Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: entertainment, Triple H, tv, Vince McMahon, wwe

Is Triple H The Right Guy To Lead The WWE Forward?

By Dan Lloyd

In recent years the WWE Universe has seen a much needed change with the way things have been run. After decades of the same product being produced week in, week out, the last couple of years have seen some groundbreaking steps forward; the likes of the WWE Network and the Performance Centre have made access so much easier, even for the casual fan.

However, there is an impending change within the ranks of the WWE hierarchy. Vince McMahon has been the man who changed the business – he created Monday Night RAW, which meant he consequently won the Monday Night Wars, he pioneered the Attitude Era and has made the business what it is today, but at 69 years old, some fans have started saying Vince is out of touch with the world he created, especially after the finish to last month's Royal Rumble.

The Rumble had finished the same way it had for the past three years, with a very clear and obvious winner long before the match was over, and even though all three guys (John Cena, Batista and now Roman Reigns) who won were 'faces', a good guy in wrestling terms, they were all booed out of the building.

The big question is this: Is it time for Vince to hand over the reins of the empire that he built up to what it is today? And if so, is Triple H the right guy to take over?

Personally, my opinion is that McMahon should gracefully step aside, after all, he took over from his father when McMahon Sr. was 65. Vince is 69 now and in terms of the booking of the business, everything has become all too similar with storylines and it is in fact his son in law, occasional part time wrestler Triple H who has broken ground with his movements behind the scenes.

Triple H grew up as a fan of the business, and knew from an early age that this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, watching the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Buddy Rogers and Pedro Morales as they battled it out in the WWWF. While McMahon Jr. always wanted to be an actual wrestler, his father would never let him step inside the squared circle, so McMahon took that idea away and saved it until he owned the company; this would lead to him appearing in the ring with legends such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.

As Triple H grew up with this love for the business though, this would only grow once he entered the WWF (Am I still allowed to call it that?). As mentioned on Stone Cold's podcast that emanated from the Pepsi Center, he would routinely try to find different ways to improve his knowledge for the business. Little did he know he would end up where he has today…

In his new role of executive vice president of talent, he has built bridges that had long been burned to the ground. After bringing back legends such as Bruno Sammartino and Ultimate Warrior and putting them into the WWE Hall Of Fame, is it time to realise that Triple H is the saviour WWE has been looking for?

Vince McMahon is widely regarded for his incredible business mind – something that Triple H doesn't have quite yet, but he is also known for his stubbornness. In these types of situations, if relationships sour with a superstar, that could potentially be it – Randy Savage's family had to wait until this year for his HoF invite after he allegedly slept with Steph…

Not only has Triple H smoothed things over with previous talent, but he has pioneered the independent movement. It's very well known that Vince has a certain type of 'guy' – 6ft plus, blonde hair, big muscles. Just imagine 'Mr. Ass' Billy Gunn, the quintessential Vince guy. However once the 1990s/2000s came along, a different breed of wrestler started to come through the systems; we started seeing guys like Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero in WCW, along with Jushin 'Thunder' Liger. After the cruiserweight division in WCW started to die, some of those guys found homes in WWE, with some even becoming world champions.

The independent scene has been growing and growing, and recently it has hit a peak, with guys like Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Hideo Itami all signing for NXT from around the globe. NXT is essentially Triple H's brainchild. He has been given free reign and runs it the way he sees fit, so there is no running to Vince if something does indeed go wrong. This is a good thing though and it shows that Vince has seen a potential X factor in Hunter; if Hunter is being allowed to run a show without supervision, this clearly shows trust on Vince's part and for what it's worth, Triple H is doing a fantastic job with it. He knows who the show is marketed at and he has run that ball right into the end zone – wrestling fans around the globe know the deep talent pool that NXT has to offer and tune in weekly to see what new things are going down at Full Sail University.

In all honesty, Triple H is the right guy to run the company after Vince steps down as chairman. In the few years that he has worked behind the scenes he has shown that he has an unbelievable passion for the business and he has managed to do things that even Vince himself just could not have pulled off. Do I think he's ready right now? No. There needs to be an improvement with the writing staff and the way things are booked, but that just goes to show that the business is evolving. It is no longer the attitude era and dirt sheets are available for everyone at the click of a button. People know what is going on behind the scenes more than ever before and that is something the company has to deal with. Let's have a nice slow build on this storyline and hopefully we'll get a sweet pay off somewhere down the line.

Dan Lloyd (@DRL_1990) is an aspiring writer who loves everything nerdy. He got into gaming and watching wrestling at an early age and has never looked back. He is a resident wrestling fan as well as covering some gaming and TV pieces. 

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