Triple H: Booking WWE is ‘much more akin to Marvel’ than UFC
Paul “Triple H” Levesque believes there aren’t that many similarities between booking pro wrestling and booking MMA.
During an appearance on the All-In podcast (recorded in September but not uploaded until today), WWE’s Chief Content Officer was asked if he feels pressured to make the product more physical given how popular UFC is. Levesque responded that he thinks WWE and UFC are actually “total opposites” — though both are star-driven industries where fans are most interested in big personalities.
“We tell stories,” Levesque said. “People within our business sometimes take this wrong, but we don’t write the shows based on ‘That’ll be a great match.’ We write it on the stories that we can create, the protagonist, the antagonist, how does that work with each other, telling stories that can resonate with people that maybe they’ve experienced in their real life, some type of fantastical version of that.”
Levesque said the process of laying out WWE storyline arcs is more similar to plotting out movies in the Marvel Universe.
“I would say we’re much more akin to, like, the Marvel Universe, where you’re planning out long term where the movies fit and how they go with all the characters than we are direct MMA,” Levesque said. “At the end of the day, direct MMA is — you’re booking matches and the interest is, ‘That guy’s really good. He’s really good. I’m not sure who’s going to win. Let’s put them together.’ When you get the right personalities involved, then it explodes.”
Led by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, WWE and UFC have the same ownership with both being under the TKO Group umbrella.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.