Triple H responds to the discussion about matches getting cut from WWE SummerSlam.
Ahead of the premium live event, plenty of the conversation surrounding the show focused on the match between Trish Stratus and Becky Lynch. The two stars have been feuding for months, and their bout was reportedly pulled from the SummerSlam card due to time constraints.
During the WWE SummerSlam post-show press conference, Emily Mae of Sportskeeda Wrestling brought up this discourse and asked Triple H to describe how he is pushing women.
“My take on that is the same as it’s always been on that. I don’t see the difference. I look at the women in WWE just like I look at the men in WWE. They’re talent,” Triple H said. “It’s irrelevant to me if they’re female talent, male talent, it doesn’t matter to me. I put the same amount of thought, put the same amount of process, and are just looking for the things that are delivering in the moment. I said it when they did it. When women main-evented WrestleMania, it was because they were the main event of WrestleMania. We didn’t make them the main event of anything. This has been for me through TakeOvers and NXT and all of it.
” If they were the main event, it was because they were the main event. Not because, ‘Hey, that’s pretty good. You guys are women. I think I’ll get better press if I put you in the main event. That’s cool, right?’ No, it’s not. It’s whoever is the most deserving, whatever is the most deserving. There’s always going to be criticism of everything we do. My only thing is, one, have patience, two, there’s always another thing around the corner.”
Triple H continued by bringing up the discussion about matches getting cut from WWE SummerSlam. He stated that nothing was cut, as a card hadn’t been announced. He also explained that it’s important to have more things lined up in case of injuries or other changes. Triple H also highlighted the length of WWE SummerSlam as it was.
“There was a lot of banter that I saw this week about matches being cut, which is the word that was used. But nothing was cut. There was no card announced. If we don’t have more things in the pocket ready to go for a PLE that can fit in the PLE, I’ve done a terrible job. Because there’s always an injury waiting around the corner. There’s always a moment that changes everything. When one creative thing changes, it changes the trajectory of everything, right. So if you don’t have more stuff than you need ready to go, you’ve failed. Then you get to the unfortunate place where you’ve got too much stuff.
“I don’t know about any of you, that show was plenty long tonight. Plenty longer. If it had been longer, it would have been bad. So there comes a time when you say, ‘Well, does everything get shorter time? Does everything get rushed? Or do we move things around and shift it and give it a bigger spotlight?’ As a performer for me, I’d rather have the bigger spotlight. That’s how I look at it.”
Triple H also emphasized that he looks at building storylines with talent to create the best moments, matches, and shows as possible. He stated that it all has to be looked at as a whole puzzle.
“When it comes to the difference between how do we write the storylines, how do we get here and there with different characters and all of that, I don’t look at it as any different. It’s talent. What storyline can I create with the best talent to create the best moment, to create the best matches, main events, PLEs, and everything is looked as a whole. It’s looked at as a cycle for the year. So you have to look at all of it. It’s a gigantic puzzle.”
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