Triple H And Stephanie McMahon Talk Vince's Current Role With WWE, How Far In Advance They Script
WWE COO Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were recently interviewed by Sports Business Journal about all of the current happenings within the globally recognized company
Triple H began by talking about Vince McMahon's current role with WWE, explaining that even though Vince has XFL and other business ventures to attend to, he always shows up at RAW and SmackDown each Monday and Tuesday. Triple H commended Vince for the incomparable effort he puts in.
"[Vince] has the most incredible work ethic of any person I have ever seen," Triple H said. "It's impossible to hang with him on a long term basis even at 73. It's crazy: he still trains every day, still does everything but he's hands on on so many things, not because he micromanages or not because he can't let people succeed and do things, but when it comes to creative and the shows, he's at RAW and SmackDown every week. That's the part that he loves; he found himself as a business man but that's what he loves to do and he's awesome at it, and that is his passion. He won't give that up, not because he should – it's his passion."
Stephanie then talked a bit about WWE's long-term process when scripting out storylines. She revealed that a tentative plan about what will happen in the coming year is usually set around WrestleMania time. Nevertheless, as WWE fans know well, plans can end up rearranging despite the initial plan they create.
"[WWE] tries to have a basic plan with their script a year out, but inevitably, things happen and stories change," Stephanie said. "Another beautiful thing about WWE is because we are live 52 weeks a year, we have no off season, we have no reruns, and we essentially have a live focus group every single night at these live events telling us what's working, what's not working, and what they don't care about so we can shift our plans as needed."
Last Sunday at WrestleMania 35, Becky Lynch defeated RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey and SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair in a triple threat main event match. Steph made a note about just how far the women have come in six years, as the last time they were at MetLife Stadium for WrestleMania, the only women's match on the card was cut for time.
"In MetLife Stadium six years ago, before the whole women's evolution happened in WWE, the only women's match on the card was cut for time," Stephanie explained. "Now, here they are in the main event and they're there because they deserve it. It's not because it's the right thing to do, it's because they are the most talented, the biggest stars, the best athletes with the best storylines."
"The world wasn't accepting of [women's wrestling] at the time," Tripe H added. "As Ronda [Rousey] rose through Strikeforce and in to the UFC, as the Williams sisters in tennis, as all of that took place, the world became more and more accepting. At the same time, we were giving that opportunity – we were training our women the same way and giving them that opportunity in the ring because we can see that acceptance beginning to happen. We just listened to our fans; it's something that we do really well, I think."
Whether it's a male or female WWE Superstar, all of the talent are offered the same resources to try and succeed in the business. Steph went in depth about said resources, revealing that WWE stars have access to an entire content creation lab.
"The second that you do bring these talent in to the fold, they're being trained to be professionals: they have to dress professionally, they need to look you in the eye, they shake your hand, they are taught how to be their own brands, they're taught about digital and social media," Stephanie said. "We have what's called a content innovation lab where we're teaching our talent to be their own content creators and giving them the tools that they need to do that. We're also giving them life skills training, and financial training, language skills, advanced education. It's really important to invest in this talent and these athletes because they are our ultimate resource."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sports Business Journal with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.