Triple H Believes WWE Has Moved To The Mainstream, Comments On Deal With ESPN

Along with WWE striking a multi-year deal with ESPN last August in order to deliver all of its Premium Live Events going forward, the Connecticut-based promotion has also received additional exposure from the sports platform since then, with highlights and recaps from its weekly shows being heavily covered. Despite fans complaining about the increased price of PLE's on ESPN, WWE CCO Triple H believes that the company has already started to thrive under the new regime, explaining in an interview with "TED" that WWE is matching the UFC when it comes to mainstream impact.

"Look, you go back not that long ago to UFC where it sort of wasn't a household name. It sort of wasn't to the degree that it is now. ESPN changed that for them," Triple H explained. "When 'Monday Night Raw' gets done and you flip to 'SportsCenter' that night, there's a recap of 'Monday Night Raw' happening on 'SportsCenter' just like if we were an NFL game, an NBA game, anything else and as somebody that grew up watching the business with no way to catch up on it, that's a massive step forward and it normalizes you to everybody else ... all those sports, all those things are entertainment. WWE has the same level of that backstage, behind the scenes sort of contracts and drama that any other sport has as well."

Triple H also feels that ESPN allows WWE to become part of the same "day-to-day conversation" that surrounds many other sports, explaining that the product has become much easier to consume, especially for fans that are starting to get interested in professional wrestling.

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