HHH on Reigns - "Isn’t he already the biggest heel we have?"
Mar 27, 2017 23:28:08 GMT -5
Gus Richlen: Ruffian likes this
Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2017 23:28:08 GMT -5
Trips cut a long SI interview and well, here's some interesting parts.
Levesque is tasked with manufacturing an organic brand, which is an enormous undertaking. Take the Roman Reigns conundrum as an example: The handsome, muscular, 6'4" Samoan is vociferously booed by WWE audiences, and there are constant demands from the fans to turn Reigns into a villain. Levesque has a different understanding of the situation.
“People can look at Roman Reigns and say, ‘The failed attempt that is Roman Reigns,’ but Roman Reigns sells tickets,” said Levesque. “Roman Reigns gets one of the loudest reactions every night, whether that reaction is a boo or whether that reaction is a cheer. The fans who say, ‘I don’t understand why they don’t turn Roman Reigns heel!’ Isn’t he already?
“If you believe what you believe, and you’re saying, ‘How can they not turn him heel? There is 70 percent of the crowd booing him out of the building!’ If that’s your belief, then isn’t he already the biggest heel we have? If 70 percent of that crowd is booing him, then he’s a heel. We’re just presenting him to you in a different way that makes you hate him.”
“People can look at Roman Reigns and say, ‘The failed attempt that is Roman Reigns,’ but Roman Reigns sells tickets,” said Levesque. “Roman Reigns gets one of the loudest reactions every night, whether that reaction is a boo or whether that reaction is a cheer. The fans who say, ‘I don’t understand why they don’t turn Roman Reigns heel!’ Isn’t he already?
“If you believe what you believe, and you’re saying, ‘How can they not turn him heel? There is 70 percent of the crowd booing him out of the building!’ If that’s your belief, then isn’t he already the biggest heel we have? If 70 percent of that crowd is booing him, then he’s a heel. We’re just presenting him to you in a different way that makes you hate him.”
As much as Levesque is reimagining WWE, the internet has changed the entire business of pro wrestling.
“The internet has changed the world,” said Levesque. “We are the most opinionated people in the world now. You can find someone who will agree with you no matter what you think. You just go on the internet and, if you look hard enough, you’ll find someone who agrees with you. Gone is the day that everybody loves this one character, gone is the day that everybody hates this character. If you make a bad guy, there will be a group of people who love that character. He’s Darth Vader, he’s the bad guy, and they’ll love every evil thing he does. If you make a good guy, there are people who will love him, but there is the same group of people who will hate him. The fact of the matter is everybody will look at John Cena and say, ‘John Cena has consistently been this ‘Super Cena’ character and how can they not hear that half this arena hates him?’ You know what we hear? Tickets selling.
“I spoke with John in 2004 when I was going to work with him at WrestleMania, and he was a little bothered by the fact he was getting booed. I said to him, ‘Dude, it’s sold out. What do you care? You are the Yankees and the Red Sox in the same game.’ You cannot dictate to people anymore.”
“The internet has changed the world,” said Levesque. “We are the most opinionated people in the world now. You can find someone who will agree with you no matter what you think. You just go on the internet and, if you look hard enough, you’ll find someone who agrees with you. Gone is the day that everybody loves this one character, gone is the day that everybody hates this character. If you make a bad guy, there will be a group of people who love that character. He’s Darth Vader, he’s the bad guy, and they’ll love every evil thing he does. If you make a good guy, there are people who will love him, but there is the same group of people who will hate him. The fact of the matter is everybody will look at John Cena and say, ‘John Cena has consistently been this ‘Super Cena’ character and how can they not hear that half this arena hates him?’ You know what we hear? Tickets selling.
“I spoke with John in 2004 when I was going to work with him at WrestleMania, and he was a little bothered by the fact he was getting booed. I said to him, ‘Dude, it’s sold out. What do you care? You are the Yankees and the Red Sox in the same game.’ You cannot dictate to people anymore.”
Levesque’s success as a talent has allowed him to succeed as an executive. He listened intently as the Madison Square Garden crowd went wild over the “Curtain Call”, and he has also heard longtime fans lament that the current product is geared to younger, more casual fans. As a solution, Levesque created NXT. While WrestleMania is set to showcase at least 13 matches, Saturday night’s NXT Takeover: Orlando is a tightly-structured, five-match card.
“Raw and Smackdown have to be pop music,” said Levesque. “They have to appeal to the masses most. There is always a subset of people who’d rather listen to Metallica or Jay-Z, so we give those people NXT and 205. I give them the cruiserweights. Go to the U.K., it’s a different style with different talent. Now you can follow a local talent work his way from the U.K. all the way to NXT and to the main roster. Now you feel like you’re a part of helping that kid succeed.”
Levesque fosters talent growth with NXT, and some of his proudest moments can now be viewed as the talent elevates itself to the main roster and wins WWE championships. The greatest payoff is the celebratory picture with Levesque.
www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/03/27/wwe-triple-h-paul-levesque-nxt-cruiserweight-brands
“Raw and Smackdown have to be pop music,” said Levesque. “They have to appeal to the masses most. There is always a subset of people who’d rather listen to Metallica or Jay-Z, so we give those people NXT and 205. I give them the cruiserweights. Go to the U.K., it’s a different style with different talent. Now you can follow a local talent work his way from the U.K. all the way to NXT and to the main roster. Now you feel like you’re a part of helping that kid succeed.”
Levesque fosters talent growth with NXT, and some of his proudest moments can now be viewed as the talent elevates itself to the main roster and wins WWE championships. The greatest payoff is the celebratory picture with Levesque.
www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/03/27/wwe-triple-h-paul-levesque-nxt-cruiserweight-brands
