Triple H defends WWE booking in ESPN interview

[Big Red Machine]

Source: www.F4WOnline.com

By Joseph Currier | @josephcurrier | Aug 11, 2016 3:24 pm

As part of launch day content for ESPN.com's newly-created WWE dedicated section, Triple H (real name Paul Levesque) was interviewed by ESPN's KC Joyner about booking and wrestling psychology.

In the interview, WWE's Chief Operating Officer offered a results-oriented defense of WWE's booking and was critical of those who use the term 50/50 booking.

"When somebody goes, 'Well, you just can't get people over with 50/50 booking,' [I'll always say] 'Oh, I'm sorry, how's your territory coming? Because this one seems to be doing pretty good over here.' We just had the largest WrestleMania in history." Triple H said. "People talk a lot of smack about ratings and things, but they don't understand all of the dynamics of everything we do. They don't. They sit on the internet and they read one thing and they give their point of view."

On the topic of wins and losses, Triple H said that he doesn't keep track of them and those decisions are more of a feel thing.

"Sometimes you're beating a talent because you want to beat them and that's the sympathetic reaction you're trying to elicit. There are some talents that, when you beat them, they get more popular, but as soon as they start on a winning path, their popularity begins to wane... People want that underdog to strive to succeed and then get a little bit of success and then get knocked back off that perch and be the underdog again."

Triple H acknowledged that critical opinions matter, but again came back to WWE's success by mentioning that WWE will sell out the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY three nights in a row over SummerSlam weekend.

[Big Red Machine]

Notice how his comment about some guys getting over more by losing doesn't actually make sense as an answer to the 50/50 booking criticism because if the idea was to get someone over as an underdog by having them lose, it wouldn't be 50/50 booking.

Also the "how is your territory doing?" defense is a BS one because the indiputable fact remains that they are down compared to what they used to be, which means that something they have started doing isn't working. Also, when you make a scaled comparison, you find that promotions like ROH and New Japan and RPW are actually doing better than WWE because their metrics are up. It's like dismissing LU for not having as many viewers as WWE, when we'll never know how well LU would do if it had WWE's coverage (and I, for one, think it could give them one heck of a fight).

[Bulletclubfan2014]

I honestly think Hunter doesn't believe a thing he said in this. I think Hunter knows the 50/50 booking is a bad idea because he's the head guy in NXT and NXT never does 50/50. I believe the reason he said this is because Hunter knows if he goes out and buries the stuff on the main roster it'll make WWE look bad that one of the top executives is saying the company is stupid so he had to come up with something to respond to what they said and that's the best he could come up with on the fly

[Big Red Machine]

I honestly think Hunter doesn't believe a thing he said in this. I think Hunter knows the 50/50 booking is a bad idea because he's the head guy in NXT and NXT never does 50/50. I believe the reason he said this is because Hunter knows if he goes out and buries the stuff on the main roster it'll make WWE look bad that one of the top executives is saying the company is stupid so he had to come up with something to respond to what they said and that's the best he could come up with on the fly

You're probably right. It's just a shame no one at ESPN has the knowledge to call him on stuff like this.

[Big Red Machine]

Here is some follow-up from F4W from today's conference call:

by Joseph Currier | @josephcurrier | Aug 17, 2016 12:44 pm

On Wednesday afternoon’s media conference call ahead of NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, Triple H further explained last week’s comments defending WWE’s booking.

Triple H was asked in that interview about 50/50 booking, but used WWE's success as a defense of their booking philosophies.

Much of what Triple H said then seemed to contradict the way he books NXT, but on Wednesday's conference call he noted the differences in booking NXT and main roster television given the different length of the shows.

“When you compare a one-hour show to a three-hour show from a writing and a booking standpoint it’s not even in the same stratosphere. It’s a totally different animal. “ Triple H said.

He reiterated that booking is a feel, and said he listens to both what the audience wants and what he wants to see as a fan when booking NXT.

“None of it is right and wrong, it’s chocolate, it’s vanilla, it’s all these different things that they’re different flavors, and at the end of the day the long-term success of your business and your company, and you can say what you want about it, but there’s a pretty good track record for a lot of it.” Triple H said.

Triple H said he books NXT the way he wants to book it, while the main roster programming is sometimes done differently and other times it isn't.