Since assuming control of WWE’s main roster creative in the summer of 2022, Paul “Triple H” Levesque has been widely credited with revitalizing the product. Wrestlers, commentators, and fans alike have praised the shift in storytelling and presentation, marking a noticeable departure from the creative philosophy of former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon—especially in the wake of the hush money scandal that led to McMahon’s reduced role.
In a candid conversation, Triple H reflected on his evolution as a leader and the lessons he learned working under McMahon. “When you learn, especially from mentors, you learn what to do and what not to do,” Levesque said. “There were things that bothered me about the way he did things. Certain things with his personality—he would run things totally different than I would. And we’ve talked about that before. Even when I was running NXT, he would be like, ‘Why are you doing it like that?’ And I’d tell him, ‘Because it’s working for me.’”
When asked for a concrete example of how their creative approaches differed, Triple H didn’t hold back. “He was much more controlling, especially as he got older. Much more controlling,” he explained. “When we first came in and started DX, we were just doing our own thing. Nobody was scripting anything. Most times, we were coming back and he was mad at us, screaming, ‘We’re gonna get thrown off the air, goddamnit, don’t do that again.’ And we’d just laugh it off and do it again the next week.”
Triple H recalled a pivotal moment when things changed—specifically, the first time DX was handed a script. “We show up to TV one week and they hand us a script. We were like, ‘What is this?’ They told us, ‘It’s what Vince wants you to say tonight.’ We went into his office and pushed back. We said, ‘This isn’t us, it’s not funny.’”
The story escalated when Shawn Michaels made his stance clear. “Shawn crumpled up the piece of paper and said, ‘I ain’t saying any of this shit,’ and threw it at Vince. Then we walked out. I was like, ‘Wow, we’re getting fired.’”
Despite the tensions, Levesque acknowledged McMahon’s authority and the balance between respecting the boss and trying to improve the product. “It’s his prerogative, he’s the boss. But even Pat Patterson would come to me and say, ‘Vince wants to do this thing and it’s so stupid. Let’s do this instead.’ And I’d just tell him, ‘Pat, I talked to him until I was blue in the face. You go talk to him.’”
Now at the helm, Triple H has brought a more collaborative and modern approach to creative—a shift many inside and outside the company have welcomed. His willingness to trust talent and adapt on the fly has drawn strong praise and appears to be at the core of WWE’s creative resurgence heading into WrestleMania 41 and beyond.
