Triple H: WWE is ‘up against ourselves’ for competition

WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has pivoted his answer when asked about what the competition is for his company in addition to sharing views on lost free agents that could be taken as a subtle dig at their work ethic.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday prior to this weekend’s WrestleMania 40, Levesque was asked by Michael Cole about the differences he sees between the Attitude Era and today. 

Levesque said they were fighting for their lives and talked about WCW “kicking their ass” without mentioning them by name.

“We were building up against something. Right now, we’re up against ourselves. We’re up against the Attitude Era, we’re up against the Ruthless Aggression era, whatever you want to call it. The best of the absolute best of WWE…that’s what we’re working against,” he stated, adding that his job now in order to make everyone successful is to make sure no one gets complacent.

Without saying AEW, McAfee attempted to allude to how Levesque’s competition comments might be taken. Levesque said he wasn’t trying to cause any controversy and that facts are facts.

In past interviews, and especially when asked about AEW, Levesque has answered that “everything is competition.”

He did throw a subtle dig toward AEW when asked about WWE’s free agent recruiting process and signing talent. He said he has people like William Regal that help him keep track of those in the business, saying he knows everyone who is out there, what their potential is, and how good they are.

He said just because someone succeeds somewhere else “doesn’t meant they will succeed in the big time,” using an NFL/college football analogy. 

He then said WWE is “a different game, a different world,” followed by this quote:

“When I see people that come out of trying to make it and then they pick the job where they go, “Well, they work less, the schedule is lighter…alright, then I’m glad I didn’t get you because if you’re not in it for the grind at that point early in your your career, you have no business being here.”