On a recent edition of his “Strictly Business” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff analyzed how Triple H handled questions during the post-WWE Royal Rumble 2024 press conference about the sexual abuse and sex trafficking allegations made against Vince McMahon by former WWE employee Janel Grant in her lawsuit.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Triple H’s response to the allegations when asked during the Royal Rumble press conference: “I found it interesting. But I wasn’t surprised because — I really didn’t want to get into this and create a debate over what should or shouldn’t have happened. But in this context, I was a little surprised but actually relieved, because anybody who’s ever worked in a corporate environment where there is a pending litigation — and there’s a lot of pending litigation going on right now. It wasn’t that long ago that the feds raided Vince McMahon’s home, so you’ve got the feds over here. They’re looking for something that may or may not even be associated with this civil complaint. We jumped to the conclusion — myself, I’ll speak for myself, I tend to jump to the conclusion and make an assumption that those two are related. They might not be. And with the amount of litigation and interest from the feds and the SEC and all the other stuff, and then you got all the shareholders out there that are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to pull some kind of a trigger. You have to be so careful about what you say that if you’re going to make an official comment, it literally has to be structured by a team of attorneys. And the senior attorney representing, the kind of corporate attorney representing and leading that effort, they’ll have to sign off on that statement.
“If you can imagine whether John, it was you or anybody asking a question that you know, I’m not gonna say you did this. But any reporter that would ask a question that they know Triple H can’t answer. He can’t give you his opinion. He can’t give you his feelings. He can’t go into any detail. He has two choices, right? Either read a prepared statement — and I get it, some people think that would have been a better way to go because at least it’s addressing, but it’s really not. You’re gonna get bland, you’re gonna get a legal statement from a corporate attorney coming out of Triple H’s mouth, and the audience is going to gag on that. That’s not what they want to hear. They don’t want to hear Paul talking like an attorney. They want to hear his personal feelings about the matter. That’s why the question was asked. So my point is, anybody who knows anything about this situation knows, including your job, not to beat you up, but it is what it is. You asked a very good question, you’re articulate, you’re respectful. Everything was great except for knowing he couldn’t answer that question unless you read a prepared statement. And I think that was probably, I’m guessing, considered. Do we want Paul under the current circumstances, which are really interesting to talk about? Because I think this is kind of unprecedented, in almost every respect. Do we want him coming up pretending as an attorney or speaking as one? Or do we want him to just acknowledge that he’s not going to answer it, move on to the next subject, and talk about focusing on something positive? So I think, under the circumstances — I know this is gonna be an unpopular position, don’t care — I think Paul handled it the only way he should have handled it.”
On how Triple H should’ve handled it: “But if Paul would have talked about how much they care for the talent and safety, and protection of the talents and everybody else in the corporate environment, and he wouldn’t have been sympathetic to the alleged victim? He’d be getting heat for that. Social media would have been accusing him of trying to protect Vince simply by not coming out and speaking about his reaction to those allegations. And I don’t know that he did read [the lawsuit]. I mean obviously, nobody knows but him. But I can see a circumstance where he had not at that point. Keep in mind that it’s Royal Rumble weekend, and there are major significant changes to the card. I can see where it would be something that he would sit down and be briefed on, even if he didn’t read out, be briefed on the details. And perhaps that happened before.”
In a recent episode of his “Strictly Business” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed Triple H’s handling of questions during the post-WWE Royal Rumble 2024 press conference. The questions revolved around the sexual abuse and sex trafficking allegations made against Vince McMahon by former WWE employee Janel Grant in her lawsuit.
Bischoff found Triple H’s response to be interesting, but not surprising. He explained that when there is pending litigation in a corporate environment, caution must be exercised in making official comments. With ongoing litigation, federal investigations, and shareholder interests at stake, any statement made by Triple H would need to be carefully structured by a team of attorneys.
Bischoff emphasized that reporters should be aware that certain questions cannot be answered due to legal restrictions. Triple H, as a representative of WWE, cannot give his personal opinion or feelings on the matter. He can only provide a prepared statement, which may come across as bland and legalistic to the audience.
Bischoff acknowledged that some people may have preferred Triple H to read a prepared statement addressing the allegations. However, he argued that this would not satisfy the audience’s desire to hear Triple H’s personal feelings about the matter. Bischoff suggested that under the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the allegations, it was better for Triple H to acknowledge that he couldn’t answer the question and move on to discussing something positive.
Bischoff also discussed how Triple H could have handled the situation differently. He mentioned that if Triple H had expressed care for the talent and emphasized the importance of their safety and protection, while not being sympathetic to the alleged victim, he would have faced criticism on social media. People would have accused him of trying to protect Vince McMahon by avoiding a discussion about his reaction to the allegations.
Bischoff speculated that Triple H may not have read the lawsuit at that point, considering it was Royal Rumble weekend and there were significant changes to the card. However, he suggested that Triple H could have been briefed on the details of the lawsuit before the press conference.
Overall, Bischoff commended Triple H for handling the situation in the best way possible given the legal constraints and the need to address the allegations sensitively. He acknowledged that this position might not be popular but believed it was the appropriate approach under the circumstances.