Triple H talks women's role in WWE

[Chris]

Women being featured as main eventers is a frequent discussion point among both wrestling fans and those that run companies with AEW head Tony Khan addressing a question about that during a Thursday media call.

WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Netflix chief content officer Bela Bejaria were part of the annual Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and Levesque was asked about featuring women more and why men are getting into characters like Rhea Ripley as much as any male star.

He said 40% of the WWE audience is female and he’s always felt that if you give the women the same opportunity as the men and train them the same way, “they will knock it out of the park and they have.”

He said there’s a lot of banter about who will be given the main event at big shows and what he tells talent is that it’s about what stories and performances are resonating the best.

“I put no thought into ‘it’s women or it’s men.’ I don’t give them the main event because ‘Well, they’re women and it would look good for us if we give them the main event.’ That never even enters my mind. Talent are talent and it’s whoever is resonating the most,” he said. “If they’re in the main event, it’s because they earned it. If they’re not, it’s because someone else was slightly ahead of them.”

He said one day, he feels Ripley, Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and others will be seen in the same way that Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, The Rock and Steve Austin are but that it will take time to get there.

He later added that at the Performance Center, the women pick up wrestling faster than the men do.

A few other notes:

• Levesque said 60% of their fans bring members of another generation to shows.
• Bejaria said that while they have 300 million worldwide subscribers, their content actually touches 700 million viewers (people watching with other people).
• Levesque said that someone asked Linda McMahon about the John Cena heel turn after she was leaving Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

 

[Comrade Khan]

If WWE decides who gets what stories don't they then decide who's story are bigger? Fake grab the brass ring nonesense

 

[Dale]

I'd be surprised if that Iyo/Bianca/Rhea match doesn't get pushed into the night one main event

 

[Wang Chung]

If WWE decides who gets what stories don't they then decide who's story are bigger? Fake grab the brass ring nonesense

I didn't take it that way. I took it as which storyline is the audience behind the most. The last year was Bloodline. The year prior was KO/Sami and the Bloodline.

This year will be Cena/Cody due to the heel turn.

Also see the Rhea/Iyo/Bianca one doing well due to the Jade stuff and if Bianca fully turns before then which would be great.

If they go Serh/Punk it would be good as well.

 

[Comrade Khan]

I didn't take it that way. I took it as which storyline is the audience behind the most. The last year was Bloodline. The year prior was KO/Sami and the Bloodline.

This year will be Cena/Cody due to the heel turn.

Also see the Rhea/Iyo/Bianca one doing well due to the Jade stuff and if Bianca fully turns before then which would be great.

If they go Serh/Punk it would be good as well.

Yes my point is WWE decides which story gets the ppl most invested in because they write the show

This stuff is not really as organic as he makes it out to. It's real easy to say that when you write the storylines and decide who gets how much time. It's only the illusion of a meritocracy. Not matter how over stuff gets organically doesn't matter when the main eventers are pre determined

 

[Comrade Khan]

Yes my point is WWE decides which story gets the ppl most invested in because they write the show

This stuff is not really as organic as he makes it out to. It's real easy to say that when you write the storylines and decide who gets how much time. It's only the illusion of a meritocracy. Not matter how over stuff gets organically doesn't matter when the main eventers are pre determined

And to add to that hunter has been criticized for his lack of good booking with the women which adds to my point that saying "just be more over n u can main event * is grab the brass ring fake motivational stuff. They already decided who the chosen ones are

 

[Comrade Khan]

All that to say the women aren't main eventing because WWE has not booked them in effective stories so it's rich to say what hunter said, imo.