Triple H believes criticism aimed at WWE for not creating new stars is unfounded.
In recent years, WWE has been the subject of criticism from fans that don’t believe the company is making stars on the same level that they did in the past.
In an interview with The Athletic, Triple H responded to that criticism and said that the company is making its current talent into household names – but that the process takes time, and it can’t happen overnight.
“Three years ago, ‘The Tonight Show’ would call and want a guest and ask for Triple H or The Undertaker or (John) Cena. There was a year I couldn’t make it work, and I asked them to pick Roman or Braun (Strowman). They weren’t interested. … Now Roman is on that show on his own. It takes time. You’re building stars. It’s not like flash-in-the-pan stars where this guy’s hot in boxing today and six months later, no one remembers him.
“You’re trying to build generational stars that last. It takes time. It’s a slow and steady progression, and they’re getting there. Becky Lynch, Roman, they’re becoming household names.”
Triple H has been instrumental in looking for new stars during his time building and running NXT, but he recently had to step away from running the program after he suffered a cardiac event. Elsewhere in the interview, he said that leaving NXT in the hands of Shawn Michaels was a seamless process and that the team behind the show has done a great job in his absence.
“We were talking about this shift anyway. That’s where we were headed. It happened at a period of time where I had to leave for a bit. Luckily, Shawn (Michaels) had been doing it with me all that time, so it was a seamless thing. I stepped out, did what I needed to do, but that team has killed it. They’ve really created a show where you can really say that’s the next generation of stars.”
Because of his cardiac issues, Triple H recently announced his retirement from in-ring competition. He wrestled his last match at a WWE live event in Japan in June 2019 where he teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Robert Roode and Samoa Joe. His final singles match came at Super ShowDown only weeks earlier where he was defeated by Randy Orton.