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What's the story?
Cody Rhodes produced one of the most talked-about moments from AEW Double or Nothing when he smashed a Triple H-esque throne with a sledgehammer during his entrance.
Speaking on a conference call ahead of NXT TakeOver: XXV, Triple H gave his response to the back-and-forth digs between WWE and AEW.
In case you didn't know…
The war of words between the two promotions began at the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame when Triple H joked during D-Generation X’s induction speech that Vince McMahon will buy AEW one day just so he can fire fellow DX member – and current AEW producer – Billy Gunn.
Cody Rhodes then aimed multiple digs at WWE in the build-up to Double or Nothing, notably when he said that the company had put no thought into the design of the new 24/7 Championship.
The AEW executive vice president took things to another level at Double or Nothing when, after mocking WWE’s inflated WrestleMania attendances earlier in the show, he was handed Triple H's go-to weapon of choice, a sledgehammer, which he used to destroy a throne on the stage area.
Two days later, WWE took the unusual approach of referencing AEW on its programming when Sami Zayn told the audience during an in-ring Q&A on Raw that they missed the chance to ask him a question about the new promotion.
The heart of the matter
Asked if back-and-forth jabs are good for business and whether we could see another AEW reference at NXT TakeOver: XXV on June 1, Triple H began by explaining his “pissant” comment at the Hall of Fame:
“Hall of Fame, to me, Billy’s there and there’s sort of this moment where if you don’t sort of say there’s an elephant in the room, then everybody goes, ‘Well, how come they didn’t mention the elephant in the room?’ ... It was nothing more than that and, to be honest, with DX, if you don’t do that, then we’re sort of not doing what we do.”
Regarding AEW and Cody Rhodes’ Double or Nothing entrance, he added:
“What they are, for me, I don’t even really think about it, to be honest. For me, when it comes to TakeOver, I just want to put out the best product possible. I’m not focused on anybody else, I’m not thinking about anybody else’s creative or what they said or didn’t say or anything else.”
What's next?
NXT TakeOver: XXV takes place in Bridgeport, Connecticut on June 1, while AEW is currently planning its Fyter Fest event on June 29.
