The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has been in the wrestling business for over 45 years and was founded by Vince McMahon Sr and Linda McMahon. Their son Vince McMahon bought the company in 1982 and transformed it into the juggernaut it is today. The product has seen its highs and lows, but lately, it has started to get stale. When WWE inserted Triple H (Paul Levesque) as their chief content officer & head of creative, it marked the beginning of his era.
The criminal allegations against Vince McMahon helped make that move quicker and smoother, as it was no secret McMahon wasn’t ready to let go of his overbearing control of the product. On the other hand, Triple H was smart enough to prepare himself for the move years ago when he took over NXT and made it into its own brand from strictly a developmental show. It was there that future stars like Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and others would emerge from. Triple H, alongside his longtime friend Shawn Michaels, took NXT and turned it into a mega platform that eventually started to have its own PPV type of events before the WWE’s major events.
After Triple H took NXT to a higher level, McMahon decided to take back control of that too, which watered down the product. NXT suddenly wasn’t interesting anymore, and the branding changed, making it too much of a kid-friendly look. Triple H was back to working the WWE shows, but with McMahon having the final say on everything. Triple H clearly had ideas, and when McMahon stepped down before selling the company to TKO, there were glimpses of what WWE could be under Triple H.
Once McMahon was officially asked to step down, that’s when the Triple H era began, and it’s been a hell of a ride since then. The Rock was announced as part of the Board of Directors at TKO, and when he returned in January, all of the magic started to happen. You can feel the energy change inside WWE, with Triple H being head of creative. The Bloodline story morphed into one of the biggest of our generation, and the shoulder programming associated with WWE became more frequent and creative.
The WWE signed a deal with Netflix and the CW for RAW & NXT respectively, with new documentaries on A&E and Peacock. The video packages leading up to matches became more creative and digitally enhanced than the previous assembly line types of products the WWE Universe was being fed.
Looking back at WrestleMania weekend, everything from the Wrestler’s entrance to their ring attire felt more about the athletes’ personalities than anything else. Everything felt bigger, newer, and organic. These are all things that would have never happened under McMahon, and the change was well received by those watching live and at home. Even after Cody Rhodes won the title, Triple H came from the back with Bruce Pritchard to embrace him. Again, it never would have happened under McMahon.
At the post-WrestleMania press conference, Triple H said, “This was the biggest WrestleMania of all time,” which isn’t hyperbole. The event had over 145,000 attendees this weekend, while the analytics on social media and Google were likely off the charts, which is reflected in Triple H’s comment. The WWE has only scratched the surface with the Triple H era, and according to him, the best has yet to come. Now we know why Paul Heyman said at the Hall of Fame Ceremony, “I will always be a Paul Levesque guy.” The WWE has someone open to things outside of his thoughts, and it’s a sign of what’s to come for a company which has such rich history.
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