Friday’s special live WWE themed The Pat McAfee Show featured WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque as the guest.
One of the topics discussed included Levesque’s thoughts about WWE’s free agent signing process and talents who succeed elsewhere does not mean that they will succeed at the “big time” in reference to WWE’s top status. Levesque also stated that talents who chose to pursue an easier work schedule elsewhere and claimed they are not being in it for the grind for their early careers being people who have no business being in WWE.
“There are things I used to be on top of all the time. I would keep track of everybody, everywhere, who was working in this business. I don’t have time to do that anymore. I have people who do that. People like William Regal and different folks that are out there. I get reports on everybody. I know who is out there, I know how good they are, I know what their potential is. I see what’s out there. I don’t subscribe to, ‘this guy says they are good, that guy says they are good.’ I have to see it. It’s just keeping track of who is out there and what they can do. Because they succeed someplace else doesn’t mean they’ll succeed at the big time. How many players go from college football at a high level and fail in the NFL? It’s massive. It’s a different game, a different world. If they are not here to be all in on this…when I see people coming out of trying to make it, and then they pick a job where, well, they work less, the schedule is lighter, then I’m like, ‘I’m glad I didn’t pick you.’ If you’re not in it for the grind, at that point early in your career, you have no business being here.”
Triple H also gave his thoughts about not being interested in the idea of having one more match due to health issues and being happily retired.
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think I should be out there taking bumps. I have a jumpstarter. That’s all good. That’s a backup system if anything goes bad in your life, which could happen to anybody at any given time. I have a backup system. You don’t want to unplug the wires.
It’s funny, people will be like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you can’t.’ I’m totally good with that. I rode until the wheels fell off. Almost literally. I’m great with that. I was at a place where I should have been retiring anyway. I was at a place in my mind where I wanted to be done with it. The last year, right before this all happened, I was asked to be at WrestleMania for two days. ‘I need you, you can work with anybody you want.’ I said, ‘I don’t think I want to do it.’ ‘Please think about it. Let’s just do it. Please think about it.’ I thought about it and was going to go back and say, ‘I’m not doing it,’ and then I had to not do it. I was already there. I’m good with it. I have zero regrets.”
Levesque also gave his thoughts about WWE only being in competition against itself.
“We were building up against something. Right now, we’re up against ourselves. We’re up against the Attitude Era, we’re up against the Ruthless Aggression era, whatever you want to call it. The best of the absolute best of WWE…that’s what we’re working against.”
In response from host Pat McAfee over how his competition comments might be taken by others, Levesque stated that he was not trying to cause any controversy and that the facts are facts.
Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1 & 2, F4WOnline.com