Triple H did not mince words during his appearance on Flagrant, where he dismissed the influence of online wrestling fans and their opinions. “The internet’s not real life, right? And the bitching and the complaining that is on there is not real life,” he said. “You could read the internet and it’ll sound like this thing is dead. It’s not.”

He pointed to Cody Rhodes as an example of why he does not let online chatter shape WWE’s direction. “Cody’s already jumped the shark. He’s dead as a babyface,” he said mockingly, echoing critical voices on social media. “He’s like, ‘Really? ’Cause I don’t know, I’m in an arena with 10,000, 15,000 people every night going ape*** for me, selling the most merchandise.’”

Triple H also brought up Jey Uso, another polarizing figure among internet fans. “Jey Uso’s terrible. It’s never going to—what are they doing? They’re yeeting dude again—merch, the reaction in the crowd, everything he does—like, yeah, it’s just opinion of a few people.”

Despite his confidence, not everyone agreed. Former WWE writer Vince Russo called out Triple H during an episode of Legion of RAW, accusing him of ignoring recent history. Russo referenced the original plans for WrestleMania 39, which reportedly would have featured Roman Reigns vs. The Rock. That match was allegedly dropped due to overwhelming fan backlash online, leading to Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes instead.

“You know, I just keep hearing these same sentiments from a lot of people,” Russo said. “And then man, Triple H does this interview saying that their fanbase is not dictating anything to them and what’s said on social media. Bro, you changed the entire direction of your company last year based on social media. Like, what are you even talking about, bro?”