The WWE's post-Vince McMahon era signals a creative shift is occurring behind the scenes, led by Triple H

• It's become increasingly clear how the WWE has changed directions in the post-Vince McMahon era.
• Paul "Triple-H" Levesque replaced McMahon as the organization's creative force after the iconic former CEO retired in disgrace.

It's increasingly clear the WWE is changing direction in the post-Vince McMahon era.

Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who has replaced McMahon as head of creative, seems to be refocusing company efforts on becoming a wrestling firm once again — as opposed to billing itself a sports entertainment brand.

McMahon, the company's iconic leader, retired as CEO two months ago having led WWE for 40 years, stepping away after the Wall Street Journal reported that the WWE's board was investigating payments he made to women affiliated with the WWE, some of whom alleged sexual misconduct.

In an SEC filing in August, the WWE said McMahon made "unrecorded expenses" totaling $19.6 million. The regulatory body and federal prosecutors are also reportedly looking into payments allegedly made to settle claims of sexual misconduct, the WSJ reported.

Though McMahon remains a stockholder with a controlling interest in WWE, his position as CEO is now shared by daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan. Triple H received a promotion, too.

The new focus is putting more wrestling into the WWE

One of the things Triple H has been advocating, which has already been noticed by media observers, wrestlers, and TV metrics, is putting the wrestling back into the WWE.

During a second-quarter earnings call last week, Triple H said it comes down "to the same thing it has since the beginning, creating characters, and putting them in fantastical situations," according to Wrestling Inc.

He said there was a "massive" opportunity and pointed to what Wrestling Inc. described as a "creative refresh."

Earlier in the month, Triple H apparently hinted to Jerry Jarrett, the promoter of Continental Wrestling, that this refresh would not mirror what McMahon had been doing for four decades, PWInsider reported.

Working with his wife, Stephanie McMahon, and Khan, Triple H said the new leadership did not want to try — and potentially fail — to replicate Vince's thing.

"We're going to try a new way," Triple H said, according to Jarrett, on the call.

Jarrett speculated that this new way would depart from being a "sports entertainment" brand and refocus on "wrestling."

Jarrett may be right, as it was not long before wrestlers themselves started using similar language when cutting promos in the ring.

Drew McIntyre cut an iconic promo recently talking about wrestlers in a wrestling ring

During a recent edition of WWE Raw, the Scottish performer Drew McIntyre told Canadian star Kevin Owens: "Let's just freaking wrestle," in a highlight-reel promo.

"I don't care if you're a prize fighter, a sports entertainer, or a superstar," McIntyre said. "We're wrestlers in a wrestling ring."

Watch it right here:

Even the numbers show there's more in-ring wrestling than usual

Lastly, according to research from Wrestlenomics reporter Brandon Thurston, the Raw and Smackdown shows from the Triple H era have contained more in-ring wrestling than shows from the previous era.

The graphs in the tweet below show that in some episodes there were 10-15 minutes of additional wrestling in new programming.

This, according to Wrestling Inc., has coincided with an increase in viewership.

If TV figures continue to rise, Triple H's focus on wrestling over sports entertainment may be here to stay.