Triple H Accused of Prioritizing Politics Over WWE Duties Amid Creative Shakeup

WWE’s behind-the-scenes creative shakeup for SmackDown may have more going on than just fan backlash—especially now that questions are surfacing about Triple H’s recent absences.

According to the October 10 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Paul “Triple H” Levesque has missed a number of recent WWE television tapings. While one person close to him insists these were scheduled absences and that he hasn’t missed any creative meetings, others within WWE are beginning to talk about the impact his outside interests may be having on his role.

“Paul Levesque has missed some shows of late and it’s led to people saying his political priorities (not wrestling politics but US politics) have started to hurt the company,” Dave Meltzer reported.

One source pushed back on the claim, saying that Levesque’s absences were planned ahead of time and that he remains actively involved in creative planning. However, even some of his supporters are reportedly concerned about the perception that he wants to become the face of the brand—drawing comparisons to UFC President Dana White.

“Even those who have and still do solidly back him have said that he wants to be Dana White, basically positioned to the crowd as the biggest star of the brand,” Meltzer added.

Meltzer noted that some people in WWE see this ambition as a kind of “Dana-envy.” The report suggests TKO might even want Levesque in that role, given that other major figures like Nick Khan, Cody Rhodes, or even Dwayne Johnson can’t consistently fill that space due to different limitations.

“He has missed some television tapings of late, some of which have been reported and others of which have not,” Meltzer concluded.

All of this comes on the heels of WWE’s effort to improve SmackDown’s creative direction, following heavy fan backlash and the #FireTripleH hashtag trending for nearly a full day after a dip in ratings and negative reviews of recent episodes. WWE hasn’t linked any of these creative changes to the social media outrage—but the timing has sparked serious speculation.