's my role. Innovation chaser. That's a hell of a title. We haven't ever formalized that. I like it.

11:35Steph McMahon:I like it.

11:36Ronnie Singh:That's always been my joy and my passion. And 2K is so innovative in arming me with the ability to do that and get excited about it and then talk to huge personalities about where we can take it. It's been amazing. But I'm like a couple weeks short of 18 years. 18 years?

11:54Steph McMahon:Congratulations. I don't know how we got here.

11:56Ronnie Singh:But obviously like tremendous partners at 2K. And like we've just led the way in so many ways. and it's been so exciting to be part of that ride.

12:06Steph McMahon:WWE fans always love to imagine who their favorite superstar would choose to take on in the ring if given the chance. Elise and I are here to get those answers by posing the question on everyone's mind. Who would be your dream match if you could turn any WWE 2K matchup into reality? Can you paint a picture of what that match would look like? Give us a bell-to-bell scenario, too, of this dream match you have in your mind.

12:32Ronnie Singh:There's two that stand out in my mind. The fans have always wanted CM Punk versus Stone Cold, and obviously that would be remarkable. And we got that close.

12:40Steph McMahon:Who would be your, not the fans, quote unquote.

12:43Ronnie Singh:Mine, and it also got so close, and I don't know why it never happened, was HBK and The Rock. They had that one thing with your husband involved where HBK cost The Rock a match, and I'm like, oh my God, we're going to get it. And then it just never happened. That would have been a fun one to see. That would have been.

13:01Steph McMahon:That's a great answer. Yeah. Okay. Ellie's question.

13:06Ronnie Singh:Two mixed styles. That would be a fun one.

13:09Steph McMahon:Ronnie.

13:10Ronnie Singh:Yes.

13:10Steph McMahon:For better or worse, you get a lot of publicity from superstars about their rating. To put you on the spot, what would prime in-ring Stephanie McMahon's rating be in the game?

13:23Ronnie Singh:Why are you asking me right next door? What would you... Right next door? 2K. That's rough.

13:29Steph McMahon:Prompted these questions. Yeah, no, I don't know. They are putting you on the spot, not me. You guys put me on the spot? I did not write this. Bryce Yang.

13:36Ronnie Singh:It's from the desk. She's like, I had nothing to do with this. I mean, I gotta give it up for her. I'm creating a new heel. She's the greatest heel in WWE history. There's actually no rival for that. No, you are. You definitely are. You're not. So, 99? Oh, yeah, the historical rating.

13:59Steph McMahon:Is it true that only her and Michael Jordan have that ring?

14:02Ronnie Singh:Or Michael Jordan are 99s. There you go.

14:05Steph McMahon:I mean, of course. That makes you the J.

14:08Ronnie Singh:I called him yesterday. You're like, I called him yesterday. We're good.

14:11Steph McMahon:Yeah. Now we have something else in common. We're part of the 99 club. Who outside of the WWE world, celebrity or another athlete, in your opinion, has the highest or lowest WWE rating as a potential WWE superstar? What?

14:31Ronnie Singh:I think what you're asking me is, is there some person in the world that would be a huge WWE superstar? God, I had this conversation the other day. Man, I have to think about it for a second.

14:53Ronnie Singh:I thought about this. I was watching a movie and I was like man that would have been amazing to see him at WWE who God I can't remember let me go off the let me think about this for a sec okay

15:06Steph McMahon:we can tighten it up

15:08Ronnie Singh:no that's okay well okay heel head off seriously it's the I'm very close with him and I think that one day he will be a WWE superstar so I gotta plug my boy George Kittle like oh alright

15:26Steph McMahon:That's a good one.

15:27Ronnie Singh:I mean, that guy will learn to be whatever you want to step in that ring. He has all the charisma and athleticism, that's for sure. And he's got the passion for this industry. I mean, he doesn't look like he could jump off the top rope, elbow drop yet, but I bet you he would learn. I bet he'd learn fast. I bet you he'd learn.

15:43Steph McMahon:He just has to heal up. Oh, I said the hair, too. Yeah, no, no.

15:47Ronnie Singh:He's a character that just hasn't, he has to get his little 49ers career over with and then he'll be here. I'm the biggest foreigner. I know, I know. But yeah. It's okay. Yeah. One day he will be in the WWE for sure.

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17:25Ronnie Singh:I was born there. Or you were born in Fort Lauderdale. I grew up in Marin County in actually randomly 10 minutes from where our headquarters are. Really? Yeah. It's wild. I was a first-generation Indian kid. My parents moved here for opportunity. We were very, very poor living in a very affluent area, very affluent. Marin's one of the most expensive zip codes in the world. And it was very tough. We had, like, shared a 900-foot square foot two-bedroom apartment with my grandma, my two younger bratty brothers, and my parents. and we watch WWE programming. So three boys, you know, beating the crap out of each other, good times in a small apartment.

18:11Ronnie Singh:It turned into hell in a cell every day. But, you know, like my parents worked 7 in the morning to 11 at night doing a, you know, typical Indian first generation thing, which is running convenience stores, gas stations, things like that. But they would work hard and they'd like trade back and forth just to see us. I was pretty much raised by my grandmother as well. And it was hard. I was, you know, I wore a turban. I, there was a lot of discrimination in a very affluent white community. And, you know, those years were tough. But for me, sports was my escape. I loved basketball and I loved gaming.

18:54Ronnie Singh:And I just thought like as much as my parents were annoyed being like, we're working so hard and you're sitting around playing video games that there was something there like the gaming business had just barely been scratched and I just I thought there was an opportunity and so um you know I chased a lot of careers in sports I actually went to Columbia Law School for nine whole weeks and dropped out because I wanted to be a sports agent I want to be Jerry McGuire and I'm you know I work with so many of those guys now and I'm so glad that that is not what happened to me um but uh yeah i when i got into oh and then you know in 2005 i was top 10 in the leaderboards in 2k i played since the original 2k not to age myself again but um top 10 in the leaderboards played the heck out of the game was very good at it um and you just loved it from the beginning and i saw i saw like the technological like where they were going like they meaning 2k

19:52Steph McMahon:Can I stop you for a second? How did your parents wind up in such an affluent white neighborhood?

19:59Ronnie Singh:Yeah, I don't know, actually. Like they wanted to set us up with the best opportunity. You know, the high schools, the schools. So they intentionally went into the district. Yeah, and I actually went to private school my first year in high school, which was$20 ,000, which back then was a lot of money. And for them, it was a lot, a lot of money. and they were just willing to give whatever they could to provide an opportunity. And you can imagine when I told them that I was going to drop out of law school and go work for a sports organization or eventually a video game organization that at the time was going nowhere.

20:35Ronnie Singh:What did they say? They were horrified.

20:37Steph McMahon:But like, what did they say?

20:39Ronnie Singh:They were like, you are ruining your life. Why would you pass up such a median opportunity? I mean, their goal for me was doctor, engineer. you know law was even like fall back ill like they wanted me to work at a couple law firms i worked at a couple law firms and i worked 80 hours a week and i could not stand it and it wasn't the hours i work a lot more than that every week at 2k but um it's just the passion behind it right and yeah i would go home after work and play 2k all the time and i was like i should probably try

21:10Steph McMahon:to do this for a living if i can right so do what you love yeah so then i moved back uh to marin i

21:17Ronnie Singh:I was living in San Diego at the time, which is where I went to undergrad. And I moved back to Marin and I lived at my parents' house for a few years, you know, started at the bottom. I worked on our forums, you know, WWE.com used to have a forum as well.

21:33Steph McMahon:Do they still?

21:34Ronnie Singh:They might still actually.

21:35Steph McMahon:I used to, you know, I'd work all the time in the company since I was 15.

21:40Ronnie Singh:You would read them? Yeah.

21:42Steph McMahon:But so one of the departments I interned in at the time was New Media. Yeah. And like AOL was still a thing. Who did that report to?

21:50Ronnie Singh:Like what department? Ours reported to the web. So the first place I actually worked for 2K was the web department.

21:57Steph McMahon:Well, we ultimately, like early in my career, you know, I was shadowing. I spent, once I graduated college, like I worked all my whole life in various forms. But once I graduated, I did a unique internship. It was three months with my mom who was then the CEO. And then like it was supposed to be six months, but it was like two years with my dad. And one of the first things that we did, aside from buying the Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino, was just a completely different conversation and totally random, but was launching our web presence. And I remember meeting with the different companies, you know, to see their vision, you know, for what our website could look like and all of that stuff.

22:42Steph McMahon:But at that time, it could have reported to Shane, but I don't think he was quite in that role yet. But I don't know who it would have reported to. I was pretty young, too. Well, when I was interning. So then I was one of the handles that you see. And there's actually a fan that I... What do you mean handles that you see? There was WWE Matt Rat. Oh, like they had a menu? Yeah. And then it was a... Because in the forums, you had a moderator. and so there was always a WWE person in there and there was like 16 year old me in there but nobody knew and I still do have a relationship with one of our fans that I remember from those conversations so crazy I know and I would have these conversations because I didn't know what I was doing you were destined to be someone who talks to people I don't know I think there's a lot of advantage of being in those forums

23:36Ronnie Singh:because you really know what's important to your fans I mean that's the root of my My whole existence at 2K is like I was always a big fan of the game, but I was also so close to our fans. And that genesis of knowing your product and knowing what your consumer thinks about your product, super hack. Like it means everything. Yeah. And so that was the genesis like of that. And it's funny you talked about.com. I actually helped build our website renovation as part of like one of the first things I did. Who would have thought like now you think about my career. Right. And where you are. built.com which has now changed over like four four times right yeah right like social was such a big part of that and so when I I led our initial social media pages like NBA 2k 2k you know all of the different franchises um and then one day they're like why don't you do Ronnie 2k and see what that does and as opposed to speaking to one to just a few on the forums I got to speak one to many now we didn't realize how how many it was gonna be but you know it allowed me to like play the heel play the face trash talk be part of the video game and sports landscape like actually talk trash to our consumers like you would if you were on the headset right but so how did your character evolve how did my what do you mean well ronnie 2k yeah like how did you become i mean it was weird like i i would just clap back i was just part of our community and then because you're just having fun followers yeah then like i was i'd play did you find yourself like wow i feel like i'm

25:13Steph McMahon:taking on a persona i didn't think i was doing anything too extraordinary no that didn't really

25:16Ronnie Singh:happen until all of a sudden like they they've kind of thrown me in a content role like so back then like nobody thought about content in terms of like outside of your tv spots right and so all of of a sudden there was a need to like uh derrick rose is at our launch event somebody should talk to him about our game and how much he loves it and how he grew up on it ronnie here's a mic go do it and it was like i just remember 2k 11 our first event with michael jordan was on our cover which was like huge amazing and uh our game was starting to become a lifestyle brand which is we we needed the lifestyle persona to support that now again the goal was never to be as big as it's gotten but i just you know i was just trying to be authentically me and have some fun within learn like kind of showcase what i had learned part of which was being a wwe fan and watching the face heel dynamic like it was very like that was a big part of the character i was trying to

26:15Steph McMahon:portray um it was pretty amazing who were some heels that you well i mean the attitude era

26:21Ronnie Singh:obviously a big part of what we're doing with wwe 2k 26 can we all take a pause and look at how

26:27Steph McMahon:sexy my husband looks in this. I'm not going to say that. No, I mean, you can't not. I mean, even a man can say that that is a man. I mean, damn. I love that he's behind me. Like, we're going to keep this. I've got to move my seat.

26:45Ronnie Singh:I can't wait for you to melt that in the house and show it off to everyone. But, yeah, the Attitude Era, I mean, I watched before. I mean, the first time I watched a WWE event, again, we couldn't afford to go, but I would watch programming all the time, was WrestleMania 10 with my favorite, you know, like Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon in the ladder match. That's when I was, like, hooked.

27:10Steph McMahon:Did you love Razor?

27:12Ronnie Singh:No, I love Shawn. You love Shawn. Yeah. And, you know, the Iron Man match with Shawn and Bret a few years later.

27:19Steph McMahon:So are you a big Shawn Michaels fan?

27:20Ronnie Singh:A big Shawn Michaels fan. I know you know him a little bit, so maybe one day. Uncle Shawn? That's what my kids call him. I've heard he's a great dude. So one day I'll meet him. But then it transitioned to The Rock, who I've actually gotten to know a little bit. Obviously what he does on social media, Dwayne, is incredible. I did a little cameo on his show Ballers a few years ago. Did you play yourself? That's cool. Yeah, it was cool. The day that he did the scene with the cemetery, he was so locked in. and they introduced me to him for the first time and I was probably so annoying to him, but then he was so gracious and nice with his time.

27:59Steph McMahon:He's probably having flashbacks.

28:00Ronnie Singh:Yeah. The Undertaker. He's going through it. That's right. Yeah. He's like, I've been in too many of these. But yeah, The Rock, Stone Cold, that whole generation of like trash talking really, I think, reflected on how I created my character early in the early days, which is so funny.

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29:08Ronnie Singh:They're actually doing a documentary on my story, and Strauss joins it for an interview and kind of reflects on this uncomfortable time. What does he say? Oh, it's so funny.

29:21Ronnie Singh:He was the one that was like, I just got to believe in this guy. And we just got to try to be different. And looking back now, it's like that really worked out. But it was probably really uncomfortable for our leadership team for a while.

29:36Steph McMahon:I bet recognizing talent is a huge part of being a very successful individual.

29:41Ronnie Singh:For sure. And I mean, that guy is loyal. He understands. And I mean, the companies he's built, it's, you know, he's an amazing leader and individual for sure.

29:52Steph McMahon:What's the best lesson he's taught you?

29:55Ronnie Singh:I think it's about loyalty. I think like people have the like when something's not working for a short period of time or, you know, like somebody's telling you you shouldn't do something the way that you do. You just got to believe and be patient and, you know, just work hard and hope for the best. you know he really does believe in that like investing in ideas and people with time like nothing is built over overnight our place to go from the number two basketball video game to where we are today took time and that is unusual especially in today's world yeah and uh because

30:31Steph McMahon:you're going quarter to quarter off your public company we we really don't we really don't work

30:36Ronnie Singh:for EBITDA directly. Obviously, it's a byproduct of the culture that 2K has built.

30:43Steph McMahon:Yeah. Well, and it is tricky because it takes so long to build games. And that's part of what I hope AI helps. One of the things I hope for you guys because I remember all the conversations and it's like, no, we have to wait this long. It's just this is how long it takes. And it's frustrating for everybody, I'm sure, but that's just the process.

31:04Ronnie Singh:You want to be creative. You want to storytell, but the work has to get done. The product has to be very refined.

31:08Steph McMahon:And there's certain things that have to happen. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's so cool how it all operates.

31:16Ronnie Singh:Yeah, I mean, most games take, you know, a long time to develop. Grand Theft Auto, who obviously Take-Two, works with them, but, you know, they haven't released a game in such a long time because they really, really want to deliver a top-of-the-food-chain product. But NBA and WWE come out every year. And so it's a different challenge and it's an exciting one.

31:39Steph McMahon:Because how can you keep it fresh?

31:41Ronnie Singh:Yeah, but we always do. And still maintain. I mentioned 2K11 when we put Jor on the cover. I remember feeling this way right after we launched. I was like, how are we going to outdo this next year? And here we are 15 years later. Yeah, every WrestleMania.

31:55Steph McMahon:How can we do it bigger? How can we do it better?

31:57Ronnie Singh:And you just got to figure out a way. And you got to innovate and be blessed with a very good team that's going to get you there.

32:03Steph McMahon:I want to go back to your culture a little bit because you even mentioned like, what if I was bought by, or our company was bought by our competitor and what you said specifically was your parents and how they would react. How important is the role of your parents in your culture and in your family?

32:20Ronnie Singh:It's everything. I mean, I'm just so proud that they gave us this opportunity to like work very hard to go do this zany, weird career that nobody understood. you know like that takes also like a lot of guts to move you know our family to the you know to a new place and hope that your kids are going to turn out oh what all good i'm getting a little emotional about it because that's good a couple months from now i think you and i talked about this a couple years ago but it's very hard for my wife and i to have a baby and we are due in two months.

32:55Steph McMahon:Oh my god, in two months? Wow. Baby girl, we're going to have to talk about that.

33:00Ronnie Singh:I could use some mentorship for raising a girl.

33:05Steph McMahon:Just a lot of love. That's all.

33:07Ronnie Singh:For any baby. I'm one of three boys that used to be in Hell in the Soul matches. Can't do that with her. Oh, she's going to own you.

33:16Steph McMahon:That's just how it works. Girls can do it too.

33:19Ronnie Singh:Yeah, for sure. I could see a Stephanie

33:22Steph McMahon:mcmahon and her like that is a huge honor that you would even say that for sure especially before

33:28Ronnie Singh:she's born i hope so what could what could dream yeah congratulations yes it was a long time coming and uh obviously we're really happy but that's gonna be an interesting transition for me you know like i uh i'm i'm so ultra focused on my career i travel 200 days a year it's gonna be a It is a little baby girl, but well, I'll figure it out.

33:52Steph McMahon:You realize, you know, I think at different phases in your life, you have different priorities, you know, and you'll figure it out. Yeah.

34:00Ronnie Singh:And the company will support me, you know, through that, um, like they always have. So that's, but it's good.

34:06Steph McMahon:You're nervous. Yeah. It's good.

34:08Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

34:08Steph McMahon:Yeah. You just kind of figure it out as it goes. Yeah. And trust me, no parent knows what they're doing. Still trying to figure it out. No idea.

34:15Ronnie Singh:No, no idea what I'm getting myself into.

34:18Steph McMahon:Ryan's expecting a baby boy in a little bit.

34:20Ronnie Singh:Amazing. Yeah. Very nervous.

34:23Steph McMahon:Also very nervous. It's good. It means you are excited and you care. Yeah, for sure. And how's your wife doing? Is she feeling good? She's good.

34:32Ronnie Singh:I think you met her. She's 4 '11", so she's tiny, and I'm 6 '6". I don't know how she's – like, I feel like this baby's coming early because she's running out of, like – Space. Space. That's a terrible thing to say. I don't mean it the way that that's out of it. No, it's not very –

34:48Steph McMahon:And now we manage it. Yeah. And by the end, we're done. Yeah. It's uncomfortable. I mean, but some women actually don't have any issues at all. She's been great. She's a trooper.

34:58Ronnie Singh:She's taking, I think I told you, she's a pilot, like, as a hobby, which is insane. She flies planes for fun.

35:06Steph McMahon:She's a badass. Yeah. And very intelligent.

35:10Ronnie Singh:She's got, like, an exam for, like, instrument training. It's, like, how you fly the plane in bad weather. like if you were totally fogged in she can fly a plane now she's got her exam for it next week and I'm like good luck to her no no that's great but like I'm like what if I don't know the baby decides to come a little bit early like what are we gonna do about that but it's amazing

35:31Steph McMahon:so how did you score this incredibly beautiful intelligent high performer

35:38Ronnie Singh:luck God's grace luck no honestly yeah for sure where did you guys meet we met when she was 20 and I was 33 but we didn't date until COVID we met at like some party or something nothing nothing crazy

35:58Steph McMahon:I was hoping it was like a gaming event

36:00Ronnie Singh:yeah she's a big gamer though we actually played a spades tournament together for NBA All-Star last week and we should have won we got cheated but I don't want to get into that oh come on dish she's like she's like really like a good gamer. She actually coded and she studied to be a gamer. She's at this point. She could actually code 2K probably better than I can. She's my hero.

36:29Steph McMahon:She sounds very remarkable. She's great. Good for you. That's awesome. The reason you went there was because I was asking about and there's waters there too. I was asking you about your parents. How excited were they?

36:47Ronnie Singh:Oh my God.

36:48Steph McMahon:And are you the first of their kids to have kids?

36:50Ronnie Singh:No, my younger brothers both have kids. And look, they also understood that I would have to sacrifice that for a long time. And I mean, they wanted me to have kids for 20 years. I'm definitely their favorite. Without a doubt. But you're the firstborn. Yeah, I'm the firstborn.

37:04Steph McMahon:So the firstborn always thinks they're their favorite. See, Aurora, I said thanks. But so it was, I mean, it took a, it took a couple of second borns over here.

37:13Ronnie Singh:it took a long time uh for them to like uh i don't know wrap their head around it but it was funny because i said we have that documentary showing i still haven't shown them that because they're a big part of it like that american dream story is a big part of the documentary but i kind of tricked them to come over one day and i'm like i'm gonna show you the documentary finally and they're like sit down grab their popcorn and instead we showed them the baby's heartbeat oh Oh, my God. And, yeah.

37:40Steph McMahon:I hope you recorded it.

37:41Ronnie Singh:Yeah. My mom screamed really loudly.

37:44Steph McMahon:That's beautiful. They must be so excited. Oh, that's the best.

37:48Ronnie Singh:I didn't know we would get into baby talk so much. No, that's. I actually was like, I'm going to get Steph's advice for, I mean, you have three beautiful girls. I do. I'm very blessed.

37:59Steph McMahon:I am blessed. And it sounds like you are, too.

38:01Ronnie Singh:They are amazing. Yeah.

38:02Steph McMahon:Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Give me all the shit.

38:06Ronnie Singh:Last time I saw her was at Mania with the three of them, you know, hanging out. I think that was maybe the second last time I saw you. Yeah. You're always with them. It's great.

38:16Steph McMahon:I love my girls. I mean, I am. I'm just totally blessed and I'll take any minute I possibly can to be with them. You know, they say that you spend 80 % of the time you're ever going to spend with your child by the time they're 18. That's sad. And it's like heartbreaking to me. Yeah, my algorithm is all of the like, you only get this many summers, this many Christmas, like all of that. I'm like, I'm going to do everything with my babies. And then I spoil them. Yeah. And then you don't sleep. Thanks, TikTok. Yeah. Also that.

38:49Ronnie Singh:Just spoil them with the time you got. Spoil them with love. That's right.

38:53Steph McMahon:Yeah.

38:53Ronnie Singh:Yeah. That's your advice then.

38:55Steph McMahon:Yes.

38:56Ronnie Singh:Okay.

38:56Steph McMahon:And just know that even though you think you are so nervous, you have no idea what you're doing. they survive in spite of us. Okay. Okay. Sounds good. They're going to be fine. That's what I was worried about. If you watch the delivery room nurses they like what the baby's all around it's like crazy what they do. It's like you know. It's like what? I mean no and then oh here's a real solid piece of advice. Please. Before you leave the hospital make sure the nurses watch you swaddle the baby. Okay. The swaddle is the hardest thing. I mean they probably have great mechanisms and devices. I had to do the old school blanket fold I got set to snoo

39:36Ronnie Singh:It's like the bassinet where you put them down It has a swaddle It has a swaddle And you press some buttons

39:44Steph McMahon:And it rocks them to sleep That sounds amazing Don't listen to my advice I hate to make you feel this way Well my oldest is going to be 20 in July

39:55Ronnie Singh:Oh my god

39:56Steph McMahon:And I used to wheel her in To buildings on into the arenas because she traveled with me.

40:02Ronnie Singh:Does it feel like it's just gone so fast?

40:04Steph McMahon:So fast. So fast.

40:07Ronnie Singh:I know.

40:07Steph McMahon:Like blink of an eye. And I've been watching these old videos. Oh, you're going through it. I am. It's terrible. It is terrible. So when you were six, you had some kind of accident.

40:23Ronnie Singh:Oh, yeah. How did you know? That's crazy. Just keep this light. I got hit by a... I don't know if I've ever told this story, but I'm happy to. I got hit by a car in London where my dad's from and like this, it was like a headed run. Like we were across the street to school. My mom was in the, I stumbled over and I don't, I think she turned around and I got hit by this car and I was wearing this like white gortha. It's like an Indian outfit. I don't know why I was wearing an Indian outfit to school, but whatever. And it immediately went red. I had to get my 27 stitches and then the doctor told me that I was never going to walk again.

41:01Ronnie Singh:Where were you hit? I was hit in the leg. I have a big score.

41:05Steph McMahon:Huh.

41:05Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

41:07Steph McMahon:Do you remember anything?

41:09Ronnie Singh:I remember how I felt when he told me that. I do remember that. But you don't remember getting hit? No, I do remember. I remember most of it. It was just weird because I don't remember a lot out in my childhood besides that, like the first seven, eight years. It was a real emotional situation. It was traumatic for sure. I remember getting carried there and like in the car, that whole thing. Oof, being scared. I'm being told that. And like you could tell the doctor was like traumatized himself to tell me that. But yeah, luckily.

41:41Steph McMahon:You proved them all wrong.

41:42Ronnie Singh:I mean, I don't even know. I didn't do anything out of an ordinary. You didn't have to do special therapy or anything like that?

41:49Steph McMahon:So what kind of surgery? Did they have to repair ligaments and tendons and bones?

41:53Ronnie Singh:Yeah, my knee has some reconstruction done.

41:57Steph McMahon:but just not not like crazy pretty isolated to the yeah and like to the right right side of the

42:03Ronnie Singh:knee it's crazy how did how did you know that i don't i have an incredible team that's pretty amazing yeah they make sure i'm prepped yeah um yeah i mean to think back to that uh is pretty pretty crazy but especially and then you are a very tall man i mean how you said you're six five so i wasn't back then i was actually going into high school i was the shortest kid in my class I always use this joke so I'm sorry but in 9th grade the beginning of high school I was 4 foot 6 at size 14 shoes I was a red nose short of a clown that's pretty much what I was did you trip over your own feet? oh my god it was so bad

42:43Steph McMahon:gigantic shoe size for being so short at that time

42:47Ronnie Singh:between then and my senior year I grew to 6 '2 6 '3 by senior year how about those growing pains? I was in pain and my basketball shot was terrible it was going further and further I'm like oh wait I'm growing what's happening I didn't really play high school basketball my body was just not in a position to do it so I played a little bit in college but not a ton I knew early days especially after my knee surgery even regardless I'm not athletic enough to be in the NBA so early days I knew I wasn't going to be an athlete so I'd have to figure out another way to get into sports

43:21Steph McMahon:which is crazy that you just hang out with the best of the best NBA player. Yeah, and I rate them. Right?

43:27Ronnie Singh:And they are okay with my rating without being like, who the heck are you? I still want to understand

43:31Steph McMahon:who came up with the diabolical rating system to pin it on you. And then pin it on me. Yeah.

43:35Ronnie Singh:I mean, it's just been kind of the role, I guess. Like, people, I mean, I'll get... Even when I was told about you,

43:42Steph McMahon:which is, you know, it's totally separate and apart from all of this. Oh, you got pinned on you too. Well, I mean, I don't know. Everything gets pinned on me. I don't care. But, like, I was told you did the rankings and you were the heel persona, but that you actually did the rankings. Nobody said that that wasn't the real thing. I'm just the heel. I feel like maybe after this, people will take it easy. No, they won't. They won't believe it either. Guys, I'm kidding. I mean, it's funny because people think I developed the game.

44:09Ronnie Singh:I'm like, yeah, okay, I'm doing content one day with Kevin Durant. Then I'm going back to my computer to develop 2K. Like, not possible, right?

44:17Steph McMahon:Are there any significant players who got really angry at you? Are there any fun stories that they would be okay with you telling?

44:26Ronnie Singh:There's a lot of really harsh ones.

44:30Steph McMahon:But no, like one that maybe was angry at first but turned out to be like a great relationship.

44:36Ronnie Singh:Oh, that's a good one. I mean, man, there's a lot of them. I'm trying to think. well i the so hasan whiteside um this is sort of like where ratings took off or where i attribute it to so 2k14 so 12 years ago um his rating was terrible it was like high 70s not terrible but not good um and uh he had this game on naturally televised game on abc where he had a triple double with uh blocks so like points rebounds blocks and at the end of the game they interview him they're like why did you have such a great game and he's like oh i was just trying to get my 2k rating up and we're like wait what why is this your why is this your mindset but he was serious and so the next day he did a ton of interviews it was like a historic game that he had and he went on mike and mike who you know you know probably pretty well and they asked him they're like well like rihanna reached out to him like it was odd comments they're like who is the most famous person or most exciting person that reached out to you and he's like ronnie and they're like silence they had no idea who i was and they were like okay well next question um and it was just clear that this thing had become a thing and then you know him and i got very close over the years uh but there's just so many so many guys you know like and now it's like it's pretty well known that like we don't we don't give a lot of 990 we give zero 99s out like we're all it's a historical rating so like Michael Jordan's the only 99 in our game sorry LeBron um and uh you know so it's they get it you know like nobody's really mad but they they lean into it for fun like Kevin Durant obviously has been in the news the last couple days for his Twitter activity but like he he does that right like he he will go after folks on twitter to expand his brand marketing it's funny that 2k has a point of view on like how popular you are with the fans and this rating means so much to these guys guess what it doesn't affect their money at all it doesn't affect anything about their day-to-day but it's amazing like they really really care so the most famous

46:53Steph McMahon:one probably is what happened well and especially if you're shoot basing it on data yeah yeah like

47:00Ronnie Singh:my my usual response is you want your rating to get better play better oh damn that's simple no wonder they hate you i mean exactly um there was one in uh the the most famous one was probably a couple years ago with clay thompson um the nba had just rated him the 70s not in this top 75 for their 75th anniversary. And we had lowered his three-point rating to an 89, which now actually looks kind of fortuitous, but I won't get into that. See, I can't hold myself. I gotta play a heel. So naturally. Sure you don't do the ratings. Yeah, exactly. So he was in an exhibition game with Steph Curry. They did like a three-point contest in Japan.

47:45Ronnie Singh:Not in America, but in Japan. and and so it's three in the morning and all of a sudden my phone just goes berserk and they're like clay's talking to you about you i'm like what do you mean it's three in the morning and i forgot that he was in japan basically like after this three-point competition that he won he's like ronnie i hope you were watching that uh this is this is for you your ratings suck like on national japanese television and steph's over there like giggling along and like uh it was it was massive news and then we got into like an online feud for a while draymond green got involved it was like a whole thing but then like fun i ran into clay a couple weeks later and he it was like nothing happened it was like he he's like oh i remember when we all used to hang out like us the warriors because obviously i'm a local guy so i'd see those guys all the time and i was like you know like who's manufacturing this all like what just happened weren't we just like in a blood feud on the internet like two weeks ago.

48:43Ronnie Singh:So, you know, it's fun and games and it's funny to be a part of.

48:47Steph McMahon:You mean everything's not real that you read on the internet?

48:49Ronnie Singh:You know, maybe a little bit scripted. You know, like I said.

48:52Steph McMahon:What?

48:54Ronnie Singh:Maybe it is. Unreal. So fun.

48:57Steph McMahon:Yeah, fun for me to say that. Sorry.

49:02Ronnie Singh:You could edit that piece of it.

49:04Steph McMahon:No, it's good. It's good. It's fun.

49:08Ronnie Singh:But amazing that this little number means so much to the most famous athletes in the world. When they're in Japan at three in the morning, why am I living rent-free in your head? When you're halfway around the world, it's crazy.

49:21Steph McMahon:I have to say, it's genius. It is genius. I mean, it really is.

49:25Ronnie Singh:I mean, I think, you know, the WWE knows this better than anyone. Any conversation is good conversation. To a degree, right? Like, to a degree. The last couple of years, maybe. But, you know, you want. But I mean, so to go all the way, like kind of bring it full circle, right?

49:44Steph McMahon:It's like an investment is made in you as sort of this, you know, kid who understands social media and marketing from a generational standpoint that maybe others didn't necessarily understand. And you created a brand and a persona that ultimately became like the core of pop culture talk within the NBA. And I'm sure fans alike get equally riled at the, you know, different comments you make or rating systems or what have you. I mean, that's it really is. It's storytelling.

50:22Ronnie Singh:Yeah. But just like you, I mean, you of all people understand. That's why I've always felt this kinship with you is it's a character. At the end of the day, anybody that comes up that's a 2K fan that wants a picture or a hug or whatever, I am a totally different person. And then all the work we get to do with philanthropic stuff, like that's where you and I really connected, is everything to what we do. That's the reason we, that's the why, you know?

50:50Steph McMahon:WWE World returns to Las Vegas this April 16th through the 20th. And it's the can't miss destination during WrestleMania week. WWE World brings the WWE Universe closer than ever to the superstars, legends, and iconic moments that define WWE. With immersive exhibits, exclusive merchandise, and experiences you won't find anywhere else. See superstars like Drew McIntyre, Liv Morgan, Jey Uso, Dominic Mysterio, Tiffany Stratton, and many more, with even more appearances still to come. Tickets are on sale now at wweworld.com. Save 10 % with promo code YOURSTORY10. So why don't you talk a little bit about some of the things you care about?

51:40Ronnie Singh:I've been a Make-A-Wish ambassador for 12 years now. I've done not as many as John Cena, but almost 90 now, which is crazy. kids that want to see 2K and meet me. Like what of all the things you can wish for in the world? It's pretty crazy that we have that fandom. So I've loved doing that. I help at every WrestleMania with the superstars. It's usually Ronnie 2K and Drew McIntyre. I was just talking to Drew about this a few minutes ago. It's why all of us do this, right? And so for me to get to team up with WWE now on that stuff is great. And then we have the 2K Foundations program. I mean, we'd be nothing without basketball and really youth basketball.

52:24Ronnie Singh:So we built 56 courts in six continents. That's awesome. For kids, but around education. Like it's both education and basketball. The one I'm most proud of is we built one in India. I got to take my parents another full circle moment two years ago in Bombay. And it's a beautiful mural. It's the Ronnie 2K court in Bombay. Oh, my God. There's 4 ,000 kids that are part of an education program. it's a lot less money to put a kid through education there and so that whole to be part of the basketball program you also have to go to school and be part of this program and 4 ,000 kids run through there every single year it's amazing and so why do any of us have a platform?

53:10Ronnie Singh:why did I play that heel all those years ago? it was to get to a place where we can build a platform for good And that's why you guys do it at WWE as well. It means so much to the superstars to be able to give back to their core fans. And if they can be heroes to those people, absolutely embrace that. It's amazing.

53:33Steph McMahon:Yeah. I think it's the most rewarding part of life is when you can give back to somebody in any way.

53:40Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

53:41Steph McMahon:You know, but especially kids.

53:44Ronnie Singh:Yeah. And one of the core memories I have with you, Steph, is like when we first met, you handed me your Connors Cure bracelet. And that meant so much to me because that was our kinship. What you did for him and what you do in philanthropy is a lot to admire. So you're a big mentor for me in that way.

54:06Steph McMahon:Thank you. That means a lot to me. Thank you very much. I so appreciate you taking the time to come here. Always. and to talk about your journey and your upcoming journey with your beautiful family.

54:19Ronnie Singh:Yeah.

54:20Steph McMahon:Congratulations again. Thank you so much. And where, it was Innovation, what was the title? Innovation Chaser. I made that up. I know, it is so cool. I love it. I love it.

54:30Ronnie Singh:Yeah. Innovation Chaser. I hope, yeah, I hope people look back at that and are like, oh yeah, of course, that makes sense.

54:39Steph McMahon:It does. Yeah.

54:41Ronnie Singh:It absolutely does.

54:42Steph McMahon:Yeah. Of course, I can hear somebody saying like, that's a bullshit title. People make up titles all the time. But it's a cool one. Exactly. I like it.

54:48Ronnie Singh:Yeah, it's funny because I always talk like at 2K. I'm like, we're like, what is Ronnie's title? It's weird. I don't really have one.

54:56Steph McMahon:You're Ronnie 2K.

54:57Ronnie Singh:I'm Ronnie 2K.

54:58Steph McMahon:Yeah, you're just the brand.

54:59Ronnie Singh:That's that. Yeah. Again, super appreciate just everything that 2K has done. And, you know, the 27 years it's been going. And for me to be a small part of that, it's been remarkable. But, you know, being able to sit in a room with you and like, you know, chopping up on things that we love is a blessing. I can't. And I would do this every day whenever you need me. I'm here.

55:24Steph McMahon:Thank you. And I guess I would be remiss if I didn't ask you, what are you most excited about? Because we have a launch coming up and depending on when this airs. But from this moment, it's two weeks, right?

55:35Ronnie Singh:It'll be March 6th, early access, March 13th for the regular game. Your husband's got a little bit of a presence. The aforementioned. But getting to work with CM Punk and then celebrate the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era. We've had four beautiful covers. Yeah, that product is amazing. Really excited to jump in the island. Obviously, with its analogy to what we did with the city on NBA, it's going to be fun to watch that growth and see our fans really dive in. I'm excited to see that.

56:09Steph McMahon:And today we have like the developers.

56:13Ronnie Singh:Yeah. So we have, I think there's like a dozen or so developers downstairs with about 100 content creators from all over the world. I was in an elevator with somebody from the Netherlands, from London, from Mexico City. Some of the biggest content creators, some of the biggest WWE fans around the world that are coming here to Stanford to play the game for the first time. and the enthusiasm down there is amazing. Even the superstars are coming by and they just sit there. They just want to play and hang out. Really cool to see. Just an amazing community that is WWE 2K.

56:51Steph McMahon:And now, do these developers and media, do they rate the game?

56:56Ronnie Singh:You know what's funny? Lionel, who's our head, what's his title, Bruce? He's our creative director. I've known him for years. He used to work on NBA way back in the day. He was like, he was introducing all the developers. And then he's like, if anybody has any problems with the game, Roddy 2K is here as well. He can help you out. I was like, thanks, dude. Appreciate it. That's cool. But yeah. Sorry, what was the question?

57:22Steph McMahon:Well, are they rating the game, right? Because, you know, you're all about the same thing.

57:27Ronnie Singh:Speaking of ratings, like actually WWE, if you didn't know, is the highest, one of the highest rated sports games in the world. Higher than NBA. it's pretty remarkable what that team has done in turn it is it's such a fun game to play it wasn't always that way it's been a tremendous amount of work and commitment and love of the game passion investment from a lot of very talented people to turn it into the franchise that it is but I said this about NBA a few years ago like we're just scratching the surface I can't wait to see what the WWE franchise will be in a few years

58:02Steph McMahon:that's perfect it's perfect

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