This past weekend at the WWE Royal Rumble post-show press conference, Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque commented on the sex trafficking, and other equally horrific, allegations made against Vince McMahon by ex-WWE employee Janel Grant. Levesque deflected with generally vague responses – reiterating that he wanted to “focus on the positives” of the Rumble’s commercial success, the company’s new deal with Netflix, and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson joining the TKO Board earlier that week.
His response received a mixed, at best, reaction from both fans and mainstream press, particularly in contrast to Cody Rhodes’ response just minutes earlier during which he addressed when WWE talent found out about the allegations. However, it now appears WWE talent themselves also weren’t too happy with how Levesque addressed the accusations against the company’s former Chairman.
In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer shared various insights into the reaction behind the scenes to Levesque’s response and the accusations made in Grant’s lawsuit overall. Most notably, Meltzer shared a direct quote from a top WWE star of the modern era who anonymously gave their thoughts on Levesque’s claims made during the press conference and the idea that TKO could try to ‘clean house’ following the allegations.
“He’s the f’n cerebral assassin, best politicking dude in history, literally wormed his way from a green, entry level wrestler into a (still, average wrestler) absolute top of the office, executive, you think he doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on around him?” said one of the biggest company stars of the modern era. “Think he did that without knowing every little thing everywhere in that company? Yet somehow this slipped past his radar?”
“The thing about that place is if TKO starts cleaning house, they’re gonna show up with a bucket and some Lysol, then realize that shits in the walls, in the floorboards, they’re gonna have to bring out the sledgehammer (because) that shit is gonna turn into a demolition job. Down to the foundation, sledgehammer pun not intended.”
In addition, another star reportedly hit out at the idea that Levesque hadn’t read the lawsuit, stating that he’d have to be living under a rock to have not read it. A separate main roster talent is said to have pointed out that no one from management has discussed the situation with talent, other than stating that Vince was gone. Instead, they have focused on the success of the Royal Rumble and the importance of the new Netflix deal.
Haus of Wrestling has spoken with members of the WWE roster who have expressed similar frustrations about Levesque’s demeanor and response to the situation at the WWE Royal Rumble press conference.
From the perspective of the women’s locker room specifically, Meltzer reports that there was “a lot of trauma” as the news broke alongside the fear that things will only get crazier as more women come forward. In regards to the lawsuit itself, another talent reportedly told Meltzer that its contents were emotionally scarring, particularly because everyone within the company was looking for his approval and yet, based on the contents of the lawsuit, Vince did not ultimately care about their talents.
“Vince made so many of us feel small and awful. We all had to obey his abuse in order to keep our jobs,” the same talent is said to have stated.
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