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| Nobody trolls the WWE Universe like Triple H |
Two straight Sundays, two straight obvious decisions, two straight failures—but the difference between the Seattle Seahawks and WWE is that in WWE, you get a second chance. The WWE's second chance is Triple H.
Nobody quite trolls the wrestling audience like the man once known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. It started last Thursday night on the live SmackDown when he delivered one of many great one-liners he had in store for us this entire week. The state of Connecticut canceled Raw last week, and he wasn't happy with it.
"There's one thing we don't like in the WWE, and that's being told what to do," Triple H said, an obvious jab at the disgruntled fans.
Segue to Raw on Monday night as he, fully aware of the social media backlash, unloaded again on the smart marks when he compared the Seahawks gaffe at the end of the Super Bowl to WWE's failure to execute at the end of the Rumble.
"I just really hope the NFL can survive with the brand new hashtag, 'Cancel the NFL Network movement,'" he said.
To top it off, he even addressed the run-in during the Royal Rumble.
"The Rock has no business here….And he had no business getting involved in the Royal Rumble," which was an indirect admittance of failure by booking the former WWE superstar in an unenviable situation.
For years now, Triple H—fair or not— has at times been painted as someone who wants to bury people, and actually someone who is bad for business. But after watching his interview on the Stone Cold Podcast, it's hard to believe that premise. If anything, Triple H has his finger on the pulse. He's very much in tune with the audience—something that Vince McMahon allegedly has lacked in the last few years.
In the one hour and eight minute conversation, Triple H touched on a plethora of subjects and several of his strongest opinions mirrored those of the smart mark community.
- One thing he would change about Raw is to go back to two hours.
- He wants more time for the Divas division to develop.
- He likes the slow burn (drawn out storylines).
Triple H came across so strong, polished and composed, that you know WWE is in good hands if Vince ever decides it's time to go.
What stood out the most is that he discretely voiced the frustration of so many fans, bringing up great points about how wrestlers in today's day and age need to cater to all sorts of different demographics.
In a section of the crowd sits two eight-year-olds, their parents, and then a few college students. Thinking out loud, he stated they try to find someone who can appeal to all of them. The first wrestler that came to mind, Daniel Bryan.
Nothing in that interview would suggest Triple H can't see the obvious—Bryan is the most over wrestler in the company. But he also made it crystal clear that one person has the ultimate say so, and that person is Vince McMahon.
Behind the scenes and even in the storylines, Triple H is cleaning up and patching up the holes whenever a decision by Vince goes wrong. See: Bryan being added into the title picture. But if Triple H is unable to do damage control, he falls into the trap of one of his own quotes backstage to Stephanie: "They bought into that, it was so easy to manipulate them." We'll end up getting more results like we did at the Rumble.
If we get what's best for business, we'll gladly settle for this quote instead: "We are the book that never ends. There's always a next chapter."
And as long as Triple H is the next chapter, I'll continue reading.
OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS
- Notice how Triple H didn't wear a tie during the interview with Stone Cold?
- When discussing the Super Bowl, Triple H said that the Seahawks over-thought the play call. Hmmm...now how could we apply that logic to WWE in recent weeks?
- Non-wrestling, I know, but there is no reasonable explanation as to why Marshawn Lynch didn't carry the ball. Zero. People can try to reason the play call as to how the right package and match-ups weren't there, Butler made a hell of a play…No…I'm handing off to Lynch at least twice, and if I get stuffed, I get stuffed, I tip my cap. I don't care which fat guys are at the line of scrimmage, I'll take my chances with at least two carries with the strongest back in the league to pick up a half a yard
- As it stands right now, WWE has done a superb job of digging itself out of its hole after their lowest approval rating in years. Roman Reigns, starting with his in-studio interview last week and book-ending it Monday night with strong segments backstage and in the main event, has taken the steps needed to get closer to being accepted.
- The rematch clause (and that phrase is used lightly), although out of the blue, actually does make sense in the context of Daniel Bryan getting back in the title picture.
- Now with Bryan vs Reigns setup for Fastlane, the big question isn't who wins that match and goes on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, but more so how would the fans react if in fact the main event stays the same, and Bryan loses?
- Is that the last Big Show vs Roman Reigns match we see, or do we need to have a casket match before enough is enough?
- If Roman Reigns is turning heel, the seeds are slowly being planted. Great interaction by Reigns snapping at Daniel Bryan backstage. He said he didn't care about the crowd and then told Bryan to get the hell out of his locker room.
- I wish the Bellas could've spray-painted nWo on the back of Paige.
- It's 4:30 a.m. I think it's time to go to sleep. Unfortunately, WWE took my pillow and used it for the casket match on SmackDown.
What are your thoughts on what went down this week so far? Tell us what you're thinking in the comments below!
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