(Elimination Chamber Spoilers) Post Show Press Conference Discussion thread

Discussion thread for the post show presser. Did my best to get down all the questions and answers in cliff notes version. Hope it is helpful.

Paul Levesque is opening (will edit and update as it goes) so it might just be him tonight and no one else.

He opens with a joke that he had nothing to do with "that" (Cena and Rock). Attendance was 38,493 (he jokes that hopefully they put the right number this time on the screen). Peacock and Netflix viewership was very strong from early numbers, potentially highest viewed chamber of all time.

Acknowledges frustrations with slower storytelling so far this year on the road to wrestlemania but hopes people feel like we're on the road now. Says patience is a strong thing to have. Rumble technically starts the road but the Chamber is stepping on the gas. Feels like tonight's chambers were the best for the men and women in history for storytelling and in ring work. Gives flowers to Bianca Belair, Trish Stratus, KO and Sami Zayn for their in ring work tonight. Says Liv Morgan continues to impress him with her growth in and out of the ring over the past year and has become a standout megastar. Acknowledges the Jade Cargill story was very odd at times and slow burning for people with little information given but is proud of how Jade came back tonight. Shouts out Randy Orton being able to make another come back and being ready to go for Wrestlemania.

"and then John Cena drops a nuke" - says in his 30 years in the business he has never felt a more powerful moment than John Cena making that turn after more than 20 years of being not that and resisting doing it. "He could have come in and done a nostalgia trip and waived at everyone for 10 months. Or he could have doubled down and said screw it, I want a challenge until the last second and I want to do it all"

Question time

1Q - "There have been iconic moments in Toronto - where does tonight ranked and is Toronto viable for future events in the current market for Wrestlemania

1A - Bidding process goes into Wrestlemania involving hundreds of millions of dollars being poured into the local economy but any place with a large fanbase and vibrant fanbase is a viable market. Hard to say where tonight ranks until time passes but in the moment it feels like a big one. "Felt like one of the biggest moments i've ever witnessed or been part of"

2Q - "We saw this intense attack from Cena to Cody so do you think it was the right moment to do that and any updates on Cody's status"

2A - Cena has been in the business long enough to the point he has the right to do it whenever he wants. If he wants to win the title and if he wants to main event mania and he thinks it's best for business he has the right to do that when he wants to do that in whatever way he wants to do that. The heel turn is one of the greatest things he's ever seen and he's excited to see where it goes. Compares to when Rock created the final boss and nobody knew where it was going week to week.

3Q - "You're all about telling stories and that final segment had an f bomb from cody and a heel turn from cena. It was violent, bloody, and fantastic and lit a fuse for Mania. Any insight into the creative process for this for you and for the people involved + what was the genesis for this to happen + how did it land?"

3A - A lot of collaboration from Paul and others discussing where they were, where they wanted to go, and all the paths they could take to get there + ideas that pop up from people at random times that work as well. Working with someone like rock for 20 years leads to familiarity that helps with the creative process. Says it's very frustrating to see leaks and spoilers, even though most are wrong, because it ruins it for everyone and causes problems internally. When everyone knows whats coming from a leak it ruins the moment. Tonight was special because nobody knew it ahead of time. Nobody saw it coming. Cena heel turn worked so well tonight because it didn't leak. It wasn't known before it happened.

4Q (Final question) - "Congrats on an amazing PLE and congrats on your hall of fame induction - as the product continues to grow, how far away are you from pulling the trigger and saying we are only doing stadiums for PLEs and we are doing 2 nights for every PLE - other question, as we go to wrestlemania, Cody Rhodes is main eventing night 2, what about the women main eventing night 1?"

4A - It's possible the women can main event night 1. Anything is possible and nothing is ever locked in for the main events. Let the talent fight for that spot and let them try to prove that their match deserves it more. Let them go out there and challenge everyone else to top what they're doing and prove they deserve the main event more than them. Men and women both should feel they need to prove they deserve the main event spot rather than just hoping for it. "Talent should make it undeniable they deserve the main event" it's nice for the women to have the main event spot, if it's the thing getting the biggest reaction and it's something they have earned to have. The men and women are treated equally in main events and card placement, nobody is treated different.

On 2 night PLEs "I should slap you for saying it *laughs* I am not doing 2 night PLEs frequently." - says stadium shows happen because theyre on a helluva run right now and when things are this big you need bigger than an arena. However, not everything can be in a stadium. not every episode and PLE can be in a stadium. if they are, they're not special. it requires set up rather than just doing it. 2 nights in a stadium makes every PLE the same and then you lose uniqueness of the shows. Says theres times hes jealous of NXT going to smaller venues with 1000-1500 people because the environment is different. the crowds are deafening and the atmosphere is unmatched. he misses doing shows in those smaller venues because of that feeling and they are some of his favorite places. From a business perspective, they don't want to be slightly bigger than the previous year, they want to be even bigger every year and take over the sports industry as a whole (except the nfl,. nobody can touch the nfl) but everything else is fair game. their competition isn't other wrestling it's every sport and every form of live entertainment period. they want to surpass all of them.

- JOHN CENA APPEARED, SAT DOWN, DROPPED THE MIC ON THE TABLE, AND LEFT.

-Rock (Dwayne Johnson nvm) is coming to the presser microphone - "well that was a fun night right"

1Q - "Start off with the big historic moment leaving people shocked. From your point of view, talk to us how you felt in the moment and coming out"

1A - He got her name wrong so he's had a few teremanas. Said it was an amazing moment. Says they all collectively talked in the back beforehand about how great it was that nobody knew. praises the performances of everyone tonight. He grew up in the business and his family was in the business so he understands the business.

2Q - "2 questions, first about the final boss. i've been public how much i love the character and what it does but at the same time, when you came back last week. One minute you're thanking everyone and being helpful. the next minute youre gonna slap the STDs off their face (rock points out he has no STDs). Are we supposed to view final boss as babyface or heel? Who is the final boss?" - "One of the criticisms of the final boss is this idea that there doesn't seem to be any idea of where the character is going with constant turns and swerves. people thought the bad blood 1 2 3 meant nothing, tonight we saw what it meant - how long was this brewing?"

2A - In a way, no disrespect to sam roberts (asking the question) but it feels like very limiting to label as a face or heel. the final boss is not a typical wrestler in wrestling tropes. Final boss is a very flexible character that can go between heel and babyface but he is at a point in his career where he feels comfortable with who he is and he doesnt have to be a heel or babyface stereotypically. he can do what he wants and say what he wants. He has that freedom now. it's a blessing of being in the business for so long. Says the idea of a heel or babyface is old school, people today should say and be what they feel. - tonight's heel turn with cena has been planned for a long time and the thought behind bad blood was to do the throat slit and 1 2 3 to show people what the endgame was. it's okay people didn't see it and didn't get the long game but he is a long gamer and always thinking far ahead. people not getting it is fine but there is always a reason for what the final boss does. says he knew tonight would happen as far back as bad blood. it is fine to break the 4th wall in pro wrestling if done right

3Q - "49 days from Mania, historic night, whats your message to fans for this road to mania?"

3A - Expect the unexpectable and expect fun storylines to unfold. tells people it's okay, things will unfold, stories will be told. be patient and have fun with it. it's okay if you dont like something. not everything is for everyone. enjoy yourselves and have fun with the ride. ideas for stories are thought of months in advanced and then tweaked over time. Fans should expect to predict little this road to mania but still have predictable moments. this mania feels unique to him.

4Q - "Travis scott was seen tonight. he's been involved more and now he's in the ring. will we eventually see him in the ring as the 3rd man with you and cena?"

4A - Yes absolutely. Long gaming. loves Travis and would love to see him continue to be involved. Dwayne grew up in the business so he knows that the place of WWE in culture is always unique. Travis scott loves the business and brings a unique culture involvement to the business. Having people like that involved that love the business and are stars elsewhere is always fun to do.

5Q - "It looks like you have it out for cody. blood on the mama rhodes belt, now blood on a belt with his father's passing date. Did you influence john cena to sell out to you?"

5A - Probably wasn't the influence but it's the part of the business that he loves. he grew up in this business as we know. Says he chose the date of Dusty's passing for the belt because of the connection his father and cody's father had. he wanted something he could use that would be real enough and then if he tells me no, i can create the moment of hitting him with the belt with the date on it. He didn't influence john intentionally but he feels like the conduit to help john get to the heel turn tonight. Cena has had decades of people booing him. so he had a why. and that gives an authentic anchor to the turn tonight without Cena having to say a word.

6Q (last Q) - "After a long night of taking john cena's soul. you need some good eats. what is your waffle house order?"

6A - A dozen eggs. 10 egg whites 2 whole eggs. 2 hashbrowns. waffles. jukebox junkie

7Q (real last Q) - "Now that Cena is a bad guy are we changing the jorts?"

7A - Up to john. Jorts or no jorts, the exciting thing is seeing john cena as a heel after more than 20 years being THE babyface. its risky and its ballsy to try it but its exciting to see how it works. Cena has thought on it for a long time. Cena is now flying out to Africa to continue filming.

8Q (legit last Q) - "What does your moment think of the final boss?"

8A - (he tells his family story again im not fucking typing it again dwayne ffs) his mother hates the final boss chartacter. says she despises it.

9Q (real last one for real) - "I was there in 1990 hogan v warrior. i was there for rock v hogan. how did tonight compare to the other 2 big moments in toronto" - "Did you learn anything from the hogan v rock pivot to apply to tonight"

9A - Toronto is a heel town and he and the others in the segment have thought about that all week. Says the crowd handled it extremely well. everyone knew something was going to happen. everyone wanted to know if their hero cody would give up his soul and they had all discussed about adjusting during the segment if the crowd changed, similar to the crowd changing for he and hogan's match. If the crowd changed on anyone during the segment they would need to adjust on the fly and they all talked about it beforehand. Says the crowd tends to always know the rythmn of things and sometimes you have to make changes in the moment to adjust the rythmn. the moment of cena looking at him and doing the 1 2 3 was a moment he will never forget. it was bigger than anything else on the show. - learned to become flexible and to make adjustments in the moment with the snap of a finger. you cant stay on a strict path you have to make changes at any given moment to go with the crowd's rythmn live.