WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque has revealed injuries and illness forced the company to make changes to the January 3 SmackDown.
WWE is no strangers to making changes due to a variety of different reasons with their “card subject to change” tagline helping to rewrite shows and storylines.
Since taking over as head of creative, Triple H has faced his fair share of times that he had to make adjustments, most notably fans’ reaction to Cody Rhodes leading WWE to change the WrestleMania XL main event.
In a new interview with The Press Box, Triple H was asked about the build to WrestleMania XL. Revealing that injuries and stars being sick led WWE to change the January 3 edition of SmackDown, Triple H answered:
“If the last 30 years of my life have taught me anything, it’s nothing is pinned down. There used to be a saying here all the time, show me the stone it’s written on. All of this stuff,”
“I like to do a lot of creative in whiteboards. So when we get together for long-term creative, there might be ten whiteboards down a row in a long room, and we’re all sitting at a table because at any point in time, you’re looking, does that make sense?”
“It’s like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle. You have to keep going back to the box to look at the picture you’re trying to put the pieces in. You write something, like I said, you can have it written out, and Bronson Reed breaks his ankle. I’ll give it to you this way.”
“This Friday night, we had the show written up, and it was really good, and it moved a lot of stories forward, and then we get word talent are injured, and it’s, went in for an MRI and it’s worse than we thought, and he’s out. Okay, alright.”
“So we got to rewrite that whole storyline. Then we’re literally finishing the production meeting, and we just said, all right guys, have a great day, and my phone buzzes, and I look down, and it’s medical, and I get the, ‘So-and-so has flu really bad. We’re telling them don’t come to the building and sending them home. Cannot work.’ Okay [laughs]. Everybody, don’t go anywhere, sit back down because we gotta rewrite that aspect of the show. That’s constant.”
Taking note that WWE has plans written out for WrestleMania and how nothing is set in stone, Triple H said:
“So do I have in my mind an idea of…do we have WrestleMania written out? Yes. Do I think it will change? 100%. Do I have a plan B? Yes. Do I have a plan C? Yes. Do I think those are completely relevant? No.”
“There could be changes where all of that stuff at any given moment, we just do like, all right, erase all the whiteboards, and let’s start over. It’s just the nature of the beast. It’s what we do.”
“You can never just say, this is it, and this is what we’re doing. We talked about talking to talent about things earlier. It’s one of the risks you take of, you tell talent something.”
“No matter how much you say to them, ‘Hey, this is what we’re thinking. This could change, but here’s what we’re thinking.’ If they like that, whatever changes is now catastrophic to them.”
“No matter whether the end result ends up being better it not, they’re just devastated because in their mind, that is locked in stone, that is where they’re headed, and now no matter how that is, somewhere in their minds, they’re feeling, ‘Why am I always getting screwed over? I don’t understand.’ It’s nothing. It’s just what it is,”
Triple H did not specify which talent were hurt and/or sick ahead of the January 3 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Transcription via Fightful
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