Drake Maverick was among the names which were released by WWE in April as part of the coronavirus budget cuts. However, the high flying star was able to turn his luck around and he was recently signed to a new contract by Triple H.
The Game recently took part in a media conference call where he talked about a number of things and also explained why they decided to re-hire the former 205 Live GM.
Triple H mentioned how Maverick managed to capture people’s hearts. He said that they had the option to ignore it or turn it into something and they chose the latter:
“When the release happened, he wasn’t involved in anything but it just happened the way it did, during the process of this tournament, he captured people’s hearts and their imagination and he earned that spot.
It was already out there so you either ignore it or you turn it into something.” said Triple H “We turned it into something based on him and his performances.”
Drake Maverick had been announced for the cruiserweight title tournament before his release. WWE decided to work this into a storyline and built a story where the high flying star was fighting to get his job back.
The former TNA star managed to win people’s hearts through his storytelling abilities in the tournament. Even though he couldn’t win the title, the buzz he created forced the WWE management to change their decision and Triple H re-hired the NXT star.
It’s been a while since WWE made the decision to produce shows without an audience due to coronavirus threats but now Triple H is teasing a change in this situation.
A fan posted a selfie in front of the Full Sail University before last night’s NXT Takeover event and he mentioned how he misses being part of the WWE shows.
The WWE Vice President interestingly responded to this tweet from the fan and Triple H teased the return of the audience with just one word in his reply:
The governor of Florida had announced plans for the reopening of the state earlier last month which included the order to allow sporting events to be produced with 25% of the arena capacity.
WWE has also recently eased up their restrictions a bit and started allowing development talents to be used as audience for the shows from the Performance Center.
Since the government is moving forward with their re-opening plans, it’s believed that companies like AEW and WWE could be allowed to have fans in attendance very soon.
This advancement, coupled with the tweet from Triple H has given some hope to the fans, however, we will still have to wait for a timeline to be exactly sure from when can we see the fans return to the wrestling shows.
Keith Lee defeated Johnny Gargano last night at NXT In Your House. Following the show, Triple H was asked about the possibility of Keith Lee one day winning a World Championship during the post-event media call.
“Look, it certainly wouldn’t shock me, right? I mean Keith has every tool,” Triple H said.
Triple H continued to praise Lee on the call.
“Such a great guy. Hard-working, humble, just wants to deliver,” he described Lee. “Great human being, locker room leader, everything you could want. An ultimate pro, right? He’s just the kind of guy you want to work hard for and you want to deliver for him.”
Finally, Triple H confirmed that he too is enthusiastic about the idea of Keith Lee being a future World Champion.
“Again, I love working with him,” he continued. “You say ‘Keith Lee, world champion’ and if you ask me what my opinion is I say ‘Hell yeah!'”
Keith Lee signed with WWE in 2018. He was awarded the NXT Breakout Star of the Year award in 2019. Lee defeated Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship on January 22nd, 2020. He is the 6th person to hold the title in its 2-year history.
Following last night’s NXT: In Your House event, Triple H spoke with media. During the discussion, he talked about Io Shirai’s NXT Women’s Championship victory and the fact that she pinned Rhea Ripley and not the then-champion, Charlotte Flair.
“That finish was done tonight the way it was done for a very specific reason,” Triple H said. “Some people will read into that and go ‘oh, Charlotte can’t even get beat.’ I don’t buy into that, first of all. To me, the whole rhetoric of Charlotte Flair and her dad and her name and all that stuff is garbage. She works as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen. She’s a great performer, deserves everything she’s ever gotten and has.”
“This was done for a very specific reason for storytelling purposes,” he continued to say. “Hopefully, if we get to tell the story the way we want to over the coming months, I think 3 or 4 months from now you’ll go ‘I know exactly why they did the finish that they did.'”
Earlier on the call, Triple H was asked if Charlotte will continue on the NXT brand.
“We shall see,” Triple H responded when asked if Charlotte was done with NXT. “Charlotte’s always been a RAW talent, that is where she signed and her home. She had the NXT Championship. In essence, she’s been working all 3 brands lately, which has been awesome. We’ll see, I’m not 100% sure.”
Triple H On Io Shirai
Triple H also spent some time talking about the new NXT Women’s Champion, Io Shirai on the call.
“Io coming here from Japan, I always considered Io to be one of those game-changing talents, much like I did Asuka when she came here,” Triple H said. “There’s been bits and pieces of moments and injuries and setbacks and things. It’s amazing to see here where she is right now. She’s one of the greatest in-ring performers in the women’s division anywhere. I’m really excited for her. This is a new era for the NXT Women’s division with Io Shirai in that position.”
Triple H spoke with CBS Sports for a new interview to promote the NXT TakeOver: In Your House special.
During the interview, he talked about the difficulties for those in NXT with having to wrestle in the empty Performance Center during the COVID-19 pandemic. It should be noted that a few weeks ago, WWE decided to have Performance Center recruits work as fans in the crowd.
Triple H started out by talking about how he’s very proud of the product that they’ve continued to put out. He noted how NXT had to drift along on the tail of RAW and SmackDown in regards to move as they were the last in the three-show order. He noted how there were a lot of times that they were scrambling to pick up the chains last and move with it.
He stated that it was difficult to do but thinks the talent has done a remarkable job.
“I read a quote the other day where a talent said everybody hates doing these empty-arena shows. Of course, they do. No one wants to wrestle in an empty arena. No one wants to get COVID either. “These empty-arena shows are what they are.”
He continued by stating that WWE feels like it’s really important right now in the world for people to be entertained while also doing everything they can from a safety standpoint and following guidelines to continue putting on a product.
“It’s a different product and it’s hard for talent, especially in NXT where some of the talent are younger and newer.
I can’t even imagine if I’d only been in the business for a couple of years and I’m just starting to get used to having a lot of fans at the shows and now they take all the fans away. I’m expected to do the matches still and put one-hundred percent into everything else. It’d be really hard. It’s a tough thing.”
He stated that everything they do goes back to being taught to listen to the reactions from fans and react to it. He stated that you can guide them from there but now, there’s nothing to guide you.
He called it really tough but understands that this isn’t going to last forever. He noted that he’s a big believer the talent will rise to the top, the cream will rise to the top. He added that if they continue to put out great shows, people will continue to watch.
Triple H is quick to point out that Matt Hardy didn’t invent cinematic matches but he does recognize the impact he has had on them. He also noted the importance of Jeremy Borash’s contributions to the growing genre of pro-wrestling during a recent interview with Metro UK.
“It’s a funny thing, that people say all of a sudden there’s this moment with the cinematic thing that happened,” Triple H said. “But people were doing that 20 years ago.”
HHH would continue to use Mankind vs the Rock’s Halftime Heat match and Booker T vs Steve Austin in a grocery store as examples.
Matches filmed like movies have been taking place for decades, but recent years have seen science fiction and fantasy-inspired elements creep into such segments. This was the case with both Matt Hardy’s Broken Universe in TNA and with Lucha Underground and its head writer, the recently-released Chris DeJoseph.
Jeremy Borash’s work behind-the-scenes with the Broken Universe in Impact before he was hired by WWE was praised by Triple H during the interview.
“Jeremy’s an incredible talent with an eye for storytelling and an eye for image and everything like that. Man, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy working with him.”
Finally, Triple H certainly wants to correct people who say Hardy and Borash invented the genre but he is also willing to admit the two took cinematic matches to another level.
“That’s not to negate the Matt Hardy, Jeremy Borash thing that you mentioned,” he said to the Metro reporter. “That took it to another level. There’s all steps to this – but to say it all started there, to me, I’d say it’s not accurate.”
Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) was a recent guest on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho. The Z! True Long Island Story creator mentioned the massively successful YouTube series and how it helped push him to one of the biggest moments of his career.
WWE Survivor Series 2011 took place at Madison Square Garden, an area that holds special meaning to the New York native. The opening match of the night saw Dolph Ziggler defend his United States Championship against John Morrison, with the NYC crowd demanding throughout the match, ‘We want Ryder.’
Matt Cardona in MSG
Matt Cardona would appear after the match to an absolutely huge reaction and laid out Ziggler. “It was the fall time where I think eventually they [WWE] said, ‘we gotta shut these people up'” Cardona began, talking about how WWE were never fans of his own organic attraction to the fanbase.
“Finally I think they had to just put me on to the shut everybody up” Cardona continued. “But now the chants were getting louder and louder and especially the Ziggler and John Morrison match. I don’t want to toot my own horn but like I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about Madison Square Garden. Not only is it a home arena? But it’s the GARDEN, you know, right?”
Matt Cardona would then describe how he went backstage feeling elated and he got completely the opposite reaction behind the curtain.
“I go out there and the place is going nuts. I get to the curtain and like Triple H is like ‘come here.’ I’m thinking like ‘finally, he’s gonna say good job kid, this is what I’ve been waiting for,’ How can you deny this? It’s Madison Square Garden.”
The former Zack Ryder elaborated further, saying “He [Triple H] pulled me aside and I just like got fresh frosted tips in my hair that week. So he asked me like, ‘Why did you dye your hair!?’ I’m like ‘MSG is chanting my name and you’re asking me why I dyed my hair!?'”
Cardona would then reveal that WWE were not happy that he made a decision to change his appearance before going to WWE management.
WWE seemingly did everything they could to derail Matt Cardona’s push in the months following, trying to use his popularity to aid an already divisive top star in John Cena.
Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) with his Internet Championship
Do you think that Zack Ryder/Matt Cardona could’ve been a bigger star in WWE? Let us know in the comments
Triple H spoke with TMZ Sports about whether WWE has any interest in working with Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor.
First up was Cormier, a former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, who could work in the ring as he has a wrestling background or on commentary, which is something that he’s doing in the UFC now.
Triple H stated that they’ve talked a lot in the past about him doing stuff whether that’s in the ring, commentary, or doing different things.
He pointed out how Cormier is doing what he’s doing and if he decided he’s done or wants to leave UFC, then yes they would be interested. He added that he loves Cormier and every time he sees him, they have a great conversation.
Triple H noted that Cormier is a good due and that’s what makes him good at commentary.
“I think he’s great, we’d love to do something with him, if the time is right, obviously in respect to UFC and Dana White. We’d love to chat with him and we have an open relationship as far as communication.”
Up next is Conor McGregor, a former UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion.
“I think Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with the billion-dollar walk on the line, I think that’s a match made in heaven.” Triple H joked. “I think the nature of what we do — even being entertainment — it lends itself to combat sports. It lends itself to people like Conor McGregor or Ronda [Rousey], as it does with Tyson Fury. It did in the past with Mike Tyson and Floyd [Mayweather]. Entertaining people are what makes those fights, a lot of times.”
Triple H continued by noting that the styles and fight itself is part of that but also entertaining and the ability to capture people as a personality is what makes those fights.
He thinks that it is the same in WWE. Thus, he thinks if you can transfer that over and really now let yourself go and be larger than life, that’s the key thing.
Ronda Rousey hasn’t performed in a WWE ring since the main event of WrestleMania 35. Rousey has been acting, performing on reality shows, and even voicing a character for a Mortal Kombat video game since she’s been gone.
Triple H recently spoke to TMZ about Rousey potentially coming back to WWE. The Game said she is welcome back at any time and also stated that Rousey is one of the greatest performers WWE has ever had.
“Of course, we want her. Of course, we do! One of the greatest performers for us ever,” Triple H said to TMZ about Ronda.
Triple H would continue to speculate about what Rousey’s plans could be and also to comment on Rousey calling pro-wrestling “fake” on Steve-O’s podcast.
“I think Ronda’s in a place in her personal life where she’s figuring some things out,” Triple H continued. “But, the thing with Ronda is you never know what she is saying. Is she attacking the business really or is she attacking the business because she knows that’s what will light up the fans that love the business?”
Rousey made a surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble in 2018. She would team up with Kurt Angle and face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania that year. Rousey would then win the RAW Women’s Championship at SummerSlam 2018. Rousey would hold the title all the way until WrestleMania 36 when she dropped it to Becky Lynch.
“We still have a great relationship on everything [with Ronda] and when she is ready, absolutely [we’ll have her back].”
Triple H’s comments about Rousey can be heard in the player below:
The demise of the former WWE star Shad Gaspard is one of the saddest news coming out of 2020 and fans around the world have been paying their respect to him since his death was confirmed.
WWE also paid tribute to the Cryme Tyme member through an opening graphic on this week’s episode of NXT and he was remembered on SmackDown as well.
During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, WWE Vice President Triple H was asked about the star and he recalled his last meeting with Shad which happened six months ago:
“Stephanie and I saw him maybe six months ago. We were at FOX for a meeting and he was just coming out of the lobby, we were coming into the lobby. We probably stood there for 20 minutes talking. He was just the greatest guy, so nice.”
The Game then discussed the unfortunate circumstances of his death. Triple H said that Gaspard was a great human being and his thoughts are with Shad’s wife and kid:
“With the circumstances around all of this, and you know, his son, thank God he’s okay. Knowing that he said, ‘Save my son’ and that was the last thing he did, that’s all you need to know about the guy.
He was just a great human being and it’s tragic, and my thoughts and prayers, as are everyone’s here, are to his wife and his kid, just the family, it’s tragic.”
The former World Champion continued by explaining how even when the incident was happening everybody was holding hope for Shad’s safe return and his death is very tragic.
You can check out Triple H’s comments in the video below:
All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has opened up about his past issues with WWE Hall of Famer Triple H. During an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Jericho revealed how he had issues with people in the past before singling out his problems with Triple H.
Chris Jericho recalled how back in the early 2000’s he and Triple H didn’t like one another. He added how Triple H would admit the same thing. Despite this, they were still able to put on great matches, adding how “I think that’s one of the reasons why.”
He explained how they had a “professional rivalry” alongside a “bit of a personal dislike” of each other. He also stressed that they are friends now.
Jericho added how there are plenty of professional rivalries taking place when a person is “young full of vim and vigor.” He juxtaposed these rivalries with those that take place in rock and roll, pointing out how bands break up and ten years later get back together.
“I think there’s that animosity that drives you to become better, and if you have a case like say Jericho and Triple H, our matches were always great because there was a little bit of real-life animosity between us,” Chris Jericho admitted.
“‘I’m gonna show him. Well, I’m gonna show him. Well, I’m gonna show him,’ and I think that’s good in a certain way.”
Chris Jericho then added how Vince McMahon would “subtly encourage” this kind of personal and professional rivalry. He believes he did so as doing that would inevitably lead to better results in the ring.
You can listen to Jericho’s comments about his relationship with Triple H in the video player embedded below:
A new SEC filing has revealed that WWE Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H has unloaded WWE stocks worth more than $1 million recently.
The WWE Hall Of Famer sold a total of 23,255 shares of Class A Common Stock on Monday, May 4. The shares were valued at $43.80 per share, totalling at approximate $1,018,569.
Triple H and others had unloaded a large number of shares last year as well and the sale included Vince McMahon selling away over $250 million worth of WWE shares to fund XFL. The filing reveals that The Game still has 144,646 shares of Class A Common Stock left.
This week’s episode of NXT saw the current champion Adam Cole retaining his title over Velveteen Dream in a one on one match with help from his Undisputed Era teammates.
The stable was interviewed backstage after the successful title defense from Cole where the reigning NXT Champion talked about his victory during the latest episode of the Black And Yellow brand.
During the interview, Adam Cole said that he has defeated everybody in NXT and the title should now be retired in his name. You can check out the post-show interview below:
WWE Hall of Famers Triple H and Shawn Michaels addressed social media’s impact on WWE during an interview with Inside the Ropes. The WWE Legends acknowledged how social media has impacted upon not only WWE’s creative process but how fans interact with the product and Superstars.
Triple H spoke about how everybody has an opinion. He pointed to how some characters are positioned to be a heel but end up being cheered. Conversely, they will position someone to be a babyface, only to have a large chunk of the crowd dislike them. He admitted how it’s tougher than it ever has been to create a character that is universally liked or disliked.
He stressed that this isn’t just isolated to pro wrestling, pointing to the music industry as a comparison. Triple H noted how artists will put out an album and how social media will display extreme opinions on both sides.
Using Triple H’s album analogy, Shawn Michaels added how “After you purchase the album we’re good. You know what I mean? Whatever decision you want to come up with after that, knock your socks off.”
Triple H & Shawn Michaels On Encouraging The WWE Universe
Triple H expressed how he loves the passion from the WWE Universe, regardless of whether it’s positive or negative. He called it “funny” how some people believe WWE manipulate crowd noise to try and convince them to cheer or boo a Superstar. It’s something he staunchly denies, adding how “It’s just what’s happening.”
“But they’re so passionate about it, but the fact that, we love the fact that they can express their opinion. We love the fact that they can go out there and say, ‘This is great,’ ‘This isn’t great,’ ‘This guy’s a good guy,’ ‘That person’s a bad guy,’ whatever that is, right, and yet, if they also, if they tell us they dislike something, if we’re smart, we listen to that. Might take a while but we can fix it.”
Michaels added how he believes it’s better to have fan engagement rather than total ambivalence. If nobody had an opinion on what they were doing, that would be the time he’d be concerned. “[…] what’s gonna really suck is the day when nobody cares, when nobody wants a picture, when nobody wants an autograph. So, no matter how much, better to have that ‘hassle’ than no hassle at all, and I think that’s how all of us in this line of work look at it.”
AEW Commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently discussed the Backlash 2000 PPV on the Grilling JR podcast. This episode is available to listen to at AdFreeShows.com, you can find more information about the subscription service at the bottom of this article.
During the podcast, JR would allude to then WWF Superstar Triple H ‘killing’ the career of ECW performer Taz. The ‘Human Suplex Machine’ joined WWE/F in January of 2000, appearing at the Royal Rumble PPV as a surprise opponent for Kurt Angle. Following the event, Tazz would then be pushed down the card into the Hardcore division, soon diminishing into obscurity on the roster.
Tazz vs Triple H
One of the (seemingly) brighter moments for Tazz in his run in 2000 was when he faced then WWF Champion Triple H on SmackDown, just 10 days before ‘The Game’ was due to defend his title against The Rock at Backlash 2000.
This match pitted the reigning ECW Champion against the reigning WWF Champion for the very first time ever. Tazz had won the belt by defeating Mike Awesome, a WCW contracted wrestler, in a controversial match set up by Paul Heyman to get the title off of Awesome. Mike Awesome had signed for WCW whilst still ECW Champion, and this caused a major issue for the Extreme brand.
Unprecedented
With the unprecedented match between Tazz and Triple H taking place on SmackDown, it looked like the ECW Champion might be getting a bigger push in the company than the preceding month had indicated. However, as stated by Vince McMahon in the ‘Rise and Fall of ECW’ documentary, it was pretty poor form from WWE; who many believe ‘killed’ the ECW brand that night by having Triple H beat Tazz in the fashion he did.
Did It Kill ECW?
“It didn’t do ECW any favours, but ‘kill’ might be a strong word” Jim Ross refuted on Grilling Jr. “It didn’t help anybody in that regard, except Hunter got a nice win in Philadelphia.”
JR would elaborate further, saying “Tazz was so under-utilized when we hired him for WWE. For whatever reason, he was never in political favour. You know Hunter/Triple H may have had an issue. Hunter was 6’4, Tazz what? 5’8, 5’10 or 5’9? I don’t know, but he’s under six foot.” There have been reports in the past of Triple H allegedly destroying pushes for talent that he deemed where not ‘big enough,’ another example being the alleged attempt to hold down Kurt Angle in the same era.
Human Suplex Machine
Jim Ross would elaborate further, saying “the perception was, even though Tazz could snuff out 99% of the guys on the roster? That he’s not ‘convincing.’ Well if you watch any of the ECW stuff? Tazz got over. And people believed he WAS the ‘Human Suplex Machine.’ So that was a big get for me [as head of talent relations], I was a big mark for his work in ECW. [Paul] Heyman knew how to book him.”
Ross would finish by making some scathing remarks, again seemingly aimed towards ‘The Game’ Triple H. “So, there again you get these egos involved. ‘Okay, He’s too short’ says who? The f*ck are you now Lou Thesz!? And then the other thing is, guys that haven’t been in too many real fights? Have never had their ass beat by somebody shorter than them.”
Do you think that the match hurt Tazz’s WWE career back in 2000? Check it out below and let us know your thoughts in the comments
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Last night’s edition of WWE Smackdown featured tributes to Triple H’s 25 years with WWE. Vince McMahon also sent out a tweet commemorating Triple H’s time with the company. President of the United States, Donald Trump, replied to the post stating he believes Triple H is a “total winner.”
Donald Trump is a WWE Hall of Fame inductee. He was inducted into the celebrity wing of the HOF in 2013. Other inductees that year include Mick Foley, Bruno Sammartino, Trish Stratus, Booker T, and Bob Backlund.
Triple H’s 25 Years In WWE
Triple H’s quarter-century in WWE was celebrated on Smackdown this week and several people have been congratulating him online as well. In a recent interview with ESPN, Triple H commented on some of his favorite matches from his career.
“Probably myself vs. The Undertaker in “Hell in a Cell” [at WrestleMania 28]. They billed it as an “End of an Era” match. Shawn Michaels was the guest referee. I think it was the most meaningful for the three of us — the end of all of our time together, the last big hurrah in the ring. So that one really stands out to me.”
WWE is celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the in-ring debut of Triple H and the Game has been doing media rounds on the occasion, talking about various things.
He recently had another such interview with ESPN where the
former World Champion talked about things like the talent adapting to shows
without an audience and more.
When asked which is the favorite WrestleMania match of his
career, Triple H said that it’s probably his End of an Era bout against The
Undertaker at WrestleMania 28:
“Probably myself vs. The Undertaker in “Hell in a Cell” [at WrestleMania 28]. They billed it as an “End of an Era” match. Shawn Michaels was the guest referee. I think it was the most meaningful for the three of us — the end of all of our time together, the last big hurrah in the ring. So that one really stands out to me.”
When asked if he has a favorite opponent, H said that there
are a bunch of them and the honorable mentions include people like The
Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley and The Rock.
However, if there is one guy he could roll out of his bed on
five minutes’ notice and can still tear the house apart with in a 45 minutes
match, then it’s definitely Shawn Michaels.
Apart from this, Triple H talked about his favorite non-WrestleMania match, his favorite behind the scene moment in WWE and more.
WWE Hall of Famer Triple H recently spoke with Newsweek to talk about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he was asked whether he wishes he was able to work a Money In The Bank Ladder Match.
“I have no desire to climb a high ladder and get pushed off of it,” he said. “There are certain guys that are built for ladders and guys who are and I’m not one of them.
My ladder matches have normally involved me whacking someone with it or getting whacked with it a lot. So climbing and falling off of it is not my forte.”
Triple H continued by noting that when these types of matches started to come around, it was built around an additional match at WrestleMania. He pointed out how he had various storylines going on at the time of these matches taking place and was never involved in the matches.
Triple H noted that he has worked ladder matches in the past but not working the Money In The Bank Ladder Match is something that he never regrets not being able to do because no one has ever seen him do a moonsault before.
WWE holds the Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on May 10th with both men’s and women’s ladder matches taking place at WWE’s headquarters.
Triple H was recently a guest on After The Bell podcast of Corey Graves, where among other things; he explained the process of putting together the boneyard match between Undertaker and AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36.
The Game first explained how he got assigned to produce the match and revealed that he went to Vince McMahon. He asked the Boss what he needed to look at and McMahon assigned him to the boneyard match without even knowing what it was going to be:
“I then went to Vince and was like, ‘what do you think needs the most for me to look at it?'” recalled Triple H. “And he was like, ‘the Boneyard match’, and I was like, ‘OK, great. So what is the Boneyard Match?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t know, like a graveyard. It’s in a graveyard.’ I said, ‘OK.'”
The former World Champion then explained the tough conditions they had to shoot in. He remembered how he was only assigned one cameraman for the match because the company was shooting WrestleMania simultaneously at the Performance Center.
Triple H spoke to Vince McMahon about it. He got the approval to get the NXT crew including Jeremy Borash and a team of digital shooters involved in the production and they finally began the shooting:
“So we gathered everybody up and we started laying it all out together and then set it up like a movie and went and shot it. I think we had seven cameras and we used a couple of drones in the process to shoot some of Taker’s arrival and things like that.
“Literally when we were shooting into the graveyard, if it was light out, there’s a house right there, but luckily the guy that owned this place over here was his house and he had all lights off so you couldn’t see it on the other side of the darkness.”
The King Of Kings later also revealed that the set they were
shooting at was a one-acre land that was behind a barn at the end of a
residential neighborhood.
Previous reports have revealed that it took them 5 days to build the set and 8 hours to complete the shoot of the highly praised cinematic match. You can check out some more backstage details and behind the scene photos of the production here.
Triple H is one of the most decorated stars in the history of WWE with 14 world title wins and half a dozen other championship victories over the course of his career.
However, all this wouldn’t have been possible if the Game had not left WCW in 1995 and joined WWE and during his recent appearance on the Bump, the former World Champion explained how it came to be.
Triple H recalled how he was trying to gain interest because his WCW contract was coming up. He spoke to J.J. Dillon who was the WWE talent head at the time and he arranged a meeting with Vince McMahon.
The DX member then detailed his first meeting with the Boss while he was still under a WCW contract. He revealed that they had a very friendly discussion and his biggest take away from it was the larger than life impression of Mr. McMahon:
“I spoke to J.J. He brought me into a meeting with Vince. I remember coming in and meeting Vince and thinking well for one, he’s Vince McMahon, he has a larger than life presence.” said Triple H” Also, it was the ultimate meeting you could take in the business, especially at that time – maybe even more so today, I guess.
We had a very cordial meeting. He asked me what my plans were, and why I wanted to go there [WWF], as opposed to where I was, all that kind of stuff. I guess the biggest takeaway for me was the larger than life impression Vince McMahon gave.”
Triple H then revealed that the company called him a month after this meeting, right after his Starrcade match with Alex Wright. They asked him if he was still interested in joining the promotion and this led to his WWE debut.
The King Of Kings made his in-ring debut for the company in April 1995 and since then, he has went on to become one of the top stars in the history of the business.
The EVP of Global Talent Strategy & Development for WWE Triple H recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast this week. ‘The Game’ discussed a number of subjects from his near 25 year career, including the filming and logistics of WrestleMania 36 that took place earlier this month.
This year’s WrestleMania is unlike any that fans have ever seen and hopefully the worldwide pandemic will have cleared by WrestleMania 37 next year. This year’s iteration of the biggest show in WWE’s calendar also took place over 2 nights, unprecedented in the event’s history.
Many fans and those in the industry would applaud the concept, with previous shows lasting nearly 8 hours including the pre-show. One of the bigger names that agrees with the two night concept? Triple H.
Triple H on a Two-Night Event
“Well, I mean my opinion is my opinion, but I think it was much more enjoyable than the eight hour extravaganza” Triple H began on the episode. “It’s just become so big that it’s almost when you think about it; it started out as a concert that ended up being a festival.”
Concert To Festival
The Cerebral Assassin would elaborate further, saying “it’s this week long thing you know? When you think about it in that manner. Now the Thursday would have been the Hall of Fame, Friday was Smackdown, Saturday was going to be NXT Takeover. Sunday would have been WrestleMania, Monday would have been RAW.”
With Chaos Comes The Genius
Triple H would then confirm that he much preferred the two-night concept for the actual WrestleMania event itself. “Like, it’s a week long festival and I think that the big main-stage attraction needs to be those two nights and it’d be this weekend of events. I do think that’s probably a change that; with chaos comes the genius and maybe that is the genius of it. I know there’s been people saying that for a period of time, but that’s a major shift and that doesn’t come easy. I think people in the world look at stuff like that and think ‘why can’t they just make it two nights?'”
Hunter would sarcastically finish by saying “yeah, because it’s really easy to!”
Do you think that WrestleMania should be a 2-night event going forward? Let us know in the comments
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of WWE show The Bump. Johnson provided a pre-recorded video, congratulating Triple H, who was celebrating his 25th anniversary in WWE.
Recording in his backyard, The Rock reflected on Triple H’s “epic, historic” career. He confessed he was honored to be able to send him a message to commemorate the occasion. “We are lucky boys to have had the career we have had in the world that we love so much in pro wrestling.”
The Rock shared how Triple H has been good to him from the start. He added that he could see the hunger in Triple H’s eyes and knew that they would be competitors. Johnson explained how “That’s exactly why we gelled together; why we had incredible chemistry.”
“There’s only one man that I’ve gone around the world with and wrestled consistently so many times, and put in just incredible matches, and that is you,” The Rock said. “And I thank you. I love you. Congratulations, man, on just such an amazing career.”
Rock then spoke about Triple H’s work away from the ring, calling it “unparalleled.” He pointed to his work with NXT and WWE and his commitment to making sure the fans are happy. He talked about how wrestling is in Triple H’s blood and DNA, noting how “it’s as if you were born in the business.”
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Triple H is apparently unfazed by All Elite Wrestling’s recent string of ratings victories over NXT. The two shows compete head-to-head on Wednesday nights in what many have dubbed the Wednesday Night Wars. Speaking with Sports Illustrated, “The Game” explained why he isn’t concerned, noting that he believes it’s a long game.
“I’m a believer in the long-term game,” Triple H said. “You create the right product, and over time, people will find it. I think back to Monday nights years ago, and it looks different now, but there were periods of time when WWE was putting on much better shows and the content was much better, but we were still getting beat. We were not winning ‘the war,’ but we stayed true to who we were.”
Triple H stated how fans are attracted to a flashy, exciting product that can’t maintain its momentum, then “it loses that pizzazz.” According to him, it’s the determination to commit to the long-term that will see a true winner. He stressed how he’s not concerned by the week-by-week numbers. Instead, all he cares about is putting on the best NXT show possible every week.
NXT General Manager William Regal is set to appear on WWE show The Bumplater today to reveal some breaking news regarding NXT. This week’s episode will see Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano compete in an empty arena match. Triple H made the matchup official during last week’s episode of NXT.
Triple H has responded to the criticism WWE has received for going through with WrestleMania 36 despite the current coronavirus pandemic.
Former WWE Champion “The Game” was recently a guest on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show” to discuss “The Show Of Shows.” Triple H noted that WWE believes they’re putting on an essential service of entertaining fans during this hectic time.
“Look, there’s going to be critics of everything. I think we’re doing this to provide what we believe is an essential service in entertaining our fans, entertaining people around the world, and I think you see that with ESPN picking up past WrestleManias, and FOX, NBC and that partnership, we can put out content… even our historic content is evergreen in nature because of the storytelling aspect of what we do, and I say this a lot, we’re more akin to the ‘Rocky’ movie than we are actual boxing.
“Once the event takes place live in boxing, you’re kind of done with it. With us, you’ll watch it over and over again, because it’s the story, and the characters, and the emotion that you feel. You’ll go back and relive those epic moments — Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3, or whatever connects with you from the past.
He went on to note that WWE is working very closely with government officials, and taking all the necessary precautions to protect all involved.
“We’re working with the government officials very closely. We’re taking all of the precautions, we’re screening our talent. Anybody that’s uncomfortable doing this doesn’t have to. The crew and the staff is very, very limited.
“We’re working the talent waves, where we bring them in for their particular stuff and then they can leave, and keeping people as separated as possible, trying to do this in as safe a way as possible, while still being able to perform a vital service. We’re following CDC recommendations, as well as Dr. Joseph Maroon and Dr. Jeffrey Dugas.”
WrestleMania 36 was initially scheduled to take place from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on April 5. However, after the coronavirus outbreak, the event was canceled due to gathering bans. WrestleMania was expected to attract over 70,000 people. Now, the event has been relocated to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Also, the show will take place over the span of two nights. Day one of WrestleMania 36 begins tomorrow, Saturday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. ET.
The action continues on Sunday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m. ET as well. Aside from the location and date changes, some of the matches have also been affected. One of the biggest changes being Roman Reigns’ removal from his Universal Title match with Goldberg. Goldberg will now face a replacement opponent on the show.
During Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Triple H was asked what he might be doing had he never met or married Stephanie McMahon. He explained how he’s always had a fascination with how things work behind-the-scenes, regardless of his relationship with Stephanie. He noted that this interest is how he first started working with Vince McMahon. According to him, they started working together during the beginning of the Attitude Era.
“I had never even met Steph at that point,” Triple H explained. “He and I were working creatively when a bunch of writers left us and Vince was kind of doing everything solo. He kind of tagged me in to help him in a manner and riff ideas off and bounce ideas off of and then I started sitting in production meetings and it became more and more my involvement.”
“The Game” continued, “Even for stuff that had zero to do with me, which I tended to prefer. I didn’t like to weigh on the stuff that had to do with me nearly as much because I felt like it was wrong to do and your vision can get warped in that but to weigh in on other people’s things and to weigh in on other shows, I was always as fascinated with that side of the business.”
Triple H believes that even if he had never met or married Stephanie McMahon, he would still be involved in behind-the-scenes activity. He noted how his relationship with her is the best thing that ever happened to him.
Triple H has teased that Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania story will pan out in a “unique manner.” Reigns recently pulled out of his WrestleMania 36 matchup. He was due to face Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Triple H addressed Reigns’ decision, noting how there are different ways for fans to engage with the pro wrestling industry.
“Well, it’s a funny thing. You know, I think you can watch our business in multiple different ways,” Triple H said. “One of them is the storyline aspect of and [following] the storyline. Another way is the online component of it. And the reality of it behind it, Roman has is his situation and his reasons for doing the things that he’s doing.”
Triple H suggested that there are still plans in place for where Reigns can go from a narrative perspective. He added that he doesn’t want to go into too much detail, as he didn’t want to “give away the ending of the movie.”
He continued, “But I will say from our standpoint and the storyline standpoint, it’s going to play out in a unique manner. And we wanted it to play out that way. And, you know, it’s not necessarily putting me in an awkward position. It’s just me saying I don’t want to give away the ending of the movie before the movie takes place.”
“So I think everybody just has to watch and kind of see how this unfolds. But it will unfold in a unique way. And I think it will be meaningful, you know, for everybody. And again, there’ll always be critics and we’re doing the best we can.”
WrestleMania 36 airs on the WWE Network this weekend on April 4 and April 5.
