Post by LWPD on Nov 12, 2012 19:12:53 GMT -5
In a rarity, the NY Post recently conducted an out of character interview with Triple H. Topics include general thoughts, Wrestlemania 29 and the next WWE HOF event at Madison Square Garden.
Courtesy of NY Post
WWE's Triple H talks Wrestlemania 29
By Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
The WWE's biggest event, Wrestlemania, is coming to the New York-New Jersey area and your chance to be there is quickly approaching.
Tickets for Wrestlemania 29 go on sale this Saturday, Nov. 10, and The Post had a chance to discuss the upcoming event with 13-time champion and current COO for the WWE, Triple H.
The WWE superstar/executive discussed the significance of Wrestlemania as a whole and how over the past 28-plus years, it has turned into a cultural phenomenon on par with the Super Bowl and World Series.
In addition to that, Triple H gave a little tease as to who will be involved with Wrestlemania 29, including a possible return to the ring himself, as well as dishing on what it was like re-living the Attitude Era with WWE ’13.
Read The Post’s full interview with Triple H below:
Sulla-Heffinger: So if you’re a fan who might be on the fence about buying tickets to Wrestlemania 29, what is going to push you over that edge and make you need to be in MetLife Stadium next April?
Triple H: I think Wrestlemania is one of those events every year that whether you’re a huge fan of the WWE or not, it’s the think people are going to be talking about the next day. Beyond anything, it’s an unbelievable spectacle. If you are in the area, or thinking about being in the area, it’s really something you should be at.
You don’t have to be a football fan to go to the Super Bowl, and that’s really what this is. It goes beyond just a wrestling ring and some WWE superstars, it becomes a cultural event and that’s the thing that really drives it.
There’s Super Bowls, there’s World Series’ and there’s Wrestlemania. It’s one of those every year events that just becomes the talk of the world.
Sulla-Heffinger: The Super Bowl is coming to MetLife in 2014, will the NFL have some big shoes to fill?
Triple H: I think it is because we’ve outdrawn the Super Bowl for a little while now in the arenas and stadiums that we’ve followed them in for the Super Bowl. We’ve gone in after [the NFL] and surpassed their ticket sales.
The thing for us is that much like the Super Bowl, and I think for this we are very similar, Wrestlemania isn’t just a one-night event, it’s a week-long event. All of the things that we’ll do in the New York-New Jersey area, we’ll have events on both sides of the Hudson. From Wrestlemania Axxess, which is our fan event that goes on all week, which is going to be revamped this year with a lot more meet-and-greets and autograph signings with our superstars, which is the biggest part of it. There’s also going to be a VIP experience that allows fans unprecedented access to backstage and the inner workings of what happens on a Monday Night Raw or Pay-Per-View event. That’s going to be a really unique experience. From that taking place at Izod Center to Hall of Fame being at Madison Square Garden, to Raw the next night being back at the Izod Center, to Wrestlemania itself, there is going to be stuff that happens all week long. We come in and take over the whole area.
Like you and The Post reported, we did over $100M in economic impact for the area so it is a legitimate global event where we have people from all over the globe come in to see it.
Sulla-Heffinger: Being a former superstar…
Triple H: Woah, woah, not former, I’m still in there now and then [laughs].
Sulla-Heffinger: Haha, sorry. Well what is it like for a superstar to come into New York, the biggest media market on earth?
Triple H: That’s the thing. It’s like that song, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” No matter what, New York City is always going to be the capital of the world. For us to go in and take it over, it’s huge. The historical significance, to us, is massive. Wrestlemania I, Wrestlemania X, Wrestlemania XX. Before it became a global phenomenon, the WWE [Edit note: previously referred to as WWF] was known as the New York territory. It’s our backyard and the whole world will be watching New York City that night, guaranteed.
Sulla-Heffinger: And with Wrestlemania being outdoors this year, does that impact anything? Make it a little more exciting for the fans/superstars?
Triple H: Wrestlemania, in the past few years, has been outdoors, but there’s a difference in April 7th in Miami and in New York so it could be a bit nippy. I think for fans it doesn’t make a difference, especially in the New York-area because the majority of fans are used to sitting in the cold watching football or other things. Fans that come in from outside will bring appropriate attire, I’m sure. Football they wear pads and helmets and stuff to keep warm, but guys wrestling in trunks is a bit different. We’ve got it all figured out to have the heating right and make sure that everybody being there is going to have an enjoyable experience. I think that at the end of the day, it’s not going to make a difference where we are, enclosed or open, the atmosphere is going to be the same, it’s going to be electric.
Sulla-Heffinger: Last year’s big build-up was the Rock-Cena matchup, but there hasn’t been something like that announced for WM 29 yet. Is the fact that it is in the New York-area enough to build excitement?
Triple H: Here’s the thing, Rock versus Cena being announced a year prior, that’s the first time we’ve ever done that. Wrestlemania itself is a big enough build. It’s a cultural event. It’s not just a sporting event or an entertainment event. Everybody will be talking about it the next day.
I think that having something like that is a double-edged sword because it could lose its luster over the course of the year, if you hear about it enough, or it can be the attraction that you have to go see at the end of that year.
I think this year as we go forward the excitement will be there for Wrestlemania being in New York and as we move forward and start to announce things it will get bigger and bigger.
Rock has expressed his desire to be at Wrestlemania this year and to be the WWE Champion at some point, he guaranteed it. I guarantee Cena is going to be there, Brock Lesnar has been discussing his return being ar Wrestlemania.
I’m sure as we get closer to the event I’m going to get very excited about maybe throwing the trunks back on and getting back in there for Wrestlemania. It’s going to be all of the action, all of the main events, everything you would ever expect out of Wrestlemania.
Sulla-Heffinger: So we could see another attempt to break The Streak?
Triple H: [Laughs] It’s New York, it’s Wrestlemania, there’s going to be 70,000 people going crazy in MetLife stadium, it’s going to be tough for me not to want to be involved in that.
Sulla-Heffinger: Another WWE-related question. Being someone who wrestled in both the Attitude Era and the “Reality Era” if you will, what is it like going back and seeing yourself as Hunter Hearst Helmsley with Shawn and the original DeGeneration X?
Triple H: It’s pretty wild. What always gets me is when you go in to do those voice-overs, a lot of times in the past it’s been the Road to Wrestlemania so you’re voicing over scenarios that don’t really exist.
This is the first time I’ve gone back and voiced over some scenarios that actually happened and they had us recreate the scenarios in voice overs. It was funny to bring some of that old stuff back. I haven’t seen it since we did it. It was an amazing time and looking back at it, it’s easy to say wow, what a great time it was, how awesome it was, how big it was.
It’s like when old timers look back at the “Good ol’ days” and the “glory days.” You didn’t know they were the “good ol’ days” until you got past it and then you can look back at it in hindsight. We were just doing our thing, having fun and trying to entertain people.
Rock, Austin, Taker and I have talked about that. We didn’t realize how awesome it was and we were just doing it.
Sulla-Heffinger: Speaking of Austin, there was that viral video a few weeks back with Stone Cold and CM Punk. Any chance we see that at Wrestlemania?
Triple H: One thing I have learned in the WWE is never say never.
I’d be surprised if Austin ever threw the trunks on again. You get to a certain point in your life where your mind thinks you can do a lot of things that you maybe can’t. I’d be surprised but I’ve learned in this business to never say never so you never know.
I guarantee you CM Punk will be involved in Wrestlemania somehow.
That’s one of the interesting things, The Rock came out earlier this year and guaranteed that at some point in time he would be the WWE Champion and it was his mission. Well it’s not 1999 anymore, it’s not 2002, it’s a different year and there’s a different group of guys. CM Punk has had a lock on that thing for a while and it’s no cakewalk for The Rock. It’s not like he’s going to walk back in here and take over. It’s going to be interesting to see.
Sulla-Heffinger: Is that tough for older wrestlers? Realizing it’s not ten, even five, years ago.
Triple H: I think it is. I think there are points in time where you have to be realistic to where you are in life. It’s a young man’s business, it is what it is. You’re not the Rolling Stones, you’re not just going out there playing a song, you have to go out there and do a lot of physical stuff and the body can only take so much. At a certain point in time where you have to look at it and ask, how much can I do. It’s rough, it’s tough, tougher for some guys to accept than others.
Sulla-Heffinger: But you could show the young guns a few tricks, right?
Triple H: It’s the young bull and the old bull. There’s a lot to be said for experience and knowledge and wisdom and all of those things. It’s no different than boxing, you tend to make fewer mistakes because you are more calculated and think a lot more. Youth is wasted on the young. If you knew all of the stuff that you know 20 years later, if you knew that then, you’d approach it a lot differently.
Sulla-Heffinger: Are there any last things you wanted to mention about Wrestlemania? Anything you are particularly excited for?
Triple H: One of the things I’m really excited about is bringing the Hall of Fame to Madison Square Garden. When we were planning all of this, it was a big push. I really wanted it and luckily we were able to have it there. To have the Hall of Fame in Madison Square Garden where all of those greats had those moments from Bruno [Sammartino] on, the nostalgia factor is going to be awesome. It’s one of my favorite parts of the whole week anyway, just seeing those guys honored, it’s going to be awesome. I’m looking forward to the event, I think everyone is going to as well. If you get the opportunity to get your tickets early, do it because you are going to want to sit up close and personal.
Courtesy of NY Post
WWE's Triple H talks Wrestlemania 29
By Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
The WWE's biggest event, Wrestlemania, is coming to the New York-New Jersey area and your chance to be there is quickly approaching.
Tickets for Wrestlemania 29 go on sale this Saturday, Nov. 10, and The Post had a chance to discuss the upcoming event with 13-time champion and current COO for the WWE, Triple H.
The WWE superstar/executive discussed the significance of Wrestlemania as a whole and how over the past 28-plus years, it has turned into a cultural phenomenon on par with the Super Bowl and World Series.
In addition to that, Triple H gave a little tease as to who will be involved with Wrestlemania 29, including a possible return to the ring himself, as well as dishing on what it was like re-living the Attitude Era with WWE ’13.
Read The Post’s full interview with Triple H below:
Sulla-Heffinger: So if you’re a fan who might be on the fence about buying tickets to Wrestlemania 29, what is going to push you over that edge and make you need to be in MetLife Stadium next April?
Triple H: I think Wrestlemania is one of those events every year that whether you’re a huge fan of the WWE or not, it’s the think people are going to be talking about the next day. Beyond anything, it’s an unbelievable spectacle. If you are in the area, or thinking about being in the area, it’s really something you should be at.
You don’t have to be a football fan to go to the Super Bowl, and that’s really what this is. It goes beyond just a wrestling ring and some WWE superstars, it becomes a cultural event and that’s the thing that really drives it.
There’s Super Bowls, there’s World Series’ and there’s Wrestlemania. It’s one of those every year events that just becomes the talk of the world.
Sulla-Heffinger: The Super Bowl is coming to MetLife in 2014, will the NFL have some big shoes to fill?
Triple H: I think it is because we’ve outdrawn the Super Bowl for a little while now in the arenas and stadiums that we’ve followed them in for the Super Bowl. We’ve gone in after [the NFL] and surpassed their ticket sales.
The thing for us is that much like the Super Bowl, and I think for this we are very similar, Wrestlemania isn’t just a one-night event, it’s a week-long event. All of the things that we’ll do in the New York-New Jersey area, we’ll have events on both sides of the Hudson. From Wrestlemania Axxess, which is our fan event that goes on all week, which is going to be revamped this year with a lot more meet-and-greets and autograph signings with our superstars, which is the biggest part of it. There’s also going to be a VIP experience that allows fans unprecedented access to backstage and the inner workings of what happens on a Monday Night Raw or Pay-Per-View event. That’s going to be a really unique experience. From that taking place at Izod Center to Hall of Fame being at Madison Square Garden, to Raw the next night being back at the Izod Center, to Wrestlemania itself, there is going to be stuff that happens all week long. We come in and take over the whole area.
Like you and The Post reported, we did over $100M in economic impact for the area so it is a legitimate global event where we have people from all over the globe come in to see it.
Sulla-Heffinger: Being a former superstar…
Triple H: Woah, woah, not former, I’m still in there now and then [laughs].
Sulla-Heffinger: Haha, sorry. Well what is it like for a superstar to come into New York, the biggest media market on earth?
Triple H: That’s the thing. It’s like that song, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” No matter what, New York City is always going to be the capital of the world. For us to go in and take it over, it’s huge. The historical significance, to us, is massive. Wrestlemania I, Wrestlemania X, Wrestlemania XX. Before it became a global phenomenon, the WWE [Edit note: previously referred to as WWF] was known as the New York territory. It’s our backyard and the whole world will be watching New York City that night, guaranteed.
Sulla-Heffinger: And with Wrestlemania being outdoors this year, does that impact anything? Make it a little more exciting for the fans/superstars?
Triple H: Wrestlemania, in the past few years, has been outdoors, but there’s a difference in April 7th in Miami and in New York so it could be a bit nippy. I think for fans it doesn’t make a difference, especially in the New York-area because the majority of fans are used to sitting in the cold watching football or other things. Fans that come in from outside will bring appropriate attire, I’m sure. Football they wear pads and helmets and stuff to keep warm, but guys wrestling in trunks is a bit different. We’ve got it all figured out to have the heating right and make sure that everybody being there is going to have an enjoyable experience. I think that at the end of the day, it’s not going to make a difference where we are, enclosed or open, the atmosphere is going to be the same, it’s going to be electric.
Sulla-Heffinger: Last year’s big build-up was the Rock-Cena matchup, but there hasn’t been something like that announced for WM 29 yet. Is the fact that it is in the New York-area enough to build excitement?
Triple H: Here’s the thing, Rock versus Cena being announced a year prior, that’s the first time we’ve ever done that. Wrestlemania itself is a big enough build. It’s a cultural event. It’s not just a sporting event or an entertainment event. Everybody will be talking about it the next day.
I think that having something like that is a double-edged sword because it could lose its luster over the course of the year, if you hear about it enough, or it can be the attraction that you have to go see at the end of that year.
I think this year as we go forward the excitement will be there for Wrestlemania being in New York and as we move forward and start to announce things it will get bigger and bigger.
Rock has expressed his desire to be at Wrestlemania this year and to be the WWE Champion at some point, he guaranteed it. I guarantee Cena is going to be there, Brock Lesnar has been discussing his return being ar Wrestlemania.
I’m sure as we get closer to the event I’m going to get very excited about maybe throwing the trunks back on and getting back in there for Wrestlemania. It’s going to be all of the action, all of the main events, everything you would ever expect out of Wrestlemania.
Sulla-Heffinger: So we could see another attempt to break The Streak?
Triple H: [Laughs] It’s New York, it’s Wrestlemania, there’s going to be 70,000 people going crazy in MetLife stadium, it’s going to be tough for me not to want to be involved in that.
Sulla-Heffinger: Another WWE-related question. Being someone who wrestled in both the Attitude Era and the “Reality Era” if you will, what is it like going back and seeing yourself as Hunter Hearst Helmsley with Shawn and the original DeGeneration X?
Triple H: It’s pretty wild. What always gets me is when you go in to do those voice-overs, a lot of times in the past it’s been the Road to Wrestlemania so you’re voicing over scenarios that don’t really exist.
This is the first time I’ve gone back and voiced over some scenarios that actually happened and they had us recreate the scenarios in voice overs. It was funny to bring some of that old stuff back. I haven’t seen it since we did it. It was an amazing time and looking back at it, it’s easy to say wow, what a great time it was, how awesome it was, how big it was.
It’s like when old timers look back at the “Good ol’ days” and the “glory days.” You didn’t know they were the “good ol’ days” until you got past it and then you can look back at it in hindsight. We were just doing our thing, having fun and trying to entertain people.
Rock, Austin, Taker and I have talked about that. We didn’t realize how awesome it was and we were just doing it.
Sulla-Heffinger: Speaking of Austin, there was that viral video a few weeks back with Stone Cold and CM Punk. Any chance we see that at Wrestlemania?
Triple H: One thing I have learned in the WWE is never say never.
I’d be surprised if Austin ever threw the trunks on again. You get to a certain point in your life where your mind thinks you can do a lot of things that you maybe can’t. I’d be surprised but I’ve learned in this business to never say never so you never know.
I guarantee you CM Punk will be involved in Wrestlemania somehow.
That’s one of the interesting things, The Rock came out earlier this year and guaranteed that at some point in time he would be the WWE Champion and it was his mission. Well it’s not 1999 anymore, it’s not 2002, it’s a different year and there’s a different group of guys. CM Punk has had a lock on that thing for a while and it’s no cakewalk for The Rock. It’s not like he’s going to walk back in here and take over. It’s going to be interesting to see.
Sulla-Heffinger: Is that tough for older wrestlers? Realizing it’s not ten, even five, years ago.
Triple H: I think it is. I think there are points in time where you have to be realistic to where you are in life. It’s a young man’s business, it is what it is. You’re not the Rolling Stones, you’re not just going out there playing a song, you have to go out there and do a lot of physical stuff and the body can only take so much. At a certain point in time where you have to look at it and ask, how much can I do. It’s rough, it’s tough, tougher for some guys to accept than others.
Sulla-Heffinger: But you could show the young guns a few tricks, right?
Triple H: It’s the young bull and the old bull. There’s a lot to be said for experience and knowledge and wisdom and all of those things. It’s no different than boxing, you tend to make fewer mistakes because you are more calculated and think a lot more. Youth is wasted on the young. If you knew all of the stuff that you know 20 years later, if you knew that then, you’d approach it a lot differently.
Sulla-Heffinger: Are there any last things you wanted to mention about Wrestlemania? Anything you are particularly excited for?
Triple H: One of the things I’m really excited about is bringing the Hall of Fame to Madison Square Garden. When we were planning all of this, it was a big push. I really wanted it and luckily we were able to have it there. To have the Hall of Fame in Madison Square Garden where all of those greats had those moments from Bruno [Sammartino] on, the nostalgia factor is going to be awesome. It’s one of my favorite parts of the whole week anyway, just seeing those guys honored, it’s going to be awesome. I’m looking forward to the event, I think everyone is going to as well. If you get the opportunity to get your tickets early, do it because you are going to want to sit up close and personal.
