Heading into SummerSlam, one of the biggest controversies Paul “Triple H” Levesque faced was actually regarding the composition of the card and how few female matches were on the card.
After months of anticipation and build, Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch spent their SummerSlams on vacation, while Rhea Ripely's only appearance came as the backup to Finn Balor during his match with Seth Rollins. And as for the women's tag team champions, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville? Their names weren't mentioned at all, not even in passing.
Asked about female representation on WWE shows and Premium Live Events during the post-SummerSlam media session, Triple H let it be known that, in his opinion, any talk of cut matches was foolish, because no one announced an official card.
“You know, there was a lot of banter this week about matches being cut, right, which was the word that was used but nothing was cut, there was no card announced, right?” Triple H noted. “If we don't have more things in the pocket ready to go for a PLE than can fit in the PLE, I've done a terrible job because there's always an injury waiting around the corner, there's always a moment that changes everything, and when one creative thing changes, it changes the entire trajectory of everything, so if you don't have more stuff then you need ready to go, then you've failed. Then you get to the unfortunate place where you and I've got too much stuff. I don't know about any of you, but the show was plenty long tonight. Plenty long, right? If it had been longer, it would have been bad, and so, there comes a time when you say, well, ‘Does everything get shorter time, does everything get rushed, does everything get hurried? Or do we move things around and shift it and give it a bigger spotlight?' As a performer, for me, I'd have the bigger spotlight, that's how I look at it.”
A diplomatic way to get around the controversy? Eh, maybe a little bit, but considering Austin Theory had to wrestle in the Slim Jim Battle Royal and was eliminated so nonchalantly that few even noticed, it's clear the 14-time champion genuinely felt as though he had more ideas than available matches for the over four-hour card. For the sake of Stratus, Lynch, Ripley, and beyond, let's hope they have better luck at PayBack.
Triple H reveals Vince McMahon's current role in the WWE Universe.
Later in his post-SummerSlam press conference, Paul “Triple H” Levesque was asked about Vince McMahon and how current role within the promotion.
While Levesque did go out of his way to put over his current boss and the promotion's former booker, in the end, he gave fans the news they were hoping to hear.
“The reason WWE is what it is, the reason this business, not just WWE, you could make an argument, a very valid one, that without Vince and his vision for this business, maybe it wouldn't be here anymore,” Levesque said via Fightful. “There were things at that time, back in the day, that were very popular, roller derby, things like that, that just disappeared off the face of the planet. The vision of what he did changed the business, changed all of it, for 50 years. An incredible run of success. No greater mind in the business. At this point in time, if all of us, didn't look in moments of time for counsel from him on thoughts or ideas or if we have a question, to go to him and ask, we'd be silly not to. It's sitting next to someone that has forgotten more about this than you'll ever know. To not utilize that in some aspect… is he day-to-day? No. Is he in it all the time? No. If anybody has, he's earned that right to be able to do that.”
Does Vince McMahon still have a place in the WWE Universe? Yes, he's technically the Executive Chairman of WWE and one of the highest-ranking officials in the company traded publically as TKO. Still, after a full year of Levesuq's booking revitalizing WWE's weekly product and turning the shows from monotonous chores to genuine must-see TV, it makes sense that some fans would be apprehensive when Mr. McMahon's name comes up in creative conversation, especially after noticing his fingerprints all over the disastrous RAW after WrestleMania. Regardless of how you feel about McMahon as a booker in the past, let alone as a man, it's clear few want to go back to 2021 any time soon.
Follow Us
Subscribe