Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal did an in-depth feature piece on the development, growth and current state of the WWE Performance Center. The SBJ talks to several figures in the article that includes Triple H, Charlotte Flair and WWE PC Head Coach Matt Bloom. Below are some quotes from Triple H on what they seek for in prospective talent and how he constantly thinks about how to improve and build upon the PC operations.
Triple H on what makes production of professional wrestling different from other sports:
“If all other sports are just point and shoot, follow the ball, or follow the action or follow the fight, we are making a television show,” Levesque said. “We’re making a movie. So ours is about the story in the ring. How are we going to tell the story and then how are we going to connect fans to it?”
On improving the WWE PC:
“I think about this all the time,” he said. “What is 2.0 of this and how do we make this bigger? This has become so much more than just a place where we train talent.”
On what coaches are looking for in talent:
“What we’re really looking for, though, when they start to break down is, ‘how do you really act?’” Levesque said. “Are you the type of person that when you’re tired and exhausted puts the other person down to get in front of them, or are you the type of person that looks to the person next to you and picks them up and says, ‘Come on, let’s go, we’re going to finish this.’ Because you can’t do it by yourself in this business. So you have to be that emergent leader.”
“Charisma is king, or queen,” Levesque said. “That X factor that as you walk into the room makes people turn their heads and ask, ‘Who’s that?’”
The piece also gives some details as to what new talent gets paid as they enter the developmental ranks. The price range is vast for developmental talents going from anywhere in between $50,000 – $150,000 which averages out to about $80,000 per talent.
