During his recent appearances on ESPN’s “First Take” and “Busted Open Radio,” Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque discussed a variety of topics related to WWE.
Triple H revealed that Brock Lesnar has taken a personal interest in mentoring Oba Femi ahead of their Hell In A Cell match at SummerSlam.
The WWE CCO further explained that Lesnar brings Femi into his room for long conversations, calling it the kind of guidance that helps build the next generation of stars.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On Brock Lesnar’s post-SummerSlam WWE status: “20-plus years, I’ve known him personally for that 20-plus years. The one thing that I know more than anything else about Brock Lesnar is Brock Lesnar’s going to do whatever Brock Lesnar wants to do. So, when we get to Minnesota, when we get to this match — keep in mind, Brock, I believe in his mind, retired at WrestleMania. I believe that wasn’t enough for him. I believe he wanted to come back to prove Oba (Femi) wrong. He did that. He then wanted to go to Minnesota to SummerSlam, to his hometown. He wanted it inside Hell in a Cell. He has something here to prove. But the one thing I know about Brock Lesnar is it’s whatever he wants. So win, lose, draw, when that cage goes up, when it’s all over, no matter what the outcome, I’m gonna be watching that monitor just like you’re watching the monitor, just like millions of people are going to be watching at home, wondering what the hell Brock Lesnar’s gonna do next. It’s really in his court as to what he wants to do. Like I said, for Brock, there’s always gas left in the tank, I believe. He is one of those generational athletes. It’s just a matter of is this the right time for him? He’s come up against something like he hasn’t come up against in a long time, maybe since The Undertaker, in Oba Femi. You know, it all comes down to what does he see next for Brock? And the great ones know when to call it a day. Brock will know, but he’ll tell us in real-time, live, in Minnesota at SummerSlam. Or say never. If there’s a desire to see it, if the fans want to see it, if there’s a way to get it done, WWE will get it done. That’s what we do…”
On fans who scrutinize WWE’s booking decisions: “I wish sometimes we could put that passion into the talent as opposed to…when somebody gets heat in our business, it’s ‘why would they write it that way?’ As opposed to ‘that no good piece of crap did this.’ There is something to the innocence of not knowing and it still being real to me, damnit, but it is what it is. I love the hate, the love, it’s all passion for what we do. That passion is everything in what we do.”
On WWE live events: “The live events are so important for getting the reps and moving things forward; it’s why we’re making a concerted effort, especially in NXT, to get them more reps. There comes a time when the physicality has increased so much that you’re trying to draw this line of, ‘Are guys being on the road all the time beneficial to their development, or is that putting mileage on them?’ It’s like the argument in football, ‘Do we practice full contact or do we walk through? Is that really teaching them football?’ It’s a dilemma, and I don’t know the answer. I don’t think it should go away totally. I’m old school and believe you learn this craft not only by being in the ring but also by learning it from a series of guys before me and in the car after. It’s a dilemma, and it’s part of the learning process,” he said.
On Brock Lesnar mentoring Oba Femi: “He’ll probably suplex me for saying this, but Brock is hands on with Oba Femi. He sees something special there and he’s like, ‘Okay kid, come with me and I’m going to teach you.’ He brings him into his room and they sit for hours and talk about this stuff. It’s that level of stuff that brings the next generation up.”
On Oba Femi’s potential: “First of all, I think that is something that’s going to be happening for a long time is people stepping up and the first thing they ask is about Oba Femi. There is no ceiling. I’ve been fortunate enough to be around this business for a long time and see a lot of guys come and go to see a lot of first moments for people. The only guy that I have seen that I can recall down the hallway at one of our events seeing for the first time and thinking, ‘wow, this just changed the game,’ was Brock Lesnar. Oba Femi is of that same cloth. He’s a guy that when you see him, when you see him in ring for the first time and keep in mind, he’s only been doing this for a very, very short period of time. He is a paradigm shifting game, changing athlete that comes along once in a generation, very rare. There is no ceiling, and the one thing about Oba I think that stands out more than anything else for me, dealing with him on a day-to-day basis, is he is a smart, smart man also. It’s not just a case of this physically intimidating generational athlete that others can’t match. It’s a different level of intelligence and business savvy like I’ve seen in very few people also. When I say there is no ceiling, I really mean there is no ceiling. It’s anything he wants. It’s just a matter of when, not if.”
