Hunter also says that the core business model has not changed. He talks about how fans say things like "they would have done that if we hadn't done this". He brings up the example about how if Hulk Hogan was getting wildly cheered in Minnesota for the AWA, he would not have gone to New York for WWE to become wildly popular as the champion of the promotion. WWE calls audibles whenever they need to.
Stone Cold asks him about the Reality Era, and how it is harder to be a genuine babyface, because fans will cheer and boo who they want. As Triple H mentions sites such as "Grantland" that cover the insides of the business, he basically says that "the reality is the business". As a result, everyone has a voice and fans are even more critical and analytical of the product. The IWC unleases their venom every week on Social Media. He also mentions the backlash about the Royal Rumble, where fans booed Roman out of the building as they insisted that Daniel Bryan win. (I covered that in detail already)
Triple H even admitted that he doesn't believe that anyone is truly ready for the top spot, no matter how ready the fans think they are, or how ready they think they are in their own mind. I can understand that, because the WWE System causes you to polish yourself and understand structure. (At least he didn't use the lame "Brass Ring" line)
Trips also addresses the idea that he only got to the top, because of his marriage into the McMahon family. He says that Undertaker helped him get past that dictating opinion, which I am sure really frustrated him. Triple H admits that he would still be in the top spot even without marrying Stephanie. I absolutely agree, because Triple H paid his dues. He was already rising to the top BEFORE Steph arrived on the scene. He may have more leverage backstage, but he would still make it to the top of the roster on his own.
Now, this is where the Interview REALLY heats up. Stone Cold brings up the name that is a Smoking Gun to the McMahon Family: Chyna. Up to this point, Triple H pretty much deviated from being the Kayfabe Corporate Authority Figure. This time, he did a song and dance because this was clearly the lightning rod of Stone Cold's podcast. When Austin addressed Vince about Macho Man going into the HOF, Vince responded by saying "Yes, he will go in.". Within the blink of an eye, Savage is announced. However, once Chyna is mentioned, Triple H hesitates and gives a PR answer. First, he gives Chyna credit for being a trailblazer, and a pioneer for Women in Wrestling. However, he gives doubts about her being inducted, because he gives the watered down excuse of not wanting his 8 year-old daughter looking for Chyna on Google to discover her porn career. I understand that WWE is doing their best to clean up the product, but that is not the real reason why Chyna is not in. Everyone knows that the REAL reason why she is not in, is because he does not want his children to know that their Dad was involved in a Love Triangle Affair, where he had a relationship with their Mom, while living with Chyna. They must not be ready for that conversation, I guess. He also did not want to mention the fact that Stephanie and Chyna want no part of each other, especially with the distasteful things that Chyna has said about her on YouTube. Chyna is the thorn for Triple H that Warrior, Bret and Savage were to Vince. Trips wants to hide the fact that Once Upon A Time, WWE was notorious for negative stereotypes and the degradation of women (Sable, Sunny, Godfather's Ho Train, even Katie Vick. That's enough for now). You also want to conceal Chyna's obvious porno past with your Kliq golden boy X-Pac, who is in high favor with WWE because of his numerous appearances at Live Events. Your kids don't know, but people like myself and older fans know what is behind closed doors. I am not justifying Chyna's decisions, but she was an integral part of one of the most successfully mainstream Eras in company history, The Attitude Era. Chyna broke barriers for females, as she was one of the founding members of D-Generation-X, a group that is widely considered to be the greatest of all-time (especially by WWE). Chyna was with the first incarnation when it was a trio, with HBK and HHH himself. She was also part of the expansion, when Shawn retired and X-Pac and the New Age Outlaws were added. As an individual, she is the ONLY Woman to win the Intercontinental Title. This is not a Chris Benoit situation, where she murdered someone else along with herself. Now, I understand that parents do not want their daughters influenced by her. I have a niece and I would not want her to stumble across this on the web, and in the future I wouldn't want my child to see that. From that standpoint I get it, but the Hall of Fame is not filled with people with Wings on their back and Halos on their head. Do I need to bring up Sunny? Look at where she is even AFTER her Induction. I won't even get into the recent Twitter scandal with Seth Rollins. As long as Chyna cleans herself up and shows how serious she is, they would have no other choice. Both sides will have to mature and humble themselves before this happens.
When discussing Roman Reigns, Austin felt that it was being made obvious that Roman was given the keys without having to really work for it. HHH responds by saying "everyone works hard", including Roman. The obvious flaws are his mic skills and his ring work. John Cena has faced criticism about his ring work, but nobody can deny his work ethic.
A Twitter question shows up where someone asks: Do you see anyone on the roster becoming the next Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or John Cena? Triple H responds by saying that everyone has potential, but it is what they do with it that counts. He says that the business is different, where you have to be much more well rounded. You can't just be good in the ring, but lack mic skills. You can't just have good mic skills. You just can't be a big guy or a high flyer with nothing else to offer. He is absolutely right, and I feel that is what is seriously lacking in the landscape of wrestling especially today.
Trips also brings up the Undertaker, and how he was Vince McMahon's greatest creation. Mark Calloway was perfect to play that role, and anyone else would have died with that persona. Mark took that gimmick, and made it Iconic and Transcendant. Truly Phenomenal (no pun intended).
Stone Cold starts to dive even deeper into the discussion as he brings up how Triple H managed to mend the fences with Legends like Bruno Sammartino and The Ultimate Warrior so that they could finally be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I give the Game the utmost respect for how he was able to engineer those inductions, because if it was up to Vince, they would still be on the outside looking in. Levesque basically said that Bruno was unwilling to do business with McMahon, because he was unsatisfied with the direction that the promotion had gone into during the Attitude Era. For years, Sammartino was unwilling to do business, and had bad blood with Vince because of his ideas. Bruno is the definition of the term "Old School". Vince himself was not jumping to his phone to call Bruno to make amends. However, it wasn't until WWE decided to clean up the product and Triple H stretched out his arm to Bruno to make peace. Trips was able to sympathize with him from a pure wrestler's mindset, because they were able to come to a common ground. Triple H is a man that respects the history of the business, and he made it crystal clear during this interview more than once. As a result, he was able to get Bruno to change his mind and accept the induction. The rest is history. Same with Warrior, but it was a bit harder considering that they worked together. However, as time is known to heal wounds, The Game was able to reach Warrior because there wasn't as much bad blood as with Warrior's main peers (Hogan, etc.)
Stone Cold would also ask The Ultimate Question: DX or NWO? Triple H gives NWO their respect, by saying that they were massively impactful and influential when they started when they opened the curtain to show the reality aspect. However, their impact was diluted when they overloaded the group with too many people. On the other hand, DX had more staying power for a longer period of time. I would say the same thing, not just because WWE promotes it, but because collectively DX has had a greater stream of success in the long run. They did not water themselves down by adding everybody on the roster and their family.
Triple H also says that his Ultimate Fantasy Match would be with Buddy Rogers, because of his style and showmanship.
When CM Punk is mentioned, Trips simply says "I never had a beef with him". He pretty much says there was a miscommunication, even though Punk threw fireballs at him and Vince in his interview with Cabana.
Now, time for one of my favorite games. Word Association Time:
Shawn Michaels: Greatest in ring performer ever.
Ric Flair: Greatest all around performer ever.
Kevin Nash: Great mind for the business but a personality that hides it.
Scott Hall: The guy he learned more from than anyone and really underrated in ring.
Eddie Guerrero: Awesome. Miss him and he was really fun.
Goldberg: Intense and explosive, enough so that it changed the business.
Brock Lesnar: FREAK. (That's a positive.)
Paul Heyman: He toes the line between genius and crazy.
Owen Hart: One of the nicest, funniest guys.
Bret Hart: Unbelievable technician who maybe sometimes takes himself too seriously.
Undertaker: Respect.
Kane: Underrated. "If I had to say one word, he's the constant."
Pat Patterson: A genius for the business.
Michael Hayes: Underrated for his contributions to the business.
They conclude by talking about the differences between a pro wrestler and a sports entertainer. They also address Brock Lesnar's future with the company. Triple H also talks about The Streak, and says it is a two-sided situation. On one side, you want the streak to live forever, like a home run record. However, Taker is a guy that likes to give back to the business, especially to benefit someone else. Lesnar has benefited in a huge way.
When asked if he could change anything about Monday Night Raw, Triple H says that he would change it from three hours back to two. He says that the three hour show was a Vince call and a financial issue.
Overall, the Interview was entertaining in many ways, and controversial in others. I did not expect any less. 4/5 Stars.
In wrestling terminology, I would give it 4 WWE Undisputed Championships out of 5.
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