WWE Wants Fans To Be Part Of The Show At Press Conferences
WWE sees press conferences as an extension of their shows.
Since WWE began running press conferences following Premium Live Events in late 2022, they have been a hot topic of conversation among fans and media. This has only intensified in recent months with several huge issues surrounding the company, including the lawsuit filed by ex-employee Janel Grant.
There’s a feeling among some fans that the sports entertainment giant doesn’t want these press conferences to be legitimate. Believing instead that WWE wants them to be in “Kayfabe,” and pass without tackling real-life events.
Speaking on The Wrestling Matt, former WWE personality Matt Camp said the company is looking for exactly that. Camp claimed the idea is to get fans involved as they won’t rock the boat and ask difficult questions.
“It’s a press conference about something that is scripted. We’re gonna ask questions for the most part, for the media that was there, because you’re talking about how’d you feel about this. There’s a gray area of Kayfabe and what’s real and what’s story, and you were getting some real emotions out of people like Sami Zayn. Paul [Heyman] kept it very on the level, Paul has always been good at finding that gray area and bringing that reality to a scripted program.
That’s how it started, I remember the media that was in there. Just to give you an idea of why I think we see the media members get criticized — after I was done, one of the media members came up to me and asked me for a picture. Happy to do so, but I don’t think you’re giving off the right message to WWE — or maybe you are, because that’s exactly what they want.
They want fans in there. They want people that want to be part of the show and that don’t want to mess with their part of the show. The press conference is part of the show. Does Triple H come out at the end and [talk about] setting all these records, yeah sure, that’s the real part. But, they want this to just be an addendum. We wrap things up, we let people speak a little bit.
For the most part, they want softballs, right? That’s why there has been criticism with some of these questions.”
WWE Could Do More To Prepare Triple H
Continuing on, Camp criticised some journalists for not taking press conferences seriously, recalling instances where people plugged the price of their website, or used their own “stage name.” He added by taking that kind of attitude, journalists lose credibility.
Camp suggested WWE could also do a better job of preparing Triple H for tougher questions so he can give appropriate answers.
Following the Royal Rumble, Triple H claimed he hadn’t read the lawsuit containing allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking brought against WWE, Vince McMahon, and John Laurinaitis.
“You have to present yourself in a certain way. If you’re gonna come in there talking about your nickname or trying to be buddy buddy or making jokes, that’s not what the media does. If you want to just be part of the show, be part of the show, because that’s what WWE wants when they get those questions at those shows. They want you to be part of it. They don’t want you to push.
I think they could do a better job at prepping Triple H on these so he’s not like, ‘Well I didn’t read the lawsuit’ or this guy’s not credible, he rips Fightful and Mike Johnson for not being credible. Then, everybody is getting cheese from Fairfield and Greenwich, Connecticut. If he’s prepped better, that stuff doesn’t happen.”
At the press conference following Backlash, Triple H took a shot at Fightful and PWInsider, claiming they weren’t good news sources after being questioned over Drew Gulak’s status with the company.
H/t to Fightful