Triple H is done pretending WWE is something it is not—and he believes professional wrestling is stronger because of it.
During his appearance on Busted Open Radio, WWE’s Chief Content Officer pushed back against the idea that wrestling needs to present itself as a legitimate competitive sport to earn respect. Triple H said the business has moved beyond the days when wrestlers fought people in bars just to protect the illusion that everything happening inside the ring was real.
Dave LaGreca brought up Triple H’s belief that professional wrestling is an art form, prompting him to explain how the industry’s search for legitimacy has changed over the years.
“Yeah, look, I think that’s just looking at it through a different lens, right? There was a moment in time where our predecessors fought—literally fought tooth and nail in bars and clubs and on the street—to prove to people that this was real because they thought that was the badge of legitimacy of what we did.”
Triple H said WWE’s credibility now comes from how difficult the job actually is. The matches may be part of a larger television production, but the punishment, sacrifice and emotional investment are not fake.
“Over time, the badge of legitimacy of what we do is just what we do, right? It’s so difficult, it’s so physically demanding, it’s so all-encompassing. It’s an art form that takes over your life.”
He then made it clear that WWE does not need to place itself in the same category as the NFL, NBA or other competitive sports. Triple H sees it as a television series built around a sport, with real athletes performing physically demanding stories.
“We don’t have to fight people to tell them it’s real. We have to just show people what it is and say, from a storytelling standpoint, hopefully from an in-ring storytelling standpoint, from a physical standpoint—we don’t have to pretend we’re a real sport.”
“We’re a show, a movie, a TV show, a series about a sport, right? But the physicality is real, the emotions are real, what people put into it are real—maybe more so than any other sport or business I’ve ever seen.”
Triple H is not trying to hide what WWE is. His argument is that the truth behind professional wrestling—the injuries, athleticism, storytelling and obsession required to succeed—is impressive enough without pretending every match is a legitimate athletic contest.
Do you agree with Triple H that WWE should openly embrace being entertainment instead of presenting itself like a real sport? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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