WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 press conference highlights

AUSTIN THEORY

-Theory did most of the interview in character. The one thing of note from his portion of the press conference is that he issued an open challenge for the WWE U.S. Championship for Raw on Monday.

EDGE and BETH PHOENIX

-Edge was asked about whether or not he’s going to retire. He talked about how much fun he had tonight wrestling with his wife, Beth Phoenix, and he’s not even thinking about retiring now because he’s having fun. He said retirement is potentially 8to 9 months away. Edge did say he wants his last match in Canada.

-Edge was asked if he wants to work with young talent backstage when he retires and he said yes. Edge talked about all the people he’s learned from like Rick Martel and Bad News Brown. He said he wants to pass that knowledge down that was given to him. Edge stated again in terms of retiring he’s taking things one step at a time.

-Phoenix was asked about Rhea Ripley and she said she’s come a long way since she first saw her at the Mae Young Classic and it was great to mix it up with her tonight.

-At the end of his session with the media, Edge said since Theory issued an open challenge  for Raw this coming Monday, he would accept it for the WWE U.S. Championship.

TRIPLE H

-Triple H gave his thoughts on the show and the effort of the roster before fielding questions. “When the crowd is the star of your event your onto something special,” said Triple H on the crowd in Montreal tonight. Triple H thanked the talent and said everyone came with their A game tonight. He then talked about the show from a business standpoint and said they set records for the largest gate in Montreal and most viewers on Peacock for the Elimination Chamber PLE. Triple H said he felt Pat Patterson watching with tears in his eyes because of how special it was.

Triple H talked about everyone in the main event creating something special. He called Zayn a special performer and said that reminds him of Mick Foley in terms of his connection with the crowd and how he can make them laugh in one moment and then deeply care about him in matches when he’s in the ring.

-Triple H was asked about having success in the ring at a high level and transitioning that to being successful behind the scenes as head of creative at a high level. He said he’s not sure everyone agrees with that. He said his passion for the business has never diminished. He said he feels like the same little kid that saw Chief Jay Strongbow on TV for the first time when it comes to his passion for the business.

He talked about how wrestling is unlike any other form of entertainment. He said the people in the venue were thinking about nothing but the show tonight as it was taking place. He said in other avenues of entertainment the attention of people can come and go, but when wrestling is right it never wanders.

-Triple H was asked if he’s in favor WWE being sold. He said he stays out of that end of the business. “I have the greatest gig in the world,” said Triple H on his role behind the scenes as head of creative. Triple H said he is thrilled to have a hand in what they created tonight.

-Triple H was asked Sami’s creative was changed at all based on the reaction Sami got on Smackdown this past Friday. Triple H said he wasn’t worried about Sami getting a big reaction tonight as well. He said Patterson would say go with your gut and Triple H felt the reaction Sami got for the PPV would destroy the reaction he got on Smackdown.

SAMI ZAYN

-Zayn was asked how he’s feeling now that tonight is over. Zayn said he feels very strange right now so some of his answers won’t be what they expect. Zayn said he feels detached right now. He can’t put his finger on as to why he feels strange.

Zayn said he wants to see the match and how it played on TV. He said he might have a different answer about the match then. He said the ending tonight was unhappy and he’d be lying if he said he was thrilled with the finish of the match. Sami said it was like having a great dream come true, but he woke up without the right ending and it wasn’t what he wanted. Sami said he wished he could have given that ending to the people, the story, his family, and his friends, and to Montreal. He said we know what this is, but sometimes it gets real in reference to wresting being scripted, but real life emotions coming into play when it came to storylines and finishes.

Zayn said looking into the crowd the people were genuinely hurt after he lost and it was not just the deflation of a storyline going in the wrong direction. He said GSP was there at the show and he considered him the benchmark of a Montreal athlete that people rallied around like no other. Zayn said this had a legit big fight feel in the city. He talked about people humming his sound in the concourse and chanting his name all week. He said losing the match was like if GSP came to Montreal for a big fight and lost.

-Zayn was asked about WrestleMania coming to Montreal. He said he actually had a conversation about it with Triple H yesterday. Zayn said every performer knows the passion of Montreal fans, but the decision of whether or not WWE comes to Canada for WrestleMania is way above his pay grade. He said everyone sees the fans and their passion in Montreal. Zayn said that if you’re picking a city based just on passion, Montreal is a top three city for WrestleMania in his mind.

-Zayn talked about the Bloodline storyline. he said for the first couple of months, he didn’t appear on screen with Reigns until August and the stars aligned in Montreal that night and circled back to tonight for their match. He said Reigns reacted to Zayn on screen when he appeared with him in a way you didn’t expect. Zayn said that interaction amplified things tonight.

-Zayn was asked if he had anything more  to say on Smackdown last night, but couldn’t because of the crowd noise. Zayn said he had a bunch to say, but he adapted to the situation because the crowd was giving him a lot, so some of the things got cut from his promo. He said the crowd created a very special and memorable segment on Smackdown last night.

Zayn said that we are in the era of content and he wants to focus on the Bloodline storyline. Zayn said now being a good wrestler isn’t good enough to get attention. Zayn said the challenge now is for everyone creating memorable segments together and he credits the others in the storyline and people behind the scenes for making the Blooodline story special. He said the storyline isn’t over yet and they’ve created all these memories together. Zayn said he got an ovation for over five minutes which was a record for the venue on Smackdown last night. He said he decided to take the love from the fans and adapt on the fly when it came to what he said before the show went off air.

-Zayn said he’s aware that tonight was special to conclude the press conference.

CATCH-UP: WWE Hall of Famer to accept US Championship open challenge on WWE Raw