Triple H interview on Grantland

[road doggy dogg]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9588366/an-interview-wwe-superstar-corporate-officer-triple-h

Pretty great read. Touches on a lot of topics. I'm not gonna add my thoughts, just wanted to share with people who are interested in this kinda thing

[road doggy dogg]

Was gonna copy/paste it but a lot of information is in the footnotes so it's best to just click the link

[Savio]

Can we lock this? #Hating

[road doggy dogg]

was it posted before, I DON'T FOLLOW WRESTLING FORUM

[Wehttam]

i liked it

thank you

[ron the dial]

good read. i particularly enjoyed the devlopmental bits.

[Savio]

I was being a hater :) I also liked the read too, like hearing backstage stories of wrestlers.

[VSG]

Great read, thanks for sharing.

[Cuse8]

great read.. real honest approach

[McLegend]

That's interesting, but is it me or does HHH always take shots at Mick Foley in interviews?

[Razzamajazz]

if there's one thing i learned from reading this, it's that wwe is making another leprechaun sequel starring hornswoggle :wtf:

[Fignuts]

That's interesting, but is it me or does HHH always take shots at Mick Foley in interviews?

I don't think that was a shot. He said Foley himself stated those matches weren't great.

[Emperor Smeat]

Really good read. The greatest thing he's done so far with his backstage role has been being hands-on with the NXT stuff mainly because he realized its a lot better to build for the future than to have to scramble at the last moment and hope something sticks enough to start a new era.

Probably fibbed a bit in regards to the section about wrestler inputs and being competitive with other wrestlers considering the way he says it, he rarely complains or puts himself over on purpose when there is a lot of actual evidence of the opposite being true.

[James Steele]

Really good read.

Probably fibbed a bit in regards to the section about wrestler inputs and being competitive with other wrestlers considering the way he says it, he rarely complains or puts himself over on purpose when there is a lot of actual evidence of the opposite being true.



Oh, fuck off. What actual evidence is there other than pure smark bitterness because Mr. flavor of the month didn't beat him in 5 minutes?

[ron the dial]

settle down buddy

[Emperor Smeat]

Oh, fuck off. What actual evidence is there other than pure smark bitterness because Mr. flavor of the month didn't beat him in 5 minutes?

Mostly from a few former writers who worked with him in the past or got his input when he looked over storyline ideas and scripts.

[James Steele]

Bitter ex-employees are beacons of truth. :roll:

[road doggy dogg]

Realistically, the truth is probably somewhere between the two. Nobody is going to want to go on record to trash their own credibility in a position they are currently holding so yeah he prolly bent the truth a bit. On the other hand, some has-been over-the-hill wrestler who may be bitter over the way his career has gone, yeah no doubt he has a skewed perception. I'm inclined to err closer to Triple H's side of the story. There's so many things we as (internet) fans think we fully know that are honestly all just heresy.

[Wake Up Call]

He will make a fine CEO one day.

This guy knows the business inside and out, and I have no doubt the WWE will thrive. The Performence Centre was a great idea, and the future will be bright.

[ron the dial]

that's what really excites me. you can see the passion and dedication he has to developing new talent. and it's really shown over the last few years. there have been hits and misses, obviously, but the effort is really quite impressive. that NXT is one of my highlights in each week's wrestling output says an awful lot about the direction the company is headed.

[ron the dial]

they just need to get creative to keep their heads out of their asses a bit more often on the main shows.

[DaveWadding]

I dunno about anyone else, but I think most of the footnotes are hilarious, having to explain stuff that we all know. Forget sometimes that some person who has never watched a WWE show in their life might actually read that :$

[Cool King]

Yeah, I was reading the replies here and I was thinking "Nobody is mentioning the footnotes?".

They're quite amusing. Especially this one....

"Paul Heyman, former ECW owner and current evil manager in WWE."

I don't know why, but "evil manager" makes me chuckle.

[road doggy dogg]

Yeah the site is primarily a sports (typically the "big four" but there are articles on golf/tennis/etc, and this author, "The Masked Man" writes a wrestling piece usually once a week or so) site and pop culture, so wrestling isn't the primary focus. Gotta put things in layman terms sometimes. Plus Bill Simmons is amazeballs.

[Innovator]

I loved when Simmons said they had the interview coming up on his Cousin Sal podcast, saying how the interview took place while Simmons was drinking a Perrier and eating a super salad in front of Triple H.

[road doggy dogg]

Damn I missed that one. I usually only listen to the BS Report during NFL season for guess the lines :o Might have to give it a listen on my drive home this weekend

[Savio]

Oh, fuck off. What actual evidence is there other than pure smark bitterness because Mr. flavor of the month didn't beat him in 5 minutes?
HHH was in nearly all WHC matches from 9-02-02 to June 2005

[road doggy dogg]

To be fair, HHH has consistently been one of the best main event performers over the past decade or so, so it's not like he was unfairly put in that scene.

[Savio]

By 2004 I was dying for something different

[Theo Dious]

HHH was in nearly all WHC matches from 9-02-02 to June 2005

And this proves what? As if there was a surplus of main event talent in that area? Yeah RVD vs Scott Steiner would have been a fabulous main event program.

[Savio]

Like WWE didn't have a shit ton of main eventers in 2003, what are you thinking?

[road doggy dogg]

Go on then, list them all and how they were all so much more viable than HHH at the time.
crossrine

[Savio]

Can I just post the Smackdown HCTP Roster?

Are you saying we couldn't have WHC matches with

HBK/RVD
HBK/Kurt Angle
HBK/Big Show
HBK/Hogan
HBK/Rock
HBK/Cena
HBK/Anyone :shifty:

To say there weren't other wrestlers in 2003-2004 who could main event during those years is downright wrong.

[Heyman]

Like WWE didn't have a shit ton of main eventers in 2003, what are you thinking?

As successful as guys like Lesnar, Orton, Angle, and Eddie Guerrero were, I think the WWE made mistakes with these guys by turning them face *way* too soon instead of letting them remain heel and having the fans cheer on their characters anyways (I.e like they did with Austin in 1997 and Rocky in 1998). CM Punk might belong on this list now as well.......and Dolph Ziggler might be headed in this direction as well.

That seems to be more of a reflection of the writers than of Triple H politicking however.

I will say this though: I think guys like Jericho, Orton, and RVD were unfortunately, buried by Triple H in their primes. No proof, but call it a gut feeling.

[road doggy dogg]

You just listed a bunch of guys who DID main event during those years, plus RVD who should never be in this discussion. What's your point?
crossrine

[ron the dial]

RVD should always be in this discussion.

[Heyman]

You just listed a bunch of guys who DID main event during those years, plus RVD who should never be in this discussion. What's your point?
crossrine

My point is that they main-evented......and enjoyed some solid success, but could have been much bigger than they turned out. Most of it due to bad writing.....which may or may not have been Triple H related.

In the cases of guys like Lesnar, Angle, Orton, Guerrero, etc, I think bad writing (I.e. turning them face too prematurely) hurt them long term.

Guys like Jericho and RVD in their primes (2000-2001) could have really benefited from clean victories over a guy like Triple H, but it never happened. And no - Jericho "flukely" going over Austin and Rock on the same night doesn't count.

No way in hell Orton should have turned face after Summerslam 2004 and then jobbed the belt to Hunter a month later. IMO - that was the worst example of booking......that may have been Hunter related.

[road doggy dogg]

I was refering more to Savior's post.

Do agree with Orton though, felt like he was one of the few "young guys" that at the time seemed like he was ready to hang with the big boys and never really got the chance.
crossrine

[Heyman]

I was refering more to Savior's post.

Do agree with Orton though, felt like he was one of the few "young guys" that at the time seemed like he was ready to hang with the big boys and never really got the chance.
crossrine

Hopefully, the bigger reason as to why they stopped his push had more to do with his backstage conduct (I.e. him being a dick) rather than him just being overly buried.

Even aside from the 2004 debacle........the WWE actually did a tremendous job of rebuilding and rebranding Orton about 5 years later when Orton became leader of Legacy and faced Triple H in the main event at Mania.

But again - Orton.......who had TREMENDOUS momentum heading into the main event, was defeated by Triple H.

[Shadrick]

The E will be in great hands with Triple H.

[Volare]

Fucking right.

[Mr. Nerfect]

The E will be in great hands with Triple H.

This.

[Mr. Nerfect]

There have been times where the WWE has put Triple H over at times when I don't think they should have. Sometimes I can understand why they did it. WrestleMania XIX was their first brand-split WrestleMania and they wanted the title change moment in the main event and had never tried the "two new World Champions in one night" thing. I think there should have been a screwier finish to protect Booker T, but I understand their desire to keep the World Title on Triple H at this point.

I can understand why they put Triple H over Lesnar at WrestleMania this year. In some ways it adds to the mystique of The Undertaker's streak, since the guy who lost to him two years in a row can beat Lesnar at the event.

Triple H beating Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXV actually made a little sense too. Triple H was the babyface in the feud and people like to see the good guy beat the bad guy. Orton going over would have allowed him to get a good run as a heel champion started, and from that a new star could have been made by beating him.

Unforgiven 2004 still baffles me though. The whole booking of Randy Orton at this time baffles me actually. The fans were rabid to see Randy Orton beat Chris Benoit in Toronto. It was the right time to do the switch. The face run for Orton was kind of shitty, though. He spent most of his time running away from Evolution from memory. I still think that the best two ways to go with Orton in 2004 were the following:

1) Randy Orton hands the World Title back to Triple H when he was asked to. Everyone wanted to see an RKO on Triple H, but Orton's respect for Triple H and Ric Flair and dependency on Evolution would lead to him being obedient and not falling out with the group. Chris Benoit would take issue with Orton just handing the title to Triple H. Benoit was never a great talker, but I'm sure he could have put a promo together about how he worked for so many years to be World Heavyweight Champion, Orton becomes the youngest ever and then just hands it to Triple H?

This would lead to Orton wrestling Benoit a couple more times while Triple H feuded with other guys over the World Title he never earned. Eventually, more and more people start telling Orton that he should be the man in WWE, not Triple H. Orton would then win the 2005 Royal Rumble and then set his sights on Triple H and the World Heavyweight Championship.

2) By becoming World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton proves that the future is now, and Evolution turns on Triple H, who is now "past it" as far as they are concerned. Orton would be the young, cocky heel and the story heading into WrestleMania 21 would have been Triple H's search for redemption.

[Hanso Amore]

Yeah thats all fucking garbage noid.

[Theo Dious]

Can I just post the Smackdown HCTP Roster?

Are you saying we couldn't have WHC matches with

HBK/RVD
HBK/Kurt Angle
HBK/Big Show
HBK/Hogan
HBK/Rock
HBK/Cena
HBK/Anyone :shifty:

To say there weren't other wrestlers in 2003-2004 who could main event during those years is downright wrong.

Look at it in terms of the brand split and keep yourself to Raw wrestlers. That takes out Angle and Hogan right there. The idea that Cena was ready for a company-shouldering main event during that time is absurd. The Big Show's work during that time was not at all good. RVD proved he wasn't ready for the top spot by smoking it out the window when he got it. And as fucking awesome as HBK is, I'm pretty sure it was largely his own input that kept him from headlining through most of those years.

[Savio]

John Cena Main Evented Backlash 2003. RVD didn't get caught smoking until 2006. Wrestlers were able to move to other brands but Undertaker, Nash, Kane, and Booker T were primarily raw brand guys.

but no your right, for nearly 3 years HHH should have been in every WHC match-up. It never got stale at all.

[Savio]

You just listed a bunch of guys who DID main event during those years, plus RVD who should never be in this discussion. What's your point?
crossrine
My point is we should have had a few more WHC PPV matches that did not involve HHH over that time span.

[Heyman]

There have been times where the WWE has put Triple H over at times when I don't think they should have. Sometimes I can understand why they did it. WrestleMania XIX was their first brand-split WrestleMania and they wanted the title change moment in the main event and had never tried the "two new World Champions in one night" thing. I think there should have been a screwier finish to protect Booker T, but I understand their desire to keep the World Title on Triple H at this point.

I can understand why they put Triple H over Lesnar at WrestleMania this year. In some ways it adds to the mystique of The Undertaker's streak, since the guy who lost to him two years in a row can beat Lesnar at the event.

Triple H beating Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXV actually made a little sense too. Triple H was the babyface in the feud and people like to see the good guy beat the bad guy. Orton going over would have allowed him to get a good run as a heel champion started, and from that a new star could have been made by beating him.

Unforgiven 2004 still baffles me though. The whole booking of Randy Orton at this time baffles me actually. The fans were rabid to see Randy Orton beat Chris Benoit in Toronto. It was the right time to do the switch. The face run for Orton was kind of shitty, though. He spent most of his time running away from Evolution from memory. I still think that the best two ways to go with Orton in 2004 were the following:

1) Randy Orton hands the World Title back to Triple H when he was asked to. Everyone wanted to see an RKO on Triple H, but Orton's respect for Triple H and Ric Flair and dependency on Evolution would lead to him being obedient and not falling out with the group. Chris Benoit would take issue with Orton just handing the title to Triple H. Benoit was never a great talker, but I'm sure he could have put a promo together about how he worked for so many years to be World Heavyweight Champion, Orton becomes the youngest ever and then just hands it to Triple H?

This would lead to Orton wrestling Benoit a couple more times while Triple H feuded with other guys over the World Title he never earned. Eventually, more and more people start telling Orton that he should be the man in WWE, not Triple H. Orton would then win the 2005 Royal Rumble and then set his sights on Triple H and the World Heavyweight Championship.

2) By becoming World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton proves that the future is now, and Evolution turns on Triple H, who is now "past it" as far as they are concerned. Orton would be the young, cocky heel and the story heading into WrestleMania 21 would have been Triple H's search for redemption.

Not bad, but I would have done this:

Have Orton win the title........and stay heel.......and have Triple H be kicked out of Evolution.

Batista then goes over Orton at Mania'.

Basically - I would have switched the roles of Orton and HHH.

Even if Orton was getting cheered like crazy, he should have been kept heel. This is one mistake the WWE constantly makes.......and has been constantly making since 2001. The moment anyone gets even a hint of a face reaction, the WWE turns them face.......instead of letting the character stay heel and letting the fans appreciate the character as a heel.

[Poit]

"I think people think Vince sits in his office counting money and checking the list of people he hates."

:lol: