Backstage Reactions To Triple H Taking Over WWE Duties From Vince McMahon

Triple H being at the helm of talent relations and creative already has talent outside of WWE interested.

Fightful has spoken to countless (or actually a couple of dozen) former wrestlers who left WWE for a variety of reasons about Triple H gaining more control within the company, as well as Stephanie McMahon’s influence.

Talent who left dating back to 2016 spoke with us about how different things would have been if Triple H had been in control much earlier. One who left that year said that it appeared when they left that Triple H had plenty of say in hiring and firing, as well as creative across all levels, but clearly not as much as he does now. They didn’t think that him being around back then would have led them to staying aboard, but do believe that a different set of creative circumstances could have led to them gauging WWE’s interest in that time period since.

There are numerous NXT talent that have been released along the way that believe that had Triple H had been in these roles that they wouldn’t have been released — in fact, the majority that we spoke to. However, there were a couple that were realistic with the fact that they weren’t being utilized or progressing fast enough before their cut. One even said “at some point, someone had to be cut, so I wouldn’t be realistic to say that it couldn’t or wouldn’t be me just because the person who got me hired had more power.” Another noted they didn’t think they’d have been protected to any degree, as they were pretty much parked and not used on TV for months anyway.

One former NXT talent that had options within WWE before signing elsewhere said that they felt an incredible sense of loyalty to Triple H, and had he been the person managing their creative future “things could have been much different.” That talent, and another talent that ended up in AEW said that they had no confidence in being creatively satisfied on the WWE main roster. One said “I’m glad that I went to AEW, but if I was graduating to a Triple H-led Smackdown or Raw, I probably would have re-signed with WWE before my deal was up.”

Another top free agent that has several options that Fightful Select spoke to said that both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon being in their positions greatly increases the possibility of them eventually heading back to the company. We’ve heard from other free agents that were hopeful their previous relationships with Triple H led to them at least having conversations, but didn’t expect that to happen imminently.

We’ll look to speak to more talent soon about this.

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