At the first-ever AEW Double or Nothing in 2019, Cody Rhodes had a standout match with his brother Dustin, but something Cody did before getting in the ring had people talking just as much as the bell-to-bell action. Making a clear reference to WWE’s Triple H, Rhodes used a sledgehammer to smash a throne bearing iconography associated with “The Game,” and many fans took it as an opening shot in a promotional war between AEW and WWE.

Sitting down with Rhodes on “What Do You Want To Talk About?,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque revealed his reaction to the moment. “I saw it as your hammer, because it was smaller than mine,” Levesque said, laughing when Rhodes referred to breaking the throne with “his” hammer.

“I remember when people brought it to me and showed it to me. I was like, ‘F**k yeah, alright, good for him,'” Levesque said. “That’s the kind of s**t you do. You’re trying to make a name for yourself, you’re trying to get out there, you’re trying to do some cool s**t, you’re trying to do some different stuff.”

Levesque stated that he didn’t believe there was any real malice in the overture, and if he had believed that, he would’ve called Rhodes to sort it out with a conversation. The WWE executive stated that he had a close connection with Cody’s father, Dusty, and in turn he feels closely connected to Cody. At the time Rhodes left WWE in 2016, Levesque didn’t feel he could openly encourage him to leave, but he felt it was the right move.

“It was difficult for me when you left, because I couldn’t say … ‘Dude, get the f**k out of here, go out there and make a name for yourself, and make yourself … desirable, and we’ll f**king come chasing after you and bring you back.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “What Do You Want To Talk About?” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.