WWE Still Uses Scripted Promos Under Triple H, With SOME Exceptions Depending On Talent (WWE News)
Scripted promos are still a thing in Triple H's WWE, but SOME wrestlers are exceptions...
Much has changed for WWE since Paul 'Triple H' Levesque assumed creative lead in the wake of Vince McMahon's acrimonious 2022 departure, but not the company's use of scripted promos - at least significantly.
Per Sean Ross Sapp on a Fightful Report podcast, WWE still scripts certain promos, though there are exceptions for certain talent. Sapp cited The Rock as somebody who "is not going out there with an exact script."
For the podcast's Q&A section, SRS was asked if CM Punk found out he was headlining WrestleMania 41 live on air during last week's SmackDown segment with Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. Sapp answered that although WWE might claim this, he has never heard of something so story-driven not being scripted out ahead of time. He added that even some promos people may have thought were unscripted, were actually scripted. Sometimes, WWE's are a little less scripted under Levesque, but plenty of promos are still written verbatim for talent to recite. This can sometimes vary depending on the wrestler, though.
Scripted promos were a common complaint during Vince McMahon's creative reign, particularly in the former Chairman and CEO's last few years of power, which yielded such delights as Roman Reigns' infamous "Sufferin' Succotash" promo and Seth Rollins' "Real Godzilla lookin' b*****d." Lines that bad rarely make it to television these days, which probably speaks more to the changes in the creative team over the last few years than the promo scripting process itself.
Beyond The Rock, there is no word on which specific wrestlers are afforded greater freedom in their promos.