After stirring debate earlier this week with his comments about wrestling critics, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has now offered further context and clarification during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
His original remark — “I wish I could tell people off for being a critic. Be a fan. Go watch this and be a fan” — was met with backlash from some fans and pundits who interpreted it as dismissive. However, Triple H expanded on his meaning, drawing a clear line between enjoying entertainment as a fan and hyper-analyzing it through a critical lens.
“If I tell you that I saw a movie and I thought it was great and you should go see it. You just go see it, you’re a fan, you go watch it, you like it or you didn’t, whatever,” he said. “If I say, ‘Go watch that movie, give me a report on it, tell me all the things that worked and all the things that didn’t,’ you go watch that movie differently. That’s my point.”
Triple H emphasized that many critics were once passionate fans but have since lost the joy that comes with simply watching wrestling for entertainment.
“At some point, you loved this. You loved it more than anything… and now you’re hypercritical. To me, that ruins the experience for people.”
He also addressed how WWE gauges audience reactions. Rather than obsessing over internet sentiment, he prioritizes live crowd energy and reactions:
“When Jey Uso won the Rumble, there were a lot of people that had their thoughts, opinions, and comments on that… There are 15,000 people in a venue and it’s been sold out all the time, yeeting and going absolutely crazy when he comes out. Who do we listen to? The few people or the large crowd?”
According to Triple H, the nightly live audience is WWE’s most consistent and trusted “focus group.”
“We have a focus group every single night of a lot of people who are, in that moment, fans… You cannot base things on the opinion of some when the majority feels differently. When the majority starts to feel it, that’s when you gotta listen.”
The message was clear: passion is welcome, but when critique overtakes enjoyment, it can distort the intended magic of pro wrestling.
"I don't put a lot of stock into what's on the internet unless it follow thru to other things we do..
You can't base things on the opinion of some when the majority feels differently..
When the majority starts to feel it you gotta listen"@TripleH #McAfeeAtMania pic.twitter.com/XTJXgbs2Mg
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 18, 2025
