Now that Triple H is the new Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and the head of creative, non-WWE talent is reportedly interested in working with the company.
According to a recent report from Fightful Select, a few dozen former wrestlers who left the company for a variety of reasons have shared their opinions on the recent changes, which included the retirement of Vince McMahon, the appointment of Stephanie McMahon as chairwoman and co-CEO, and the appointment of Nick Khan as co-CEO.
Former performers as as far back as 2016 have observed how different things would have been if Triple H had been in charge much sooner. A former WWE talent who departed in 2016 claimed that while it seemed at the time that Triple H had a lot of control over recruiting and firing decisions as well as creative at all levels, but clearly not as much as he does now. They don’t feel that Triple H’s presence back then would have caused them to stay with the business, but they do think that a different set of creative conditions might have caused them to gauge WWE’s interest in the time period since.
Many former WWE NXT wrestlers apparently think they would still be working for the company if Triple H had previously held these positions. There were some who were realistic about the fact that they weren’t being used or developing quickly enough before being released. One former talent said, “At some point, someone had to be cut, so I wouldn’t be realistic to say that it couldn’t or wouldn’t be me just because the person who got me hired had more power.”
Another former wrestler commented that they did not believe they would have been protected in any way, given that they had essentially been parked and unwatched on TV for months.
One former NXT star who had options in WWE before signing elsewhere stated that they have a tremendous amount of loyalty to Triple H, and that if he had been in charge of their creative future, “things could have been much different.”
Both of those performers—one of whom joined AEW—said they lacked faith in their ability to find creative satisfaction on the WWE main roster. One commented, “I’m glad that I went to AEW, but if I was graduating to a Triple H-led Smackdown or Raw, I probably would have re-signed with WWE before my deal was up.”
According to a top free agent with several options, Triple H and Stephanie’s new roles significantly improve the likelihood that they will eventually return to work for the company. Other unsigned free agents are hoping that their prior connections to Triple H will enable them to at least initiate contact with the company, but they don’t anticipate that to happen right away.
As PWMania.com previously reported, the “secret $3 million settlement” that Vince made to the former paralegal who was recruited in 2019 was the subject of an investigation by the WWE Board of Directors, which was first made public on Wednesday, June 15. Laurinaitis’ role was also under investigation, and it was made known that the Board was also looking into other incidents involving former female employees. Following Vince’s voluntary resignation from his Chairman & CEO corporate responsibilities, it was announced on Friday, June 17 that Stephanie McMahon had returned from her leave of absence to serve as the Interim CEO & Interim Chairwoman. Vince, at least temporarily, continued his creative responsibilities. On Monday, June 20, it was made public that Bruce Prichard, Senior Vice President of WWE and Executive Producer of RAW/SmackDown, had been acting in Laurinaitis’ place as Interim Senior Vice President of Talent Relations while the inquiry was ongoing. On Friday, July 8, as further charges came to light, it was made public that McMahon had agreed to pay more than $12 million in “hush money” to four women, among them a former wrestler. As Triple H was named the new WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations on July 22, Prichard is no longer filling the interim position. Hours after Triple H’s new position was made public, Vince announced his retirement. Vince was the first to confirm that Stephanie, along with Co-CEO Nick Khan, is the new Chairwoman & Co-CEO. Laurinaitis is thought to be no longer with the company. On July 25, WWE announced Triple H to be the new creative director. Additionally, WWE stated that prior financial reports are being revised as a result of “certain unrecorded expenses” paid by Vince totaling $14.6 million, which were payments made to several women. It was also revealed that the federal government is looking into the payouts by McMahon.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more.
