Triple H on how WWE responds to online critics: ‘The internet is not real life’
Paul “Triple H” Levesque was recently a guest on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast.
During the conversation, WWE’s Chief Content Officer spoke about how the company views online feedback — a topic also addressed by WWE President Nick Khan last week at the National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas. Khan said it’s a mistake to make business decisions based on social media sentiment, and Levesque echoed that point in his interview with Schulz.
“Here’s the beautiful thing about our world: The internet is not real life. And the bitching and the f—ing complaining that is on there is not real life,” Levesque said. “You could read the internet and it’ll sound like this thing is dead.”
“I’ll use Cody as the example — ‘Cody’s already jumped the shark, he’s dead as a babyface.’ Really? ‘I don’t know. I’m in an arena with 10-15,000 people every night going apeshit for me, selling the most merchandise.’ But sure, whatever you want to say on the internet, that’s the golden rule.”
Levesque also discussed WWE’s international touring plans for the coming years. He mentioned the company’s return to France for Clash in Paris and teased future events in Mexico and South America.
“We’ll be in France and Paris — that’ll be off the charts,” he said.
“We’re going to go to Perth again in Australia. You know, the Middle East is always off the charts. And we haven’t even touched South America. Go to Mexico — like, all these things that are upcoming and we will be doing,” he continued.
Later in the interview, Levesque was asked about Donald Trump.
“He’s charismatic in so many ways and I think he likes getting under people’s skin,” Levesque said of the US president.
When Schulz remarked that Trump “plays a heel,” Levesque responded:
“It’s amazing and it’s genious and it worked in our business. Do I think he got that from our business? I think he innately understands it. It’s been his whole life. Think about that. There’s a lot of billionaires in the world, I suppose, why is he the most famous one? Why was he the one that was in People magazine every week with everybody under the sun? Why was he seen as the epitome of that billionaire status and all that stuff? It’s because of his charisma, and his character, and who he is, and the way he can speak about it and do all those things. He just captivates people and I think that’s why he is where he is.”
Levesque’s full appearance on the show is available below: