Interesting Stat Regarding Change Triple H Has Already Made To WWE Creative

WWE technically stopped being an acronym for World Wrestling Entertainment in 2011, but "wrestling" has apparently come back to WWE since Paul "Triple H" Levesque took over the company's creative direction.

According to a new analysis released by Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston, both "WWE Raw" and "WWE SmackDown" have seen an increase in the amount of actual ring time shown per hour. Measured in "minutes of wrestling per hour," the graphs show that WWE programming has shifted dramatically in favor of more wrestling. In some instances, 10-15 minutes of wrestling has been added to each hour of programming.

The current high water mark for wrestling per hour, according to Thurston's information, was the August 1 episode of "WWE Raw" which saw 26 minutes of wrestling per hour of programming. The show, which aired the night after WWE SummerSlam, was notable for hosting two triple threat matches that saw AJ Styles and Ciampa earn the right to face each other — Ciampa best Styles to become the number one contender for the WWE United States Championship. Thurston's graphic did not contain last night's "Raw," however, and Wrestling Inc.'s own analysis of the match durations, according to Cagematch, shows the August 22 episode featuring more than 27 minutes of wrestling per hour. This increase has also coincided with Raw ratings being up over the course of August.

Levesque took over creative control of the company at the end of July, when Vince McMahon retired from WWE amidst numerous investigations into his finances. Levesque reportedly held a meeting with talent where he said they would be taking a new approach to programming, as McMahon's success would likely be impossible to replicate. Levesque has also been reshaping the company by bringing back on-screen talent and backstage executives while also handling the Talent Relations side of the business.