WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque recently appeared on the FLAGRANT podcast, where he offered candid insight into the backlash often seen online regarding WWE’s creative decisions and booking.
Triple H, who has overseen WWE’s main roster creative since mid-2022, dismissed much of the internet criticism, suggesting it does not reflect the reality of fan response in arenas or the broader WWE audience.
“Here’s the beautiful thing about our world — the internet is not real life, and the bitching and the complaining that is on there is not real life,” Levesque said. “You could read the internet and it’ll sound like this thing is dead.”
Using current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes as an example, Triple H continued: “I’ll use Cody as the example. ‘Cody’s already jumped the shark, he’s dead as a babyface.’ He goes, ‘Really? I don’t know, I’m in an arena with 10 to 15,000 people every night going ape sh*t for me, selling the most merchandise.’ But sure, whatever you want to say on the internet — that’s the golden rule — it’s just the opinion of a few people.”
Levesque elaborated by comparing WWE’s weekly programming to stand-up comedy, noting that both art forms rely on live feedback to shape the final product.
“The beautiful thing for our business — unlike a movie, a TV show, a book, or anything else — is that we have a focus group. You go out and try something. If you’re terrible at your job, you just do it the way you want and it bombs. If you’re good, you tweak things, change things, make it seem fresh all the time,” he explained. “You’re shifting along the way until you get to where it’s just right.”
As for WWE’s storytelling process, Triple H emphasized the flexibility that live feedback affords them. “As we begin to tell these stories, we know what’s working, what’s not. Whether people are bitching online or not, we look at the crowd reaction — ‘Jey [Uso] is terrible?’ Look at the merch, the reaction in the crowd, everything he does. It’s just the opinion of a few people.”
Levesque concluded by pointing out how WWE creative can quickly pivot when something doesn’t connect. “If a story piece bombs, you can go back and be like, ‘Alright, let’s pivot.’ You can save it. ‘Hey, that didn’t go the way I thought. What if we do this instead?’ And you move.”
Triple H’s remarks offer a revealing look at the balance between live audience response and online discourse as WWE continues shaping its creative direction heading into WrestleMania season.
