In an exclusive interview with our own Megan Morant, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque delved into the recent return of CM Punk and offered insights into the future of the wrestling entertainment giant.

Levesque, whose in-ring career may be over but whose role in WWE has never been more pivotal, opened up about the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to CM Punk’s surprise comeback at an event in Chicago, Illinois.

“Funny, if you would have asked me a few weeks prior to that,” Levesque recounted, “because there were rumors, right, and all this stuff, and we had zero communication at that point.”

He revealed that conversations between Punk and WWE’s Nick Khan began to materialize as the event drew closer. “It was still a long shot to me when I called Neil Lowry on the WWE music side to see about ‘Cult of Personality,’ just in case,” Levesque explained. “But day of the event, I wanna say Survivor Series had started. That is when I sort of got word that we’re gonna try to paper this and get it done quick, he’s gonna head that way.”

Levesque disclosed that the decision to bring Punk back was so last-minute that only a handful of people were aware of it, with the final confirmation coming while they were live on air for Survivor Series. “So at that point, maybe five people knew,” he said.

Regarding the dynamic between CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins, particularly leading up to WrestleMania, Levesque acknowledged the history and tension between the wrestlers. “With Drew McIntyre and CM Punk, there’s a lot of water under that bridge, too,” he noted. “In my opinion, the dynamic of that match completely changed when they both decided that adding CM Punk on commentary was a good idea.”

Looking ahead to the rest of 2024 and beyond, Levesque expressed immense excitement for the future of WWE. “I couldn’t be more excited and motivated, not just by the athletes, but by the people that I work with on a day-to-day basis and the product that we’re churning out,” he said. “It’s hard for me to put into words how excited I am about the future.”

When asked about his vision for WWE five years from now, Levesque emphasized a desire to innovate and elevate the entertainment experience. “I wanna reinvent all this, not reinvent it, cuz there’s nothing wrong with it,” he explained. “But how do we all together take what we love so much and turn it into something even more?”

In closing, Triple H had a message for the WWE Universe: “Keep doing what you do, tell us what you like, tell us what you don’t, we’re listening. For whatever period of time you tune in, it’s an hour, it’s 2 hours, it’s 3 hours that you can just forget about life, forget about everything else going on, and live in this fantasy world of WWE, and enjoy every aspect of it, because I know I do.”

As the interview concluded, Triple H expressed appreciation for the opportunity to connect with fans and continue shaping the future of WWE.