Tag: Paul Levesque

Triple H praises WWE crew following SummerSlam

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With SummerSlam weekend now over, Paul “Triple H” Levesque is showing appreciation for everyone who made the show possible.

SummerSlam was a two-night event for the first time ever this year, taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday. Levesque sent out a tweet this morning thanking all of WWE’s behind-the-scenes workers who made the show a success, calling them the “most dedicated, passionate, and hardest working team in the business.”

“SummerSlam doesn’t just happen…It’s built from the ground up by the most dedicated, passionate, and hardest working team in the business,” he wrote. “From lighting rigs and camera shots, to pyro and production trucks — this crew is the engine behind it all.

“Thank you to every single member of the @WWE team who made these incredible nights possible. We don’t just put on a show—we create moments that last a lifetime.”

New World Champions were crowned at the end of each night of SummerSlam, with Seth Rollins leaving night one as World Heavyweight Champion and Cody Rhodes winning the Undisputed WWE Championship on night two. The second night also saw Brock Lesnar make his surprise return to WWE for the first time since his name was mentioned in Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE.

SummerSlam will be two nights again next year with U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota hosting the show in August 2026.

Karrion Kross reacts to ‘unreal’ Triple H WWE SummerSlam post-show moment

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Karrion Kross is reacting to an “unreal” moment that took place after night two of WWE SummerSlam.

During Sunday night’s post-show, there was a moment where fans outside MetLife Stadium broke out into chants of “We want Kross.” There may have been some chants for the returning Brock Lesnar mixed in, but the panel — including Paul “Triple H” Levesque — only heard “We want Brock.”

“You’ve got him. You want Brock? You’ve got him,” Levesque responded.

Kross then reacted by tweeting the following: “Unreal. They write the scripts… But the fans write the truth. Thank you, Tick tock.”

There were also Kross chants during the post-show for night one of SummerSlam, which included a match where Kross lost to Sami Zayn.

Kross has gained momentum with fans on social media over the last several months, with a worked-shoot promo about being left off WrestleMania going viral back in April. He and Scarlett’s WWE contracts are said to be up soon and it’s not known if the two have signed new deals, though it’s unclear how much of what’s going on with Kross is legitimate and how much is WWE leaning into the fan belief that he’s disrespected and underutilized.

In an interview with the Battleground Podcast prior to SummerSlam, Kross was asked about his contract status.

“I don’t think I should talk about any of it right now,” he responded. “But I am hoping that when the time is right everyone will know what’s going on, including us.”

Kross is on his second stint with WWE, returning to the company in 2022 after having been released the year prior. He was brought back to WWE following Levesque’s ascension to head of creative.

Triple H: Vince McMahon allegations are ‘totally separate and aside from what we do’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

During an appearance on The Sports Agents, Paul “Triple H” Levesque addressed how WWE has moved forward following the allegations that have been made against Vince McMahon.

McMahon resigned from WWE in January 2024 in the wake of a lawsuit filed by former company employee Janel Grant, who has accused McMahon of physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking. McMahon and WWE as a company are both named as defendants in the suit, which is still ongoing.

The Sports Agents — whose host stressed that McMahon has always denied the allegations — asked Levesque how WWE has dealt with the fallout of the situation.

“For us as a company, creative, you know, all we can do is move forward. And allegations are allegations, right? It’s a complicated relationship for anybody in life,” Levesque said. “Nobody is perfect. But accusations are made, and that’s a whole legal thing that is totally separate and aside from what we do.

“My job is to put on the best creative product that WWE can do. And luckily and happily, it’s been successful and it’s been working wonderfully. Business is in an incredible place right now and continuing to grow, especially with our partners at Netflix, and NBC, and CW, and everyone in between. It’s a wonderful time in our business and fans are enjoying it. So we’re headed in a good direction.”

The Sports Agents also asked Levesque if he’s been surprised by how much there is to learn stepping into the role of head of creative.

“Yes and no,” Levesque responded. “You know, I’d been sitting under that learning tree that was Vince McMahon and so many others — from Pat Patterson to Jack Lanza to a lot of people sitting in that learning tree. So I understood. But when they’re your decisions to make, and as the business grows, yeah, the challenges become bigger and bigger. The pull at your time and your mental focus to stay in a creative place — yeah, there’s so much that goes into it.

“It’s hard not to be surprised by it. It’s hard not to be slightly overwhelmed by it. But at the end of the day, you have — or at least I have — an incredible support team around me of writers and producers and performers that are all weighing in to help make the product everything that it is.

“So to me, that’s my favorite part about it is sitting around with talented people and creatively coming up with ideas and riffing. I would imagine it’s like a band creating music where they all just sit around and have the parts that they put into it and then are just blown away by the outcome of it. It’s a wonderful process for me. Shocking to some degree, yes, but in some ways, everything I expected it to be.”

The Sports Agents’ full interview with Levesque can be watched below:

Triple H ‘honored’ to join President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque is grateful for the new opportunity he’s been given by President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Levesque was named to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition — an advisory committee that has the stated goal of promoting healthy eating and physical activity among the American public. The committee is being chaired by golfer Bryson DeChambeau.

“Honored doesn’t begin to describe what this opportunity means,” Levesque tweeted about the new role. “Physical fitness has been a part of my life from a young age and has created the path to support myself and family beyond my wildest dreams.

“The President’s Council on Physical Fitness is a vehicle to get young people active and healthy. Incredibly thankful for the trust reposed in all of the council members by the @realDonaldTrump, @JDVance, and @RobertKennedyJr. @Linda_McMahon @brysondech”

Levesque and DeChambeau were at the White House for an executive order signing on Thursday, with other new committee members NFL legend Lawrence Taylor, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and golfer Annika Sorenstam also in attendance.

Linda McMahon — Levesque’s mother-in-law and the Secretary of Education — was also at Thursday’s White House event.

The executive order signed by Trump reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test, which had been phased out in 2012 for a different program that prioritized individual health rather than athletic achievement. Students who perform well on the test will receive a Presidential Fitness Award.

Levesque joining the council comes after he and his wife Stephanie McMahon met with Robert Kennedy Jr. — the Secretary of Health and Human Services — back in June.

Trump’s executive order says the Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition will feature up to 30 members.

“The Council shall consist of up to 30 members appointed by the President,” the order says. “Members shall serve for a term of 2 years, shall be eligible for reappointment, and may continue to serve after the expiration of their terms until the appointment of a successor. The President may designate one or more of the members as Chair or Vice Chair.”

Thursday’s executive order signing streamed live on the White House’s YouTube channel:

Daily Update: Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, CannonballFest

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Daily Update

Latest Headlines

Latest Audio

Latest YouTube Video

This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Notes from the new issue:

  • Life of Hulk Hogan, notes on his death, WWE expansion, comparisons with Rikidozan, Santo and Dwayne Johnson, the complicated legacy, the story behind the tape that ruined his legacy, last WWE appearance, Bobby Heenan comments, Jimmy Hart’s first connection with Hogan, first match with Andre and how it got him to national TV, lies about his career, meeting Superstar Billy Graham the start of his career and the real story on Hiro Matsuda, Ed Leslie, Austin Idol, New Japan Pro Wrestling, the Terry Funk hotel room story, never doing jobs, the myths about the AWA title, leaving the AWA, his most famous match with Inoki, his return to WWF, the first WrestleMania, record breaking attendance, WrestleMania III payoff, Ultimate Warrior, WestleMania VII with Sgt. Slaughter, the Zahorian and McMahon steroid trials, Jerry McDevitt, going to WCW, the rise and fall of WCW, the Sting & Goldberg matches, the end in WCW and return to WWE, the TNA run and life after wrestling.
  • Updates on SummerSlam
  • Notes on Buff Bagwell
  • The most detailed look at what we’ve learned about both viewing habits on Netflix as well as actual numbers for Smackdown, NXT, PPVs and shows from the past.
  • Complete UFC 318 coverage and retirement of Dustin Poirier
  • G-1 notes
  • TNA Slammiversary coverage
  • The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week
  • CMLL anniversary show taking shape
  • MJF headed to Arena Mexico
  • The amazing Friday night show this past week
  • The weekend battle of Mexico City
  • A look at why CMLL is on fire
  • Omos update
  • Stardom major show coverage
  • All Japan big matches
  • NOAH and the two GHC title bouts
  • Real American Freestyle update
  • How the financial situation after WWE has changed for certain women after leaving the company
  • A look at Ed Don George and his being honored this past week
  • More on Cowboy Bob Ellis
  • AEW on MAX update as well as DVR numbers
  • Bryan Danielson talks a lot about many different things
  • The Ali Act and the attempt to change it to benefit TKO
  • Dana White on Jon Jones
  • Lots of new UFC PP main events
  • Diego Sanchez arrested
  • Ben Askran returns home
  • Changes in the WWE workplace
  • Notes on Survivor Series this year
  • Punk on his promos
  • Goldberg talks
  • McIntyre with Logan Paul
  • A celebrity out of the video game after his situation with WWE has changed
  • WWE weekend house shows

This Week’s Back Issue

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Thursday Update

WWE

  • The White House streamed today’s executive order signing where Paul “Triple H” Levesque was among those named to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Linda McMahon also attended the press conference.
  • Levesque posted a tweet thanking everyone who has watched WWE: Unreal on Netflix: “The reception of @WWE: UNREAL on @netflix has been incredible so far. Our goal has been to show the passion and drive that goes into our weekly television, as well as showcasing our talent through the highs and lows. Thank you all for watching.”
  • This week’s episode of “What’s Your Story?” is a conversation between Stephanie McMahon and John Cena.
  • On the show, Stephanie mentioned that – before Triple H’s heart issues in 2021 – she was always worried about losing him early. Now that he’s survived that, the feeling has gone away and she is no longer worried about him dying young. She opened up about realizing what’s important in life:
    • I believe in helping people as much as you can, if you can, even if that’s just listening to them, even if that’s just smiling at somebody that you don’t know. My favorite thing in the world is smiling at a little kid walking by and they smile back. That’s like the greatest feeling. Simple things are what it’s all about.
    • And I think that’s what you learn, if you learn, the longer you live. It’s not about the material stuff. It’s about the stuff that matters most. And, you know, I almost lost Paul, my husband. And what’s weird, and I haven’t talked about it, is I always had a feeling that I was going to lose him early. I just had that feeling. And after we got through everything, that feeling went away.
    • It’s like a pattern that was supposed to have been changed. And it was, I mean, such a gift, truly. And then I started going through all this stuff in the company, and I realized there is nothing more important to me than my family, than my husband and my kids. That’s what matters most, and I want to give as much time as I possibly can. I’ve given everything I possibly have to the business, you know, my whole life. And I wanted to give back to them. And that’s when I took that first leave of absence, which didn’t last very long. But I knew what mattered, and I know what matters now.
    • And I believe that love is what life is all about. And if you can help somebody in any way, I think that that is what it’s all about. You know, it’s about giving back.
  • Damian Priest and Zelina Vega surprised a young fan by inviting them and their family to attend SummerSlam and meet Rhea Ripley.
  • WWE wrestlers including Vega, Aleister Black, Raquel Rodriguez, and Roxanne Perez volunteered at the Nourish NJ soup kitchen today.
  • Vega was interviewed on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet.
  • Cody Rhodes made appearances on ESPN First Take and WFAN Radio.
  • Jey & Jimmy Uso took The GQ Brothers Quiz, answering questions to see how well they really know each other.
  • Busted Open Radio has an interview with Jade Cargill.
  • The Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred podcast spoke with Sami Zayn ahead of SummerSlam.
  • WWE uploaded a SummerSlam week vlog featuring Dominik Mysterio.
  • Logan Paul also uploaded a new vlog episode.
  • Lex Luger reacted to the passing of Hulk Hogan: “This one really hit me. Needed some time to process it all. Thank you Hulkster for all you did for me and so many others. My heartfelt prayers and condolences for your family and closest friends. I will see you again in heaven my friend. Save me a ringside seat”

Other Wrestling

  • Teal Piper, the daughter of Roddy Piper, remembered her father on the 10th anniversary of his death: “A decade gone today and the silence of your absence is still deafening. #riprowdyroddypiper”
  • Willow Nightingale vs. Tony Deppen is set to take place at CannonballFest in New Providence, New Jersey on September 14. “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Matt Tremont has also been announced for the show, which is a fundraiser for wrestler Jeff Cannonball as he battles ALS. Among the others who have been announced for the show are MJF, Mike Santana, Masha Slamovich, Wheeler Yuta, Joey Janela, and Megan Bayne. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (August 1).
  • AEW artist Melanie Coleman is the guest on a new edition of AEW Unrestricted.

Triple H to appear at White House executive order signing

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Before SummerSlam takes place this weekend, Paul “Triple H” Levesque will be in Washington, D.C. on Thursday for an event at the White House.

CNN reports that Levesque will be among the sports figures attending an executive order signing by President Donald Trump. The executive order exists to expand Trump’s council on sports, fitness, and nutrition, as well as reviving the Presidential Fitness Test.

Football legend Lawrence Taylor, NFL player Harrison Butker, and golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Annika Sorenstam are some of the other athletes who will be attending, with CNN noting that many of the athletes will become formal members of Trump’s sports, fitness, and nutrition council.

This news comes after Levesque and his wife Stephanie McMahon met with Robert Kennedy Jr. — the Secretary of Health and Human Services — about the council last month.

Existing from 1956-2012, the Presidential Fitness Test was a program that assessed the cardiovascular fitness, upper-body and core strength, endurance, flexibility, and agility of students. Highly ranked students received awards from the president, but the test was phased out in 2012 for a different program that focused more on overall health rather than athletic performance.

Levesque’s mother-in-law — Linda McMahon — is a member of Trump’s cabinet as the Secretary of Education.

Following today’s event, Levesque will be in New Jersey from Friday through Sunday for SmackDown and both nights of SummerSlam. Raw will then be held in Brooklyn, New York on Monday.

Triple H talks two-night SummerSlam, possible Hulk Hogan tribute

Posted on by Joseph Currier

While appearing on WFAN Radio in New York City this week, Paul “Triple H” Levesque explained WWE’s decision to make SummerSlam a two-night event.

SummerSlam will take place across two nights for the first time ever as MetLife Stadium in New Jersey hosts the show this Saturday and Sunday. Levesque told WFAN that WWE has been successful with two-night WrestleManias, and he believes the demand is there for SummerSlam as well. He said business is going “incredibly well” for this PLE.

“It creates a destination event. So if you are a WWE fan, if you’re a sports entertainment fan, man, it’s the ultimate,” Levesque said. “You come in, you’re there for that whole weekend and everything you do, everything you see, when we say we come in and we take over, that New York, New Jersey area will just be WWE central.

“And if you’re a fan, there’s nothing like it. It’s going to Disney for pro wrestling. It’s worked for us at WrestleMania, it’ll work for us at SummerSlam. It’s going incredibly well. You know, the business is there, so let’s take it.”

SummerSlam will again be two nights in 2026 with the show set for U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota.

This year’s event is taking place not long after the passing of wrestling icon Hulk Hogan. WWE has already paid tribute to Hogan with 10-bell salutes on SmackDown, Raw, and NXT. WFAN asked Levesque if they are planning any further tributes to Hogan for SummerSlam.

“We’re working through the show now,” Levesque responded. “And it comes down to finding the right mix — and I think you just mentioned it a second ago as I was getting mic’d up here, right? Like, what is the right level of respect? Obviously you cannot tribute enough as his accomplishments in WWE or in wrestling in general — I mean, you could make the argument that none of us would be here in this industry without him, the rise of Hulk Hogan in the 80s, really catapulting the business to another level.

“So, you know — but there’s not without its controversy. So we want to be aware of that and we’re making those decisions in real time, I think just like everybody else is.”

CM Punk on Triple H: ‘I love working with the guy’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Their relationship might have been adversarial in the past, but CM Punk now loves working with Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

Earlier this year, Levesque opened up to the High Performance podcast about how he and Punk have improved their communication with each other. Levesque said that, though he and Punk clashed during Punk’s first WWE run, collaborating with Punk is now one of his favorite things to do as WWE’s head of creative.

Punk returned that praise in a new interview with TV Insider, noting that working with Levesque is “really a treat.”

“Between me and Triple H, there is so much more of an understanding,” Punk said. I’ve advanced in my life to a point where I have the perspective I didn’t have before. For him, likewise has advanced in life to where he has experiences and knowledge he didn’t have before. Me and him, I think we were both on the main roster, and were talented guys. It was more adversarial because we were competition. Now we’re not and are on the same page and want to help the next generation and kind of guide them the right way with their creativity showing through but also producing them. It’s more like, ‘Maybe do it this way and see what happens.’

“Look, I love working with the guy. It’s amazing. It’s really a treat. I think we’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg. I’m still kind of pumping the brakes on any kind of office title. I don’t want to be office Punk while I’m active main roster wrestler Punk. Those things do not mix. You can not try to tell somebody else what to do while you are essentially booked in a certain position on the show, in my opinion. I’m stoked being a wrestler and until I hang my boots up, I’m going to be stoked being a wrestler. I want to do the best I can with the group I have, which are some supremely talented, genius minds for the wrestling business.”

Punk walked out of WWE in 2014 and spent seven years away from the ring before joining AEW in 2021. He then returned to WWE in 2023 after his contract with AEW was terminated.

In the TV Insider interview, Punk said the biggest difference between his two WWE runs is that he’s more stable in his position now and doesn’t feel like he always has to fight to prove himself.

“I don’t think I’m fighting for real estate anymore where as early in my career I was always fighting for what I thought was the way to do things. I feel like my role is 100 percent more solidified now,” he said. “It feels weird saying that I’m a living legend, but I’m not sure how else to say it. I’m 46 years old and have been doing this for a very long time. Pardon my French, I’m pretty f*ckin’ good at it. I know that now. It’s not me fighting and trying to prove that to people now. It’s me being more like, ‘We all get it now. We understand each other.'”

Punk has not won gold since his WWE return, but that could change next month when he challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Punk earned the title shot by winning a gauntlet match on Raw this Monday.

MVP says he has ‘zero respect’ for Triple H due to their personal interactions

Posted on by Joseph Currier

While speaking with BetIdeas, MVP addressed past comments he’s made about Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

MVP made comments on Instagram in 2024 that led some fans to believe he was calling Levesque racist for refusing to re-form The Hurt Business in WWE. However, MVP clarified that — while he has opinions about how Levesque views wrestlers of color — he did not call Levesque racist. MVP said he does not know what Levesque’s motivations are.

When asked to expand on how he thinks Levesque views talent of color, MVP pointed to the difference in how Bobby Lashley was booked by Vince McMahon and how he was booked by Levesque.

“Let’s just say this, Bobby Lashley was a two-time WWE Champion, and after [Levesque] took over, Bobby Lashley was reduced to the mid-card. Bobby Lashley is a bankable, marketable guy. And two-time WWE Champion just got reduced to mid-card, whatever. What I said, specifically in response to the person on my Instagram page, was that you see it. It’s my opinion of how he chooses to book certain talents,” MVP told BetIdeas.

“Some people say all the time that, ‘Oh MVP’s just griping, MVP’s just crying’. Okay, well just watch the program. Who were the people in the top spots under his leadership? Who were given the opportunities? And I’m not talking about NXT. I’m talking about the main show. I have my opinions, based on my personal experiences. And at some point on my podcast and my YouTube show, I’ll talk about it and I’ll go in depth about what my issues are with that man.”

But MVP said the issues he has with Levesque are not because of race. He has no respect for Levesque based on the personal interactions they’ve had.

“And I’ll be honest with you, my issues with him have nothing to do with race,” MVP said. “My issues have to do with him as a person and our personal interactions and things that he said and did that caused me to have zero respect for him. But I’ll get into that on my show. Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Swayze.” 

The Hurt Business are now known as The Hurt Syndicate with MVP, Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin all joining AEW. Lashley & Benjamin are the current AEW Tag Team Champions.

MVP told BetIdeas that being able to perform in front of a live crowd is the biggest difference between The Hurt Syndicate and Hurt Business, since their WWE run happened during the pandemic era. They are also “allowed a lot more input” into their creative direction in AEW.

Triple H congratulates Meiko Satomura on retirement

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is acknowledging wrestling legend Meiko Satomura as she steps away from the ring.

The 45-year-old Satomura retired on April 29 with her final match taking place in Tokyo for Sendai Girls, the promotion Satomura founded in 2005. WWE stars IYO SKY, Kairi Sane, Asuka, and Shinsuke Nakamura sent in video messages that were played on the show. Later that night, Corey Graves mentioned Satomura’s retirement on WWE NXT, congratulating her on an incredible career.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque then sent out a tweet today also congratulating Satomura.

“Congratulations to the Japanese wrestling legend and former @WWENXT UK Women’s Champion, Meiko Satomura,” he wrote. “Your contributions to this industry have inspired a generation of female athletes around the world.”

Satomura was a coach and wrestler for NXT UK when that brand existed. Her last WWE matches happened in July 2024 on a main roster house show tour of Japan. She worked a pair of eight-woman tag matches on the tour before losing to Bayley in a singles match on the final night.

April marked the 30th anniversary of Satomura’s in-ring debut. Though she’s retiring from active competition, Satomura vowed to continue helping the next generation of women’s wrestlers through Sendai Girls.

Satomura’s official retirement match was her teaming with Manami to defeat Aja Kong & Chihiro Hashimoto. After that ended, there was an impromptu five-minute handicap match where Satomura & Kong teamed together.

Triple H sees ‘bright future’ for TNA star Joe Hendry

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Paul “Triple H” Levesque sees a bright future ahead for TNA star Joe Hendry — one that will include more WrestleMania moments.

The TNA World Champion made his surprise WrestleMania debut by answering Randy Orton’s open challenge on Sunday night. It was originally supposed to be Orton vs. Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 41, but Owens had to be pulled from the show due to a neck injury that requires surgery.

Explaining his thought process at the post-show press conference, Levesque said he chose Hendry as Orton’s opponent to provide a fun moment that was different from the originally intended Orton vs. Owens story. A late replacement was not going to match the intensity WWE had been building for the Orton vs. Owens feud, so they went in a different direction entirely.

“In this case with Randy Orton, the storyline, the angst of where we were with Kevin Owens piledriving Randy Orton — him being out for months, him finally coming back. There was just so much anger and aggression there. You really needed something different to make that,” Levesque said. “And I saw a lot of predictions of who it was going to be and what it was going to be. Just incredibly difficult to try to put somebody in the spot to fill that in. It has to be a completely different scenario, and that’s where Joe Hendry came in. And to me was the perfect opportunity to put him in there.

“It allowed Randy to go from being the ‘voices in his head angry, crazy Randy Orton’ to ‘I’m going to have some fun and I’m going to make this kid and I’m going to still showcase what I do and I’m going to leave him better than he came in.’ It was the right thing, right moment, right time, in the right spot in a show that had a lot of incredible action to still get incredible action, have a ‘holy crap’ moment, and sort of take you on that rollercoaster ride of everything being up here and give me something different, something fun, something entertaining. This was the perfect spot for it.”

The match went three minutes before Orton won with an RKO out of nowhere. He and Hendry then shared a moment of respect after the match before Orton had fun by dropping Hendry with another RKO.

Levesque praised the 36-year-old Hendry as a great talent and entertainer, sharing that he told Hendry before the match that Hendry will be back at WrestleMania again in the future.

“And I will just say: I love Joe Hendry. He’s a great talent, great entertainer, smart, respectful to what we do. Like, he’s got a bright future,” Levesque said. “And I was really, really happy that we could put him in this spot and showcase him for everybody on a bigger platform in the world. I told him, right before he walked out, I said, ‘You will be here again, so enjoy this one because the pressure gets heavy from here. This will be the easiest WrestleMania you ever do, and you will do more.'”

Hendry appeared with his TNA World Championship belt at WrestleMania, but it was not on the line. He has a title defense coming up at this Sunday’s TNA Rebellion pay-per-view, facing off against Frankie Kazarian and NXT wrestler Ethan Page in a three-way match.

Over the past year, Hendry’s “I Believe in Joe Hendry” theme music has gone viral on social media, helping to grow his popularity with wrestling fans. He had an NXT run in 2024 and worked his first WWE main roster match this February as a surprise Royal Rumble entrant. These appearances have been able to happen due to WWE and TNA Wrestling’s partnership.

Triple H says Chyna will ‘for sure’ get solo WWE Hall of Fame induction

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chyna will “for sure” get a solo induction into the WWE Hall of Fame one day. Paul “Triple H” Levesque is just waiting on the right time and place to induct her.

In 2019, Chyna posthumously entered the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and X-Pac. She has not been inducted individually yet. But when Levesque was asked about the possibility at Sunday night’s post-WrestleMania 41 press conference, he said it is only a matter of time.

“I don’t know about next year, but it’s definitely happening,” Levesque said. “There’s a lot of people, when you say the Hall of Fame, there are a lot of names that should be in that Hall of Fame and will be in that Hall of Fame. You just can’t put them in all at once, right? I think there will be the right moment.”

Levesque said Chyna’s contributions to the wrestling industry are still evident to this day with how much she influenced the current WWE roster.

“Her contributions to the business alone. I can see it in all these women when they get in there. We’re at the age…where they all grew up idolizing her. And I see it in their work, I see it in their demeanor, I see it in what they think works and doesn’t. It all, in a lot of ways, stems from that. She is in the Hall of Fame with D-X, but she will be in the Hall of Fame by herself when the time is right, for sure,” he said. “It’s just a debate every year of who goes in when and how. And you can look no further than Ivan Koloff in that. Needed to be in there. Same with Kamala. They need to happen, we just have to be judicious about when and how they happen so it’s done right for everybody.”

Koloff, Kamala, and Dory Funk Sr. were legacy inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. The other members of the 2025 class were Levesque, Michelle McCool, Lex Luger, and The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon). Plus, Steve Austin and Bret Hart received the first-ever WWE Immortal Moment Award honoring their match from WrestleMania 13.

A trailblazer in WWE who became a pop culture star outside of wrestling, Chyna (Joanie Laurer) passed away at 46 years old in 2016 of an accidental drug overdose. She and Levesque dated in the late 1990s/early 2000s prior to his marriage to Stephanie McMahon.

Cedric Alexander: I was more of a Paul Heyman guy than Triple H guy

Posted on by Joseph Currier

In WWE, Cedric Alexander felt more like a Paul Heyman guy than a Triple H guy.

Alexander and Paul “Triple H” Levesque shared a special moment in 2016 when Alexander was signed to a WWE contract after his stellar match against Kota Ibushi in the Cruiserweight Classic. On a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Alexander revealed that he actually was technically signed a week before that match — but the moment he shared with the fans and Levesque will always be one of the highlights of his life.

“I don’t think I ever could have picked anything better, unless you made me WWE Champion on the spot [laughs],” Alexander said. “I will cherish that moment forever. That’s a career, life-defining moment.”

Alexander spent almost nine years with WWE before being released from his contract last month. When asked about his relationship with Levesque, Alexander said things never really developed past the endorsement he got from Levesque at the Cruiserweight Classic.

“Honestly, it didn’t go past that, funny enough,” Alexander said. “Like, you would think from that moment I’d be a Triple H guy, right? No, I mean — so there was a point where we were in 205 Live that he kind of had some say in there a little bit, and kind of took care of me. But, like, I was never really a fully Triple H guy. I was more of a Paul Heyman guy when he was writing Raw and they drafted me out of 205 Live into Raw. I was more of a Heyman guy than anything else. Heyman gave me a bunch of little sidebar conversations and this, that, and the other way more than Triple H ever did.”

Van Vliet asked Alexander what the biggest lesson he learned from Heyman was.

“Patience, for better or worse, patience,” Alexander responded. “I remember there was one point I went to Heyman and I was just like, I was probably on Raw for like a year, but they haven’t really done anything with me. And I was like, ‘Hey, Paul, what do I have to do? Like, what do you need from me in order to get to that next level?’ I think this was maybe right after we did the whole thing with AJ [Styles] and the squash match we did on [Clash] of Champions in Charlotte. He was just telling me, ‘No, just wait. We’ll take care of you. If you gotta wait six months, wait six months. If you gotta wait a year, wait a year.’ And I just remember going, ‘I will be the best soldier I can be and just wait it out.’ And every time they called me for something, whether it was the Gary Garbutt thing or any other random thing they asked for, I was, hey, I’m here. What do you want me to do?”

Alexander was released from his WWE contract on February 7 and will officially be a free agent this May. He told Van Vliet that he’s hoping to end up in AEW for a reunion with his former Hurt Business stablemates Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP.

Triple H: I have Paul Heyman spending a lot of time coaching Bron Breakker

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Paul “Triple H” Levesque has enlisted the help of Paul Heyman to help develop Bron Breakker’s promo and character work.

In a feature story The Hollywood Reporter published on Heyman’s contributions to WWE on-screen and backstage, Levesque named Breakker as a talent that Heyman has been helping coach. Levesque described Heyman as a “conduit” between Breakker and the creative team.

“He’s a young guy, incredibly athletic, great character, he’s a sponge,” Levesque said about Breakker. “I have Heyman spend a lot of time with him to help develop him with his promos, to help develop his character, to help push him in a direction. Then Paul talks to me and talks to the writers about where do we want to take that, and then he’s the conduit for where we want to go to that talent.”

Breakker — the son of WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner — is WWE’s current Intercontinental Champion. A former college football player who spent time in NFL training camp with the Baltimore Ravens, he signed with WWE in 2021 and started out in NXT, where he had NXT Championship reigns.

The Hollywood Reporter story also included Roman Reigns discussing how Heyman has helped him up his game to the highest level.

“As a top guy, there’s a billion different things you’ve got to worry about on game day,” Reigns said. “And there’s a lot of people pulling you in a lot of different directions. A lot of people want this and that, and he can become that filter that makes it really easy to go out there on game day and perform at the highest level.”

Triple H teases Travis Scott WWE in-ring debut: ‘Wait until you’re in there doing it’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

After being involved in one of the biggest angles in WWE history, the next step for Travis Scott could be making his in-ring debut.

The rap star was part of John Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber last Saturday, appearing alongside The Rock and helping Rock and Cena beat down Cody Rhodes. Rhodes suffered a legitimate busted eardrum during the attack, which looks to have been caused by a slap from Scott.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque shared a social media video today with an excited Scott backstage immediately after the angle. When Scott said the appearance might have even been more fun than performing at a concert, Levesque hinted that we could see Scott have a match soon.

“Hey, wait until you’re in there doing it,” Levesque said.

Scott said he’s “already hooked” on wrestling and wants to build a ring at all of his houses. The video ended with Scott embracing Levesque and The Rock and joking that he’s going to come back 100 pounds bigger.

The 33-year-old Scott is one of the most popular rappers in the world, and his song “4X4” debuted as the new theme song for Raw when the show moved to Netflix this January. Scott also appeared for WWE at Raw’s Netflix premiere episode in Los Angeles.

Elimination Chamber was the last WWE PLE before WrestleMania 41, where Cena will challenge Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship this April.