Triple H overseeing WWE creative will be game-changer
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
WWE has announced Triple H will oversee creative for its shows in the wake of Vince McMahon's retiring, a potential game-changing moment for the company.
In a press release statement Monday morning, WWE confirmed Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan will share the role of co-CEOs following Vince’s retirement last week.
The statement also noted that, in addition to his talent relations duties, Paul "Triple H" Levesque will be taking over the creative department.
Depending on your level of fandom, the news of Levesque's assuming this position will either surprise or excite you.
If you’re a casual fan, who remembers his power-thirsty character from the Attitude Era, you might be wondering if this is a storyline.
If you’re a dedicated viewer, however, you know this can only be seen as a positive for the future of WWE’s television programs.
While running the NXT brand from 2010 until last year, Triple H helped the show move from streaming services to cable TV, from local events to sold-out arenas, from the Divas era to a women’s evolution, and so much more.
"The Game" recruited fresh talent to the company, had a good relationship with most Superstars and brought new ideas to television.
In fact, most of the top stars in wrestling right now — either in WWE or outside the company — had a stint on NXT TV because of him or trained at the Performance Center for a time to grow as a performer.
NXT 1.0 served a portion of the audience something they had been desperately craving, and we all happily ate it up.
I even brought my casual fan father to an NXT TakeOver with me once. Like most fans, he has very staunch opinions, but by the end of the night, he was on his feet chanting "fight forever" at Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn with the rest of us.
This is the type of feeling Triple H can replicate again in WWE: moments where two family members, or huge groups of fans, get lost in a match together, rather than bonding over what they didn’t like afterward.
Levesque is connected to what the modern-day wrestling fan wants. What the modern-day wrestling fan needs. Now, with all talent at his disposal and without any restraints, he once again has the opportunity to change the business for the better.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying WWE TV is going to become NXT. Nor am I saying the shows are going to change overnight.
What I am saying, however, is that if a fraction of that energy can be brought to TV, it would feel like an instant breath of fresh air.
I also have faith that Triple H will begin to make the changes wrestling fans have been wanting to see more of on TV: longer matches with satisfying finishes, more character development, and storylines that don’t feel disconnected from the week before.
These are things that could start to change over the next week.
In the longer term, it would make sense for Levesque to call up NXT veterans such as Io Shirai and Roderick Strong to the main roster, as well as re-hire some who got away such as Johnny Gargano and Dakota Kai.
If Levesque can once again be the guy who got the internet to send him a fruit basket for his good booking in NXT, or the person lovingly referred to as Papa H by wrestlers and fans alike, it could be a game-changing moment for WWE.
This is a chance to change the narrative on his career, to no longer be seen as the perennial villain, but instead as the hero who saved WWE when the company needed him most.
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Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.
