Tag: HHH

November 4, 2002 Observer Newsletter: Katie Vick angle backfires, Scott Steiner signs with WWE, more

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

After an attempt to turn the controversial necrophilia angle into comedy that fell flat on the live audience on 10/28 in Detroit with one of the, pardon the expression, deadest opening interview segments in history, the art imitates life line came out when HHH, speaking for his boss, talked about doing what he wanted, when he wanted. HHH actually tried to combine comedy with audience sympathy, to make fun of people saying they would never watch the show again (with the belief that most who said it were watching him at the time).

As it turned out, the joke was on them.

After a week of controversy designed to garner mainstream attention, which didn’t happen, and build ratings, the 10/28 Raw ended up being the least watched episode of Raw since early 1998. While it was the third lowest rated live episode of the show in that time period with a 3.45 rating, the total viewers of 4.34 million was less than the 4.35 million viewers on the 9/9 show, which did a 3.40 rating.

Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

October 28, 2002 Observer Newsletter: Katie Vick, No Mercy review, more

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

In a blatant attempt to create controversy and further enhance the character of Raw’s chief antagonist, Triple H, last night’s Monday Night Raw on TNN (rated TV-14 LVD) presented an alleged act of necrophilia.

Triple H, poorly disguised as his chief adversary Kane, presented a skit in a funeral home using a mannequin that simulated the body of Kane’s former girlfriend, Katie Vick.

WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn, stated that numerous warnings to WWE viewers about sensitive subject matter did air prior to the segment. “While the subject matter is sensitive, on balance this was an attempt at dark humor capitalizing on the popularity of programs such as CSI, Six Feet Under and X-Files,” said Dunn.

That’s this week’s lesson in carny for:

Because we are so out of touch with our audience, we actually thought because we laughed like crazy at portraying an act of necrophilia, that our audience would also.

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NXT on USA media call: HHH on creative team, future of TakeOver

Posted on by Josh Nason

Prior to NXT launching their weekly show on USA Network Wednesday, WWE COO Paul “Triple H” Levesque talked to the media Monday afternoon on a variety of topics from the future of TakeOver to potential shifts in NXT creative to talent exchanges.

You can hear the entire call by clicking below:

  • When asked about ratings, he said he is more interested in the long haul ratings-wise vs. hotshotting for the first few weeks of shows.
  • He said there’s no plan to expand the length of TakeOvers and want to simply make them good.
  • He said there will be some schedule changes in 2020 focused on giving Network subscribers more live content. More one-off shows like the TakeOver 25 event in Bridgeport, CT, and Worlds Collide coming up during Royal Rumble weekend are in the plans.
  • Levesque was asked about the NXT creative process and if it will change with the USA move. He said the core team remains intact, but their communication team will expand with new partners being involved. “The team is the team,” he said.

For the rest of the call, including HHH’s comments on moving talent between NXT and NXT UK, click below:

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September 9, 2002 Observer Newsletter: PRIDE/K1 Shockwave reviewed, new WWE title introduced

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Following up on the angle where Brock Lesnar went exclusively to Smackdown, Raw opened on 9/2 in Milwaukee with Eric Bischoff announcing HHH as the new Raw world champion and giving him the old WCW heavyweight title belt.

There are a lot of different ways of looking at this in theory. You can say with two champions, there are twice as many potential title defenses and you can have the world champion at every house show. On the other hand, the title itself was just rebuilt enough to where it finally appeared to have drawn at SummerSlam and a new top star was created. Now, that title is diluted. You may call it two world titles, but it in reality becomes two IC titles instead of one world title. The argument is that this finally establishes the Raw/Smackdown split. But what made the title special is that it meant something being the one thing above the split.

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JNPO: Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp on UFC 241, WWE media conflicts

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: Daily Express

For the first time, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp comes by the Josh Nason’s Punch-Out airwaves to talk about a whole myriad of stuff insight the cage, wrestling ring, and the business outside of it.

To listen, just click the red button below.

We kick off with some background on Fightful and how Sean came to be their managing editor including some of the decisions on what to put behind their Patreon paywall and what is free. 

Then, we transition to UFC 241 and some of the big headlines and thoughts coming out of the show. Do we want to see Daniel Cormier fight again and if so, is the Stipe Miocic trilogy all we really care about? Will Yoel Romero ever fight at middleweight again? And, if the UFC can put Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal together, do they put it on ESPN or break recent tradition and headline a PPV without a title on the line?

Finally, we wrap with a talk about the recent post-TakeOver call controversy between Paul “HHH” Levesque and PW Insider’s Mike Johnson, why media should always be asking questions, and how a relationship between media and WWE is a good thing for everyone. 

Click below to listen:

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HHH TakeOver audio: NXT-FS1 rumors, Simone Johnson updates

Posted on by Josh Nason

WWE COO Paul “HHH” Levesque held his traditional pre-TakeOver conference call Thursday morning, answering questions about the show, the talent, and even a few about the company.

– He was asked whether he was under consideration for the Paul Heyman-Eric Bischoff director roles for Raw/ and SmackDown.

– He said they are in the process of finalizing some things and hope to announce something on the Mae Young Classic soon.

– He was asked about EVOLVE’s 10th anniversary show and said it was a grand slam and that WWE Network will be “the one stop shop for everything you could ever need and want in the industry.”

– With regard to the NXT on FS1 rumors, he said there is always ongoing discussions on where content goes, regardless of platform. He added that he’s heard the chatter about how an FS1 show on Wednesdays would be counterprogramming AEW (without mentioning them by name), but that NXT has been on that day and time “forever”. 

– He said they’ve made a big push to have talent treat live and taped shows the same. He noticed that when SD was taped, the energy level was lower, equating it to a tightrope walker with a net under them. Part of the prep at the PC has been to work through that.

– He discussed Simone Johnson’s training at the PC and confirmed her dad has been there from time to time watching her train. He added that the PC is like a fountain of youth for older talents who come back to help out.

Hear all that and more by clicking below:

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DragonKingKarl Greatest Kayfabe Tournament: Jack Brisco vs. Triple H

Posted on by Karl Stern

The GKT continues! It’s all about the game and how you play it…yeah, Jack Brisco probably isn’t listening to that nonsense, but how did the voters see it?

This week, two eras collide when we look at the former NWA World heavyweight champion and one of the most respected (and legitimate) mat wrestlers in history against a man who considered himself a modern day Harley Race, Triple H.

Enjoy this edition of the Dragon King Karl Classic Wrestling Show as we look at the careers and history of both Brisco and HHH and then you decide who would win if they ever met in the ring.

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NXT TakeOver XXV audio: HHH talks Tyler Breeze, AEW, Fox possibilities

Posted on by Josh Nason

On Thursday, WWE COO and NXT godfather Paul “HHH” Levesque held his traditional pre-TakeOver conference call with the media which you can listen to for free below.

A few highlights and notable items:

  • Levesque wasn’t asked about Jon Moxley’s podcast appearance with Chris Jericho.
  • One AEW-related question did come up in relation to whether the jabs between WWE and AEW would extend to the NXT brand.
  • He confirmed Tyler Breeze is an NXT talent now and is happy to have him back. He thinks Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream could steal the show Saturday night in Bridgeport, CT.
  • He was asked about the future of NXT and Fox.
  • He was asked about the decision making process in having the Viking Raiders vacate the NXT tag team titles instead of losing them in the ring.
  • He was asked about whether other unused WWE talents could be brought in to help further develop the talent. 

Click below to listen:

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NXT TakeOver confirmed for June in San Jose

Posted on by Josh Nason

Before he closed out Thursday’s NXT conference call, WWE COO Paul “HHH” Levesque confirmed NXT is returning to San Jose, CA, on Saturday, June 8th.

Without explicitly saying it’s a TakeOver event, WWE confirmed it will be.

The event will be at the SJSU Event Center where the brand has previously held TV tapings and house shows.

“(San Jose) is a place where before we were even doing TakeOvers, we kind of did the first WrestleMania weekend event where we were just testing the waters. it sold out and became this epic event that really set the brand in motion. I’m really excited to go back there on June 8, separate from everything else, and other pay-per-views around it, and put on an event that is epic and say thank you to that location for getting us off to such a great start,” he said.

From a recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote:

“The impression we were given is that the TakeOver show would be held on June 8th at San Jose State University, using the 5000 seat arena where the show that spawned the TakeOver concept took place when the company sold out an event the Friday night before WrestleMania in Santa Clara on March 27, 2015.

That event wasn’t a TakeOver show, but the success in selling the event out both spawned the concept being held in conjunction with the major PPVs, and also springboarded the change in the push of women’s wrestling when the Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks match tore down the house and got a bigger reaction than the Finn Balor vs. Neville main event.

San Jose has remained a strong NXT market and such a show would easily sell out a building of that size. It’s also convenient logistically because Raw two nights later will be in the larger SAP Center in San Jose, so much of the production crew can come to town and stay there for television Monday and then Smackdown in Sacramento on Tuesday, rather than being brought in specifically for a TakeOver special.”

HHH on Ciampa’s WWE call-up, TakeOver, Batista at WrestleMania

Posted on by Josh Nason

On Thursday, Paul “HHH” Levesque held his traditional pre-NXT TakeOver conference call, going over a variety of subjects.

You can listen to the call right now by just clicking that red button below.

Among the things HHH discussed:

  • The situation around Tommaso Ciampa’s call-up despite a neck injury he was dealing with
  • How he and Vince McMahon work together on WWE call-ups
  • Why Keith Lee vs. Donovan Dijakovic wasn’t on TakeOver and whether Lee is injured
  • Why managers are now becoming a thing in NXT
  • Whether NXT women’s tag team titles are on the horizon
  • Thoughts on his WrestleMania match against Dave Bautista
  • Why they brought Pete Dunne-WALTER to the U.S. instead of saving it for a UK TakeOver
  • A run down of the TakeOver call and plenty more.

TakeOver New York from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, will be headlined by Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole in a 2-out-of-3 falls match for the vacant NXT title.

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Post-NXT TakeOver conference call audio with HHH

Posted on by Josh Nason

Following another strong NXT TakeOver show from Phoenix, WWE COO Paul “HHH” Levesque talked to the media about the show, answering questions about the show itself and other related matters, the audio of which is available below.

Among the topics he discussed:

  • What are the chances of NXT women’s tag titles and if the WWE women’s tag titles will be “floating” titles
  • The depth of the NXT tag team division
  • The additions of Sonjay Dutt and Abyss 
  • The order of the matches with respect to title matches
  • If they have reached the point where fans don’t associate title losses with call-ups…and more.

Click below to listen.

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NXT TakeOver conference call audio: AEW, Lars Sullivan, more

Posted on by Josh Nason

On Wednesday, WWE COO Paul ‘HHH” Levesque spoke to the wrestling media for his traditional pre-TakeOver conference call, the audio of which you can hear below.

Among the topics discussed:

– Velveteen Dream’s recent tweet and whether he spoke to him about it

– The plan for future NXT UK TakeOver shows

– An update on Lars Sullivan

– Competing against AEW for talent

– How his recovery is going from his recent injury

– The Rock’s daughter, Simone, and her recent training at the Performance Center

– Plans for future PCs around the world

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NXT conference call: HHH on UK future, possibility of more TakeOvers

Posted on by F4W Staff

On Wednesday, WWE COO Paul “Triple H” Levesque did his usual rounds, holding a media conference call discussing this Saturday’s NXT TakeOver event and the happenings around the “third brand”.

Among the highlights:

  • He gave an update on his pectoral surgery.
  • He discussed how this War Games will be different than last year and what they learned.
  • He discussed international expansion effors and some “big announcements” planned for early-2019.
  • He talked about NXT being a true “third brand” and how some main roster talents could find their way to NXT.
  • He talked about the possibility of more TakeOvers now that NXT UK exists.
  • He answered whether there are immediate plans for NXT UK touring.
  • He was asked about some of the recent hirings and how they are bringing in some older talent than they used to.
  • He discussed the culture of the Performance Center and what’s helped make it that way.

Hear all that and more by clicking below:

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Figure Four Weekly: Recapping WWE Super Show-Down

Posted on by F4W Staff

For the PDF click here.

For the Epub click here.

Going into Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday, it wasn’t entirely clear whether it would be more of a major stadium show or a glorified live event.

There were elements of both on display at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Without even factoring in entrances or the post-match angle, Triple H vs. The Undertaker was nearly 30 minutes long. It was obvious that they were attempting to deliver on the epic “last-time ever” main event that had been promised. It was a bit of a mess at times. Undertaker isn’t capable of having that kind of match at this point in his career. And if Triple H is at all capable of it, The Undertaker isn’t the type of opponent he can show that against.

Despite that, the match was what the crowd came to see. A no disqualification stipulation was added right before the main event started, with the storyline being that Triple H was able to use his position of authority to gain an advantage.

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