Triple H explains why WWE avoids stereotypical characters
Avoiding stereotypical characters is a conscious decision that Paul “Triple H” Levesque makes as WWE’s Chief Content Officer.
During his appearance at the All-In 2025 business summit, Levesque was asked if he believes it’s harder now for WWE to have characters like The Iron Sheik who played on the geopolitical tension that existed at the time. Levesque said that, while WWE is a reflection of the world, he wants it to be a fun reflection where people can come and just enjoy entertainment.
“Absolutely,” Levesque responded. “I just think that if you stereotype somebody into a particular place, a lot of the world would rebel against that. Not in a positive way. And maybe sometimes people that have no real reason to have a position on either side of that, right?
“The one thing about WWE is: we’re a fun reflection of the world. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be entertainment. It’s supposed to be fantastical. It’s supposed to let you come to an event for three hours and just turn off and enjoy entertainment and some type of representation of the world that is around you. But people get lost in it and they begin to take the representations too seriously sometimes.”
When booking heels, Levesque wants them to be characters that have at least some justification in what they do.
“I have a saying in what I do right now, as long as the bad guy, the heel, is justified somewhere in his mind that what he is doing is right, that leads to the best heel, right? Because if 90 percent of the world disagrees with you but you believe, ‘No, you’re all wrong. I see this and it is right.’ You can run down that road. You’re not just trying to be the, you know, the curly mustache, bad guy heel tying people to the railroad tracks.
“It’s real. You feel it, and it’s real. And it’s why you want to get to that place, right or wrong, for most people.”
Levesque’s appearance at the All-In summit took place in September but was not uploaded until this week. Full video of the conversation can be seen below:
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.