Triple H Handed New WWE Job Title
A game played?
As first unearthed by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics - the essential source for all things related to WWE business - in a proxy statement, WWE has revealed that Triple H has a new corporate title: Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development. He has worked in this role since February 2020.
The statement reads as follows:
"Paul “Triple H” Levesque has served as our Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development since February 2020, and prior thereto was Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative since August 2011. In his current role, he oversees the Company’s Talent Relations and Talent Development departments. Additionally, Mr. Levesque plays an integral role in the Company’s creative process, helping shape the creative direction and storylines of WWE’s programming.
Mr. Levesque is revolutionizing the business with his global recruiting strategy and developmental training processes. In order to create a platform for future success, he established the Company’s state of the art training facility, the WWE Performance Center, which paved the way for the WWE’s third global brand, NXT. Mr. Levesque debuted as a WWE Superstar, “Triple H”, in 1995 and has held the WWE Heavyweight Championship title 14 times. He has captured every major championship, headlined thousands of WWE events, and entertained millions around the world. Mr. Levesque is married to Stephanie McMahon and together they established Connor’s Cure. Mr. Levesque is the son-in-law of Vincent McMahon."
Author's note:
What follows is pure speculation.
Your writer isn't the first to attempt a dot-connection exercise, particularly given the oxymoronic quality of the headline and the copy; the word 'Creative' no longer appears in his job title, but the statement insists, present tense, that Levesque plays "an integral role" in the "creative direction". And yet, the formal (suspicious?) removal of 'Creative' does coincide with NXT's failure to succeed on national television relative to the competition (AEW Dynamite) and the time slot it took over on the USA Network.
Thurston however exercises caution when debating a possible demotion, writing on Twitter "Is there credible reporting that he has decidedly less overall responsibility due to this new title? Until then, the notion that he's been demoted is an attractive reach toward a more whole and cynical narrative".
He suggests looking ahead to 2020 proxy statement. If he is not listed among the five named officers, and Paul Heyman (e.g.) is with a competitive salary, it can be "reasonably defined" as a demotion.