This past weekend in Lyon, France, WWE’s Backlash PPV took place, and it’s fair to say that the show, especially in the ring and the atmosphere, was a huge success. It had great energy, and most viewers at home enjoyed it as much as the live crowd in Lyon.
However, there was some controversy following the show after the post-show media scrum. During the scrum, media member Lucas Charpiot asked Triple H about reports of Drew Gulak’s release and whether it was related to Ronda Rousey’s recent accusations that Gulak inappropriately reached for her sweatpants drawstrings.
Triple H’s response was to advise Lucas to cite credible news sources when asking questions. He explained that Gulak was not released but that his contract is up soon and will not be renewed.
Even though I did not think Triple H gave a great response by any means, thats not what influenced me to write this. Rather, it was Lucas Chapriot’s recent revelation when speaking to Post Wrestling’s John Pollock & WrestleNomics Brandon Thurston. Lucas revealed that a member of WWE PR directly told him that it was a “dumb thing to do” after he asked Triple H his question.
This is significant and concerning.
Members of the media are often accused of bias towards one of the major wrestling promotions, but these accusations are rarely substantiated. Many assume that WWE and AEW instruct media members not to ask certain questions in scrums or interviews, or risk losing their credentials. However, from my experience and conversations with others in the media, this is not the case. The closest thing I’ve encountered is when Tony Khan, after AEW All In, before the scrum started, stated he was aware of the CM Punk/Jack Perry incident, but wouldn’t be taking questions.
The WWE situation is concerning because it shows WWE attempting to discourage media members from asking questions. Lucas’s question was fair; he referenced reports about Gulak’s release and separately inquired about the Rousey allegations.
Triple H’s response wasn’t ideal. He became defensive and criticized two popular outlets (PWInsider & Fightful). But the WWE PR person’s comment to Lucas was even worse. Discouraging him from asking valid questions may have deterred other media members in the room and in the future.
I mentioned earlier that wrestling media isn’t instructed on what they can ask or do, so you may be wondering something like “why do so many of them ask such shit questions then?”. A completely fair question or thought to have in my opinion.
The dynamic in the room during these scrums is kinda weird. Some media members are content creators or fans who are simply happy to be present and ask lighthearted questions. Others want to ask intriguing questions but fear upsetting anyone. And then there are those who want to ask tough questions to get meaningful answers.
Unfortunately, with the growing importance of PR and content creators’ platforms, the media members willing to ask tough questions are becoming rarer. This is a natural trend, but when WWE PR discourages real questions, it exacerbates the issue.
If WWE or AEW don’t want to hold genuine media scrums where reporters can comfortably ask any valid question, even if it’s tough or unflattering, they shouldn’t hold them at all. They could opt for events like the WrestleMania XL press conference, where there was no questions from media. It definitely wasnt a “press conference”, so the name is wrong, but conceptually it is probably what they should do.
Why open the floor for media to ask things if you’ll react negatively to tough, valid questions and try to discourage them?
