WWE CCO Triple H Reportedly Modeling Himself After Dana White as the Brand’s Public Face

This is a reference to UFC CEO Dana White and Levesque’s supposed ambition to position himself as a similar public face of WWE. According to Meltzer, internal opinions on Levesque’s leadership are mixed. While many agree that WWE’s creative direction is thriving under his watch, others have raised concerns about his occasional absences from TV tapings and his growing emphasis on his on-screen presence.

In recent months, some fans have blamed ‘The Game’ for what they perceive as a dip in storyline quality compared to previous years. Meltzer noted that some within the company questioned Levesque’s recent absences from certain shows, citing possible political priorities. 

However, this claim was quickly dismissed by those close to him, who confirmed that he hasn’t missed a single creative meeting. Still, Meltzer reported that there’s a prevailing belief among some that Levesque wants to become the central face of WWE, much like White is for the UFC.

But even those have and still do solidly back him have said that he wants to be Dana White, basically positioned to the crowd as the biggest star of the brand. TKO may want that as well, as fighters, like wrestlers, come and go, but Dana White is the constant in UFC, and he’s the only one who can be the Dana White. One person even used the term ‘Dana-envy’ to us.

Dave Meltzer via WON

While Triple H may not be as hands-on 24/7 as Vince McMahon was, he reportedly remains deeply involved in every aspect of WWE’s creative direction. One insider did, however, question whether he’s becoming more concerned about how WWE is portrayed on the docuseries like WWE: Unreal than about behind-the-scenes operations.

Despite the chatter, the overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive. There’s a strong belief within WWE that the company is in a much better position under Triple H than it was during the McMahon era. One high-level source told Meltzer that the product would be no different if he were there 24/7 or micro-managed every detail.

Under Paul Levesque, WWE continues to experience unprecedented creative and commercial success, boasting record-breaking live gates and media rights deals, including Raw’s move to Netflix and WrestleMania 43’s historic Saudi Arabia debut. These achievements have reportedly given Triple H a high level of autonomy and zero pressure to make any drastic creative changes.

WWE SmackDown in Perth gets a major quality improvement over last week’s record-low ratings

As mentioned earlier, Triple H’s focus has increasingly shifted toward how WWE is presented in projects like WWE: Unreal and other media, rather than on the weekly television storylines. That shift appeared to have consequences last week, as SmackDown on the USA Network drew its lowest rating in history, just 1,030,000 viewers and a 0.23 rating in the key 18–49 demographic.

It is worth noting that viewership across professional wrestling has dipped recently following Nielsen’s introduction of its new ‘Big Data + Panel’ model, designed to provide a more accurate measurement of TV audiences. While Raw remained unaffected thanks to its move to Netflix, SmackDown’s steep decline reportedly alarmed both WWE and the USA Network. 

According to Dave Meltzer on the Wrestling Observer Radio, the network’s reaction to Friday’s disappointing numbers was one of genuine concern. Thankfully for WWE, the blue brand’s latest outing in Perth marked a major rebound, bolstered by a lively crowd and several high-profile returns. 

Among them was Shinsuke Nakamura, who made his surprise comeback to answer Sami Zayn’s open challenge for the United States Championship. Moreover, he returned with his old classic theme and nearly clinched the win with a devastating Kinshasa, but Zayn somehow survived the onslaught. Moments later, chaos erupted. A hooded figure attacked Nakamura at ringside before storming the ring to assault Zayn. 

When the figure pulled back his hood, it was revealed to be a returning Tama Tonga. Moments after, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga joined him, surrounding the ring and launching a brutal assault on both Zayn and Nakamura. Their leader, Solo Sikoa, then made his entrance, standing tall over the fallen stars as the newly reformed MFT reunited in full force.

For the unversed, Tonga had been sidelined since before WrestleMania 41 due to an undisclosed injury and was written off television on the April 18 episode of SmackDown following an attack from LA Knight. His return in Perth featured white face paint, a clear homage to his classic Guerrillas of Destiny persona.

The night concluded with a critically acclaimed Last Man Standing main event between Damian Priest and Aleister Black . The match ended in shocking fashion when Black shot a fireball into Priest’s face before delivering a devastating Black Mass through a table to seal the victory.