Triple H Reveals Heated Confrontation With Vince McMahon Over “Terrible” Wrestler

WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has revealed details about a tense backstage confrontation he had with former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon in 1997 regarding a match with Ahmed Johnson, whom he described as “terrible” and dangerous in the ring.

Speaking to Andrew Schulz on “Flagrant”, the 14-time world champion recounted when he directly challenged McMahon’s booking decisions, threatening to leave the company if he continued to be placed in situations where he couldn’t perform effectively.

The only time I went to him and bitched was when he put me in a match with a guy that was almost impossible to work with. I was wrestling a guy that was just terrible. They wanted me to have this long match with him.

According to Triple H, the situation was exacerbated by poor officiating support, which he explained is crucial when working with less experienced performers.

They gave me the worst referee, which a referee can help you work around people’s inabilities. Such as if I need a guy to do something and he’s not doing something right I can’t just go over and tell him, but I can tell the referee, and he can go over and tell him.

The WWE Chief Content Officer didn’t mince words when identifying the wrestler in question.

It was a guy named Ahmed Johnson, he was just terrible. He was hurting people and he was just big and you couldn’t understand him and he had an attitude problem.

The confrontation that followed became a pivotal moment in Triple H’s relationship with McMahon.

When I came back I was pissed and I went to Vince and cut a promo on him and said ‘hey f**k it if you’re not going to allow me to have the chance to succeed then f**k that I’m out of here. You can’t put me in a position where I can not f**king succeed and can’t even do my job. If you put me in that position I have no choice but to go.’

To Triple H’s surprise, McMahon’s response was measured rather than confrontational.

I thought he was going to go off on me and he didn’t. He was like, ‘That’s fair, that’s fair’. And I said, ‘well OK then, f**king don’t do it again and he just walked out.’

Triple H Explains The Origin Of His Iconic Water Spitting Entrance

Triple H has shared the origin story about why he used to spit water in the air before his WWE matches, as well as revealing that the way the fans reacted to the water spit was a big reason why it became a signature part of his entrance.

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