WWE Allowing Talent More Freedom On Mic And To Improvise More

According to a report by PWInsider it's being said that WWE is allowing talent to have more freedom while on the mic. They also are allowed to improvise more, and call spots in the ring.

PWInsider were told that a big part of what made the Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre match so great on Smackdown last week is that it was called in the ring, and not having every single single spot laid out to them beforehand.

Triple H Provides Fans With An Update On His Health At SummerSlam Tryouts

Triple H has provided fans with an update on his health during the SummerSlam Tryouts.

The newly appointed  WWE Head of Creative and Talent Relations revealed that he has been feeling great since his health scare in September of last year when he underwent heart surgery after suffering a cardiac event caused by a genetic heart condition. He said that it took him some time to heal up, but he is currently back to being fully healthy. He noted that he is 100% back to working again and trying his best to fill their big shows.

“It was a glitch in the road,” Triple H said. “Luckily for me, it was caught. It took a little for me to get past it, but I’m over it, and I’ve got a clean bill of health.”

Triple H shared that he will not be making a return to the squared circle because he feels like his time in the ring had concluded. While The Game may not be returning to active competition, he still has a passion for the business and expressed his desire to make it better than ever.

He continued to say that fans should embrace their families, their friends, and what they love to do in life. He said to work hard for want you want out of life.

“I have a new appreciation for life,” Triple H said. “It’s precious and it doesn’t last long. Embrace it. Get everything you can out of it.”

The former WWE Champion mentioned that he has made positive changes to his wellness routine. He said he has been sleeping more and told fans not to be afraid to do the same. Triple H also noted how he approaches the business because he loves it and wants to continue to be involved with it.

Rumor Mill - NXT Expected To "Somewhat" Return To Triple H’s Vision For The Brand

Shawn Michaels has been in charge of the day-to-day running of NXT since Triple H’s took leave last year with health issues, Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were also overseeing the booking but with McMahon now gone it is believed Triple H will be more involved with the brand.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that “in NXT, the belief was that the product will revert back somewhat to Levesque’s previous vision of it.”

Meltzer noted the belief was that while they will continue to heavily recruit top-tier athletes, WWE would be open to using more experienced wrestling talent, and going forward, “the door would be more open to better wrestlers who weren’t as big or as good looking as [Vince] McMahon wanted on the roster.”

Linda McMahon Responds To Reporter About Vince Mcmahon’s Retirement

Outkick is reporting that during the America First Policy Institute’s conference, Linda McMahon was asked by a reporter about her husband Vince McMahon retiring from WWE and what she thought.

Linda at first refused to comment, but then followed up with a brief statement saying, "You know what, he’ll just be deciding on how he’s going to spend his free time. I think that’s a good thing."

Vince’s daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named co-CEOs of WWE following his departure.

Insight Into The Dynamic Of Stephanie McMahon And Nick Khan As WWE Co-CEOs

Following Vince McMahon’s decision to retire one week ago amid allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, Stephanie McMahon, his daughter, has taken up the reins as chairwoman moving forward. In addition, Stephanie will also work side-by-side with Nick Khan — who became an executive within the company in August 2020 — as co-CEOs. Although their tenure sharing the executive position has just begun, the lid has been lifted on the duo’s dynamic behind the scenes.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter has disclosed that Khan will deal with the business side of the company, while McMahon will be the public face of WWE and will run the wrestling side of business with her husband, Paul Levesque (fka Triple H). Levesque, who will also serve the company as EVP of Talent Relations, assumed the role of head of creative for the entire organization’s on-screen product earlier this week in the aftermath of his father-in-law’s exit. The Observer noted that, for many years, the belief was that Stephanie and Levesque were the heirs to the throne, and despite recent events making it seem unlikely, that now seems to have come to unexpected fruition, especially as regards to the wrestling side of things.

Additionally, in regard to Stephanie and Khan’s roles as co-CEOs, it was said from people who work with top executives in a similar arrangement that, more often than not, things don’t tend to work out. Disagreements are reportedly common, as neither person will have complete power to implement their own vision. Nevertheless, a WWE source is encouraged by the news of the pair sharing the key position.

I actually believe this pairing is necessary,” a WWE source told the Wrestling Observer. “Nick is a revenue driver. And he’s been involved in things that are not his specialty. What he’s good at, he’s great at. Steph is the promoter. The old school promoter with the new lexicon in media about analytics and branding. If Steph sticks to being a promoter, managing the relationships for the company, and Nick sticks to revenue, they’re a formidable team.”

Triple H Comments On Leading WWE Creative

During a media scrum in Nashville as part of WWE SummerSlam week, Triple H was asked by Nick Hausman of Wrestling INC how his vision will change from that of Vince's.

"You gotta watch the show. You gotta watch the show," he said with a laugh.

He continued, providing a little more color on the situation by saying, "This is the longest-running stuff on TV, we say it all the time. Raw, SmackDown, SummerSlam, everything we're doing. There are a massive pair of shoes to fill that I'm trying in some way to step into, but I do not dream, for one second, that I can fill those shoes by myself. It's going to take a lot of us. It's going to take a team. It's going to take everybody here to fill those shoes and continue on, but we will. The intent is to continue the legacy of what has been going on, that made me fall in love with this business that he created and to take it to new levels. To take it to beyond where it is now. The only way we're going to do that is as a team. That's with Steph, Nick Khan, myself, Kevin Dunn, everybody that is here. All this talent. The great, hardest working talent in the world. I have no doubt in my mind that with this team, we can do it. Not an inkling of doubt. It's just a lot of hard work and we're all going to grind. We have the greatest fans in the world and we're going to make sure they get everything they want out of this product and then some."

With Vince retiring, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named Co-CEOs of the company.

Later during the scrum, Triple H was asked by Jon Alba of AdFreeShows about Paul Heyman, who is helping scout talent during the WWE tryouts, possibly being involved in creative and development aspects going forward

"I want ideas from everybody. I want thoughts from everybody. To me, this inclusive. That goes for the talent. When I say this is going to take all of us, it's going to take all of us. I want that. Paul is one of the best promos in the history of this business. Who better? When I asked him to be part of this, he was thrilled. We both joke about the fountain of youth at these things. Who better to come here to talk about that skill? Paul has the gift of gab, always has. Who better to come here and motivate these kids?" said Triple H, before also mentioning Big E and Bianca Belair as people who have helped out with the tryouts.

source: fightful.com

What’s that thing about getting exactly what you want?

Happy Birthday Triple H

Paul Michael Levesque
July 27, 1969

Triple H Promises WWE Talent A "More Transparent Creative Process"

WWE announced yesterday, before WWE Monday Night RAW, that Paul "Triple H" Levesque will lead the creative team effective immediately, essentially replacing Vince McMahon as the person who has to give his approval on anything related to storylines and character development.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Triple H spoke to talent in an internal meeting before RAW went on the air last night.

In the meeting, Triple H (who also is the new EVP of Talent Relations) promised greater transparency when it comes to creative, something that was said to be severely lacking under Vince McMahon's leadership. HHH emphasized that he wants an "open line of communication" between him and the wrestlers, something that was nearly non-existent with Vince as some wrestlers waited hours and hours to speak to him if they were lucky to even get that face-to-face time. Triple H also stressed that he wants work to be fun.

Some wrestlers who spoke of this meeting said that it went "really well", leaving many with a sense of optimism that there will be positive changes when it comes to creative. The USA Network, one of WWE's biggest partners, appears to be pleased with the move to appoint Levesque as the top dog for creative as they posted the following on Facebook and on their website.

Source: FightfulSelect.com

WWE’s Latest SEC Filing Includes Legally Foreboding Language

WWE released their latest SEC filing, which revealed that the company had made “a preliminary determination” that payments McMahon made from 2006 to 2022 were not recorded as expenses in the quarters they occurred in, thus making them “Unrecorded Expenses.” As such, WWE announced they are revising previous financial statements to record these “Expenses” for the end of 2019, 2020, 2021 and Q1 of 2022, with the goal of issuing new statements by August 9.

WWE also revealed that the total of “Unrecorded Expenses” was around $14.6 million, and that McMahon had paid or would pay the amount personally. The $14.6 million, which WWE claims “was not material to any individual time period in which the Unrecorded Expenses arose,” has been determined to be an aggregate amount, and WWE is continuing to evaluate “the impact on previously reported on previously reported financial statements.”

It had been previously reported that McMahon had paid $12.5 million to keep quiet numerous potential scandals, with the individual payouts ranging from $7.5 million to $3 million to two $1 million payouts. If those payments are part of the $14.6 million, that would leave approximately $2.1 million unaccounted for. It’s unknown if this will lead to more payouts related to McMahon being revealed going forward.

The WWE closed out this section of their filing with a brief statement that suggested that the actions of McMahon may lead to more controversy for the promotion in the days to come:

“The Company has also received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters.”

WWE and Board of Directors Announce New Co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan; Paul Levesque to Assume Control of Creative

WWE and its Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-Chief Executive Officers. Ms. McMahon has also been appointed Chairwoman of the Board, and Mr. Khan will continue to serve as a member of the Board. These appointments follow Vince McMahon’s retirement announcement on Friday, July 22.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to lead WWE together with our unmatched management team," said Ms. McMahon and Mr. Khan. "We recognize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, and we look forward to serving the WWE Universe." 

Additionally, WWE executive Paul Levesque will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative, in addition to his regular duties.

Vince McMahon Retires

Vince McMahon today released the following statement:

“As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE. Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment.

“Our global audience can take comfort in knowing WWE will continue to entertain you with the same fervor, dedication, and passion as always. I am extremely confident in the continued success of WWE, and I leave our company in the capable hands of an extraordinary group of Superstars, employees, and executives – in particular, both Chairwoman and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Co-CEO Nick Khan. As the majority shareholder, I will continue to support WWE in any way I can. My personal thanks to our community and business partners, shareholders, and Board of Directors for their guidance and support through the years. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”