Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Stephanie McMahon’s love story played out on television when the two were paired for a storyline that led to them developing feelings for one another. During a recent appearance on McMahon’s “What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon” podcast, Levesque recounted the early reactions to their angle and how both their mothers quickly realized it wasn’t a storyline.

“Her mom [Linda McMahon] asking her, like: ‘What’s going on with you and Triple H?’ and she was like: ‘Mom, nothing; he’s a talent,'” Levesque recalling, noting that his mother asked him the same question, but he also denied that anything was going on between them, mainly because she was Vince McMahon’s daughter. “I remember my mom saying one time, like, ‘Because you’re not that good of an actor!’ Like, saying like, ‘I can see it, and you’re not that good of an actor.'”

He further recalled dismissing his mother’s suspicion, claiming the notion was ridiculous to him at the time, but being confronted with the idea of being with McMahon planted a seed in his mind, likening their romance to a movie where two people don’t realize they’re meant for each other. 

“Like yeah, we were spending all this time together, but also I would find myself like: ‘Oh, I got to go find Steph; run that by her,'” he recalled, admitting that he began to make excuses to himself to see her more often. McMahon then added that she’s grateful for their relationship and considers it her destiny. 

“There was no denying our chemistry, I mean, I think that was one of the reasons the angle worked so well!” she added. “There was nothing either of us could do about it; it just was what it was and it only grew.”

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It’s never easy to watch Father Time intercept into the Fountain of Youth. Two weeks ago at WrestleMania 42, that situation happened in real time, when “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar lost to WWE’s newest powerhouse Oba Femi. After their match, Lesnar untied his boots, took off his fighting gloves, and exited off the only highway he’s ever known, the road toward Suplex City. From one Minnesotan to another, Tiffany Stratton was shocked to see Lesnar go.

“When I saw Brock unlace his boots, I almost shed a tear. I was sad for him,” the new Women’s United States Champion told Adrian Hernandez on his “Unlikely” podcast. “He looked like he started crying a little bit too…He’s just a boy. It’s his first time living too. Hopefully, it’s not his last match. Hopefully, at SummerSlam in Minnesota, we’ll get to see him. I think that would be iconic, retiring in your hometown.”

While many like Stratton are optimistic Lesnar will be at “The Biggest Party of the Summer,” especially since it will be in his hometown on August 1 and 2, sources like WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select claimed that those backstage strongly believe that the former seven-time WWE Champion’s final match was in Las Vegas on April 19. Sources did indicate that Lesnar would hang his boots up sometime this year as an in-ring competitor, closing out his unmatched 25-year tenure. 

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One point Khan did agree with MVP on was how easy some wrestling reporting could be distorted by certain sources looking to gain favorable coverage, and pointed out rumors of heat between MVP and “Speedball” Mike Bailey as a sign of sources being misleading. With jobs in the NFL and England’s Premier League giving him the opportunity to see how their respective media work, Khan compared the wrestling media landscape to that of other sports, and noted the contrasts between them.

“There’s different ethics in journalism,” Khan said. “And I do think, to your point, the sourcing, the verifying of rumors, there’s a much higher standard for reporting things in football than there is in wrestling. The kind of sourcing you need to report what is just a rumor, like these locker room rumors, you don’t see real football writers writing these kind of things. In wrestling, the journalistic standard is far lower.

“But there are the benefits from the coverage that you get, just like, in any other sport where you want to have the top writers talking about what they see, giving their opinions. I don’t always agree with the football writers, I don’t always agree with the wrestling writers, but I respect that people follow something year round. Especially wrestling, which really truly is year round. But if you follow the sport and…just like in football and wrestling, I think there is a similar thing where some writers set a higher standard for their writing and for their ethics.”

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Former WWE United States Champion Ilja Dragunov has become known for hard-hitting performances in the ring, but he’s someone who believes first and foremost in storytelling. Speaking to Ringer Wrestling, Dragunov was asked if he had a favorite WWE WrestleMania match, but the performer instead stated that there’s instead a singular moment that stands out to him.

“The moment is definitely the [Hulk] Hogan and Rock staredown,” Dragunov said, describing their interaction from WWE WrestleMania 18 in 2002. “Nothing happens there, besides two amazing icons looking at each other. And the whole place goes nuts. … You’re talking about, ‘Everything is scripted.’ No. There is nothing more unscripted than an organic performance in this business.”

Hogan and The Rock were set to face off in the main event of that year’s WrestleMania, which took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bucking the expectations of the wrestlers and WWE itself, the crowd fiercely supported the heel Hogan in his grand WrestleMania return rather than the babyface Rock, resulting in the two men having to improvise many elements of the match.

In the end, The Rock won the match only for Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to turn on Hogan, creating a temporary alliance between the two men that had just wrestled. Hogan left the NWO and turned babyface, while Dwayne Johnson moved into the latter stage of his initial WWE run before making the full-time jump over to Hollywood.

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