On a recent episode of the Something To Wrestle With podcast, John “Bradshaw” Layfield weighed in on the growing speculation surrounding a potential backstage rift between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Online buzz began after Triple H’s WWE Hall of Fame speech notably did not mention The Rock, followed by Rock omitting Triple H when discussing WWE’s creative leadership in a subsequent interview. While some fans believe this signals real-life friction between the two major WWE executives, JBL acknowledged that the theory isn’t far-fetched:
“Obviously you’ve got two huge alpha males that could be posturing for position,” JBL said. “I think that certainly is reasonable, and it happens in every corporate boardroom in the world… I have no idea if that’s what’s happening.”
However, JBL also pointed to the possibility that the tension might be part of a long-term storyline—a worked shoot designed to blur the lines between fiction and reality:
“When it’s the easiest time to work people is when you’re shooting with them, because also they feel like… you’re letting them on the inside,” he explained. “Then you say something that just like, ‘Hey, man, we got the inside. They really don’t like each other,’ and all of a sudden this is going to end up in this corporate war that culminates it maybe at Survivor Series or something.”
JBL added, “If it is [a work], it’s magnificently done.”
Regardless of whether the situation is real or part of a bigger plan, JBL praised Triple H’s performance as WWE’s Chief Content Officer, drawing comparisons to Vince McMahon and his ability to compartmentalize under pressure:
“I have been blown away by Hunter,” he said. “Vince would just change gears and compartmentalize. It’s really… a rare trait, and Hunter has that… I see Hunter almost do the same thing and come up with an answer that’s just better than what you… it gives you the answer that you wish you had come up with… That’s how good I think Hunter is. I don’t know who in the world could do what he’s done in WWE the last couple years.”
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more on the ongoing speculation involving The Rock, Triple H, and WWE’s future leadership.
