"We were working in a box" - Current WWE champion on creative changes under Triple H and Vince McMahon's regime
The seismic shift in WWE's regime vastly impacted its weekly product. A current champion recently spoke about the changes under Triple H and Vince McMahon's regime.
Triple H's regime has changed the general perception of the product, which lacked seriousness under the previous management. Current Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn recently addressed the changes he felt after working under both regimes.
Speaking on Gorilla Position, Zayn opened up about Triple H and Vince McMahon's creative leadership and how WWE superstars have gotten more freedom under the new regime as compared to the old system.
"In some respects, 100%. In some respects, he's still the boss at the end of the day. When it comes to how you do whatever you're going to do, there's definitely a lot more freedom. Look, Vince [McMahon] definitely had his way about things, and it was successful. People can turn around in hindsight, point fingers, and say this and that," said Zayn.
Zayn gave an example of how things worked under the previous regime and how they changed now.
"We were working in a box; there's no question about that, but those boxes get built because of success. Things work, so you keep the things that work, and the things that don't work kind of get discarded, which is great. But what happens is that you paint yourself into a box. Now, you have a new visionary, and you have that box that gets opened up a bit. I think over a long enough timeline, we have to be very conscious of what we're doing to not just be in a new box or a slightly bigger box. There's a million ways to do things," he added. (From 8:15 to 9:15)
Sami Zayn recently defended the Intercontinental Championship on WWE RAW
Sami Zayn is no stranger to holding championship gold in WWE, as he won the Intercontinental Championship on three occasions under Vince McMahon's regime.
However, the fourth title win was more special and different for the star as he ended the longest-reigning champion's reign at The Grandest Stage of Them All in Philadelphia.
Two weeks after winning the title from Gunther, Zayn gave Gable a shot at the championship on WWE RAW.
After an entertaining back-and-forth, Sami Zayn retained the title in front of his home fans. Unfortunately, Chad Gable brutally attacked the champion and turned to the dark side. It will be interesting to see how Sami Zayn vs. Chad Gable shapes up in the coming weeks.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit Gorilla Position and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.