LAS VEGAS — WWE chief content officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque thanked Vince McMahon during his induction speech during the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
Levesque was inducted for his wrestling career and his role leading WWE in the post-McMahon era. The WWE co-founder left the company again in 2023 after a former female employee filed a lawsuit with sex trafficking and sexual assault allegations levied against McMahon.
Not only did Levesque work under McMahon, but he married her daughter, Stephanie, and the two share three daughters. Levesque gave credit to all of the people the helped paved the way for his successful WWE career, but he also gave props to those who are personally in his life, like Linda and Shane McMahon.
After that, Levesque paused and said there was something he had been skirting around during his entire speech, and it was McMahon. Cheers could be heard from the crowd inside the BleauLive Theater at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel.
"It's a complicated story and a complicated relationship, but in so many ways, I would not be here without him," Levesque said. "He's the one that saw something in me creatively."
Levesque added McMahon wasn't just a friend or mentor but part of his family as his wife's father and his daughters' grandfather.
"When there's somebody that helps propel you that far, you owe them so much. You taught me so much. What to do, what not to do. I'm grateful for all those lessons. I love you, Vince. I thank you," Levesque said.
John Cena, Roman Reigns speak on Vince McMahon
McMahon hasn't been seen in WWE since his departure in 2023 and is hardly mentioned by any of the company's talent. The lawsuit, filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant, against McMahon is still standing but a trial has yet to be set, and McMahon denies the allegations.
However, two of WWE's biggest stars − John Cena and Roman Reigns − spoke about McMahon in recent interviews. In a profile with the New York Times, the 16-time WWE Champion said he still appreciates McMahon.
"I don’t care who hears it: I love Vince," Cena said. "I’m not downplaying anything that needs to be decided or allegations of any kind, but when I love somebody, I love them wholeheartedly.
"I know people are going to be angry about that, but they can’t put their value on my relationship with somebody I love," he added.
Reigns didn't share the same sentiments in a Vanity Fair profile published ahead of WrestleMania 41. He said McMahon reached out to him to wish him a happy birthday, but Reigns shared sympathy for Grant.
"She’s got to live with all these situations that happened and hopefully she’s in a place where she feels comfortable and she’s secure in her own place," Reigns said. "It’s embarrassing. That’s stuff you don’t want to hear about. You don’t want your family to hear about."
WWE will hold its largest flagship event in WrestleMania 41 on April 19 and 20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
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