A major component of the recent successes for WWE, with its noticeable shift in creative direction and overall presentation, is attributed to its Chief Content Officer, Paul "Triple H" Levesque. After taking over the reins from Vince McMahon in 2022, Levesque has begun a second part to his wrestling story. as the person who helped WWE to new global heights in the post-McMahon era.
On January 30th, WWE President Nick Khan, along with Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, surprised Levesque with news of his headliner status and induction to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2025, an accolade well deserved in a decorated championship career. Levesque now becomes a two-time Hall of Fame recipient, the first time as a part of D-Generation X, alongside Michaels, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac, and Chyna.
During the post-show press conference for the 2025 Royal Rumble, Levesque revealed that the experience took him by surprise and had a larger emotional impact on him than he anticipated.
I’ll be honest. We did it with DX. It was a lot of fun. It’s different when it’s you. While I’ve been a part of all of these, and I’ve seen some talent see it as the biggest honor. I’ve seen other talent be like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ But for the most part, our talent all see it as sort of the ultimate pay of respect to you and your career.
I’ve had the honor of calling a lot of people to tell them, ‘We’re going to induct you in the Hall of Fame,’ or be there in person to say to them, ‘We’re going to induct you into the Hall of Fame’ and watch them cry and watch them get emotional. Because of our ion for what we do, it hit me up way harder than I thought it would.
Triple H Was Hit Harder By The News Than He Anticipated
The Surprise And The Emotions Were Strong For Him
A nine-time WWE Champion, seventh Triple Crown Champion, and second Grand Slam Champion, Levesque has earned his latest accomplishment, and although he maintains a level of humility regarding the honor, he was excited at the thought.
When we left there, it was a kind of an oddly comical and surreal moment. Then Taker was there, and Shawn was there. We went straight upstairs and went into a meeting and everything else. As it slowly started to dawn on me, I thought like, ‘Here we go.’ The same moment that I watched everybody else have, that emotions, all flooding over you. Of your career, the people you’ve worked with, what it meant to you, the fans that you’ve met around the world, the moments that you’ve been able to create and share.
Fortunately for me, this is not, I’m not out of the business. I have the maybe almost more enjoyable point in my life of being able to watch all these guys do it now. Help them get there and put it all together. But it was emotional, and I’m excited for it. I wish it wasn’t at WrestleMania, so I could focus on it more, but it’s one of the most meaningful things in my career.
Triple H also revealed how the induction came about, after he was steadfastly reluctant to put himself in the Hall Of Fame. The responsibility fell to Nick Khan, who called the assistance of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels to surprise Levesque at the WWE Town Hall:
Nick and I had talked about the Hall of Fame many times. He would always [ask], ‘When are we gonna put you in?’ And I would say, not now. Because no matter how I do it, it looks like I'm putting myself in the Hall of Fame and I'm just not gonna do that... I saw Nick walk to the other side of the room and that's the first time I realized, this is somehow going to affect me. I wasn't sure positively, negatively, or humorously. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen until Taker said WrestleMania.
Triple H Calls Nick Khan His Most Respected Business Partner
Levesque Had Big Praise For Khan
One of the biggest forces behind the modern shifts in WWE has been WWE President Nick Khan, who has worked closely with Levesque on new global and domestic opportunities for WWE, as well as the TKO merger which saw the corporate parent companies of WWE and UFC combine in 2023. Levesque had high praise of Khan during the post-Rumble press conference, calling Khan his most respected business partner and feeling honored that Khan would be the one to push for him to enter the WWE Hall of Fame.
In business for me, outside of the in-ring, there's nobody that I respect more, nobody, than [Nick Khan]. He's my partner in all of this, so him doing that for me was incredibly meaningful.
Details for the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony have yet to be announced, but it is likely to take place during WrestleMania 41 week in April, presumably following the Friday Night SmackDown prior to WrestleMania Night 1.
