Triple H Recalls Pissing Vince McMahon Off When USA Almost Kicked WWE Off Air

WWE's Attitude Era lasted from 1997 until 2002, marked by plenty of R-rated moments as the company's programming featured more mature language and content. One of the key wrestlers during this period was Triple H (AKA Paul Levesque), who today serves an even more important role as the company's Chief Content Officer. Appearing on an episode of the "Flagrant" podcast, Levesque recalled pushing a few buttons when he and his D-Generation X partners angered Vince McMahon and USA Network executives.

"We'd come back from the ring and Vince would be like, 'You guys are gonna get us kicked off the f***ing air. USA is pissed. You gotta stop this s***,'" Levesque said. "At one point, USA was out of their mind. We did a show and they sent us a letter."

The letter dictated what DX could say and do during the first and second hour of "WWE Raw" in an attempt to curb the group's rebellious attitude. Fans of WWE during this era are likely well aware of what took place next. Levesque and Shawn Michaels got approval from McMahon to read the letter out loud to open up the show.

"We do it and I think Vince was partially nervous," Levesque continued. "He's a rebel and a maverick spirit, so I think partially he was like, 'F*** yeah.' So we put it out there and then next week, we got a letter back from USA that said, 'Congratulations on the ratings.'"

According to Levesque, that was the last time he remembered receiving any pushback from the network regarding DX's antics. However, things eventually began to change when McMahon started implementing the use of scripts for promos.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Flagrant" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.