For the first time in 40 years, someone other than Vince McMahon, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, had creative control over WrestleMania.
From the match order, to the outcomes, the finishes, and the “Final Boss,” the man formerly known as “The Game” got to Dungeon Master over the entire WWE Universe and while it wasn't perfect, it was wholey his own, with fans, pundits, and wrestlers alike knowing who made every major decision on the show.
Asked what it was like to work under Triple H after exclusively being booked by Vince McMahon through his Hall of Fame-bound career during the WrestleMania 40 press conference, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave his new CCO a glowing review, celebrating his ability to put on a great show.
“I think that Triple H has done a tremendous job as our Chief Creative Officer, I think that’s his title, he has a few, earned every single one of them. I like ushering in new things and new times and new eras and it feels like in our world here, professional wrestling, it is a new era that we’re ushering in,” The Rock told reporters via 411 Mania.
“I talked to Triple H earlier as we were kicking off and kicking off the show tonight, and without giving details on what we talked about, it was a special night for him. This was the beginning of something and marking the beginning of something new for him, under his creative, and I think from a company standpoint, this is an exciting time for the company, for WWE, an exciting time for TKO. You felt the convergence towards the end of the year when the acquisition happened, you felt the convergence in the first quarter of the year as I was fortunate enough to come back and kind of traversed our way to what these storylines could look like, so it’s an exciting time, and I think we capped off day one of WrestleMania that we had stated was gonna be the biggest of all time, which is really saying a lot given the givens and how many great WrestleManias there has been in the past, so I thought collectively as a company and a team, put out a really great show tonight.”
Did The Rock have to give Triple H such an expansive, kind series of complements? No, while he is clearly a company man due to his spot on the TKO Board, they effectively came up together in the business, with the duo working over 170 matches together over their shared time in WWE. If The Rock wasn't happy, the heel could have easily cut a quick promo on Levesque, but instead, he handed him the flowers he deserved.
Triple H celebrates The Rock's physicality at WrestleMania 40.
After listening to “The Great One” sing his praises, Triple H had some kind things to say about The Rock during his own post-WrestleMania 40 press conference, celebrating the 51-year-old for being able to perform at such a high level despite being away from the ring regularly for the last decade.
While getting back into wrestling shape is one thing, The Rock's mind is what truly impressed Triple H, as knowing how to work over the crowd is just as important as how to work over an opponent.
“It wouldn’t be the physical part. He loves this and he’s going to throw caution to the wind and it’s going to be amazing and he’s going to go all out. When you’ve done this a long time, and you’re around it every day like that, you see composure in people that I can spot it in people now, it’s my job to spot it in people now to some degree now. I can spot it and tell you, who is comfortable, who is not, who is running through a bunch of stuff and doesn’t feel it, who is just doing things,” Triple H told reporters via 411 Mania.
“The most impressive thing to me was his composure and his being in the moment, and his feel. I could see him feeling everything that was happening, I could see it resonating in him and I could see his composure. When you haven’t done this for awhile and adrenaline hits you and you’re in front of all those people, and you’re zoned in, it moves fast, and you move fast with it, and you think you’re not but you are, and it’s the thing that you see stars have been doing this a long time that have really gotten to that next level. There is a calm. He was calm. To be gone that long and to be that calm and that composed and in control and feel and let it happen and feel it and digest it and let it come out of you, not many people can do that.”
In summation, you can take The Rock out of a professional wrestling ring for a decade, but you will never be able to take The Rock out of Dwayne Johnson, as shooters are going to shoot and workers are going to work, baby.
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