PW Torch James Caldwell has some interesting quotes from Triple H’s interview with Powerslam Magazine. They include Triple H’s thoughts on leaving the business and young talent in WWE:
“I’ve always said that I won’t be one of those guys still wrestling at 50 or 60,””I look at the business now from the other side and, if I was Vince McMahon, I’d know when to tell me to step away. Right now, the talent’s not there: there is no depth. But, yeah, I do think about retiring: wrestling isn’t the only thing in my life, like it was when I broke in. If my family asked me to give up wrestling tomorrow, I’d do it in a heartbeat for them, and I’d never look back.”
He touches briefly on the power he wields backstage as a member of the McMahon family but said he’d be “quite happy” to give it up. He also says he uses the fans as a barometer for whether it’s time to call it a day, saying the only critics he listens to are “the ones I can hear when I walk into the arena.” Caldwell finds that disingenuous:
Triple H was very good at “shifting the focus” in the interview. He said he would be willing to walk away when the crowd cheers die down, but if you watch TV, you see Hunter positioned in the spotlight in nearly every segment he’s involved in to make sure the cheers stay strong with him as the cool top babyface that fans want to cheer.
As far as young talent goes, Triple H singles out a handful of guys (CM Punk, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, and new Raw Superstar Sheamus). He also talked about the booking of Punk’s feud with the Undertaker, a comment that’s already made its away around the internet:
“You put C.M. Punk in a 30-minute match with The Undertaker, it’s 50-50 all the way and then Punk wins clean, the fans won’t accept it. It does nothing for C.M. Punk, and it’s also detrimental to the Undertaker,”
He also put over Sheamus for his work ethic, which reminds him of a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley:
“The closest (younger star) to me is probably Sheamus, because we always train together on the road. But I try to watch all the young guys’ matches and give them advice, if they want to hear it,”… “If they take advice to heart and really want to improve, them I am wanting to help. As for seeing some of myself in someone? That’s tough. Sheamus just the other day showed up at a show he didn’t have to be at. He does whatever he’s asked to do without complaining, he goes to every show and is always wanting to work: he does it all, goes above and beyond. That’s what I was like.”
Sheamus’s jump to Raw makes a lot more sense in that light, doesn’t it? At any rate, Caldwell can see Triple H’s point as far as the booking of younger talent goes:
In an instant-gratification world, people want to see Jack Swagger in the main event of the next WWE PPV, but it might take a few years for that to be a reality. WWE also has to balance the top stars being strong, but not at the expense of the younger talent.
He goes on to point out that the Miz’s feud with John Cena is a good example of what Triple H was talking about:
Miz looked weak in the short-term taking three clean losses, but he’s looking better in the long-term after being put on the same level as Cena as far as character focus and emphasis. Hunter would argue it wouldn’t have helped Miz or Cena for Miz to score a win in that situation. Now, we see how Miz’s character has evolved into a more serious wrestler after WWE fans were given a taste of his personality during the Cena feud.
