Triple H Is Using the MCU Playbook — And WWE Fans Are Losing Patience

Triple H just laid out how WWE builds its world, and if you were expecting a straight sports comparison, nope. In a recent interview at All In, he positioned WWE as something a lot closer to Marvel than UFC, even name-dropping a Netflix doc that digs into the company’s inner workings. And because this is wrestling, he pointed to a recent creative swing that didn’t exactly stick the landing: John Cena’s final run going full heel.

WWE as a shared universe, not a fight league

'I would say we’re much more akin to the Marvel Universe, where you’re planning out long term where the movies fit and how they go with all the characters, than we are direct MMA. At the end of the day, direct MMA is — you’re booking matches and the interest is, That guy’s really good. He’s really good. I’m not sure who’s going to win.'

That’s WWE’s chief content officer talking through the lens he uses to build the product: long-term arcs, character webs, and payoffs. Think crossover events instead of rankings. It’s a very on-brand answer from The Game, and yes, hearing it at something called All In is a little unexpected given where that name usually lives in wrestling.

He also pointed to a Netflix doc

Triple H cited a Netflix documentary called 'Unreal' as a window into the company’s day-to-day reality and how writing shapes the locker room pecking order. The gist: creative drives everything. Who gets momentum, who cools off, and how the backstage ecosystem reacts when the script shifts — all of that comes from the pen before it gets to the bell.

WWE vs. UFC, in plain English

Asked to compare pro wrestling with mixed martial arts, Triple H drew a clean line. In MMA, competition is the product. In WWE, the story is the product — the spectacle, the catharsis, the character payoff. He used Conor McGregor to make the point: if McGregor announced a comeback in four months, it would be huge regardless of how long it’s been since he last fought or last won. People show up for the star, not a spotless record. WWE runs on that same 'cult of personality' fuel — but it applies that star power to scripted narratives, not win-loss columns.

When storytelling hits (and when it doesn’t)

• The Bloodline saga turned Roman Reigns into a dominant, must-watch centerpiece.
• CM Punk vs. John Cena gave us the pipebomb and a moment that redefined fan engagement.
• Daniel Bryan’s 'Yes Movement' bottled lightning and paid it off in front of the world.

But not every big swing connects. Case in point: John Cena’s retirement tour. WWE went bold with an unthinkable move — an outright heel turn — kicking it off with a sudden attack on Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber 2025. The idea was to show a bitter, exhausted Cena lashing out at what it took to become John Cena, even if it meant torching his own legacy on the way out.

On paper, that’s juicy. In practice, it didn’t land. Fans and critics struggled with why the company’s signature babyface would flip the switch so late in his career, right as he was winding it down. Maybe an earlier attempt would have played differently. Maybe not. That’s the gamble with long-term, character-first storytelling: when it pays off, it feels historic; when it misses, it feels like the timeline went sideways.

The bottom line from Triple H

WWE is built like a sprawling narrative universe, not a rankings-driven fight promotion. Stars move the needle in both spaces, but WWE’s currency is sustained, interlocking stories — the kind fans want to cheer, boo, or live vicariously through. Sometimes that alchemy produces eras like the Attitude Era. Sometimes it produces a head-scratcher like Cena’s final-run heel turn.

What do you make of Triple H steering WWE with an MCU-style playbook? Smart evolution or too many plot twists for a retirement tour?