A retrospective look at Triple H’s creative reign ever since he took over, three years ago.
When Vince McMahon initially retired in July 2022, fans were skeptical, yet in some ways assured that the man taking over creative was Triple H.
Since it has been 3 years to that day, let us see some of the hits and misses that The Game’s reign has seen since his takeover.
Long-term Storytelling
One of the biggest changes he made as WWE CCO was to bring back the art of long-term storytelling. Gone were the days of short, pointless angles that went nowhere and eventually got cancelled because the crowd couldn’t relate to them.
One of the prime examples of this was The Bloodline saga. While many may argue that the story started in Vince McMahon’s reign, it was Triple H who took the story to new levels.
The Cerebral Assassin, true to his moniker, realised that long-term stories get fans engaged and help build characters. A testament to that is Sami Zayn, who was a fan favorite but lost in the mid-card; his rise within The Bloodline was one of the best story arcs told.
Elevation of the Mid-Card
While the mid-card was always looked at as workhorse titles, it lost its sheen during McMahon’s reign.
The past few years have seen the elevation of stars like Gunther having a massive Intercontinental title reign and the US Championship being a hotly contested title. Additionally, he brought the same titles to the Women’s division, which has opened up opportunities to weave stories around new stars.
The Tag Team Titles have also seen more prominence, along with a rise in factions. Besides these, there are plenty of midcard feuds that caught fans’ attention and showcased Triple H’s smart usage of certain talents, such as Braun Strowman’s matches with Jacob Fatu and Bronson Reed that gave them a huge push.
The current feud between Sheamus and Rusev has also recevied a lot of praise from fans, with Aleister Black and Damian Priest also generating great fan interest with their blossoming rivalry.
Triple H’s ability to book across the board has massively helped elevate the mid-card scene in the last three years.
NXT Call-Ups, Returns, and Match Quality
Ever since Triple H took the reins, we have seen some of his favorite NXT and main roster stars get another shot in the WWE, with the returns of Karrion Kross and Johnny Gargano being the best examples. NXT talents such as LA Knight, Bron Breakker have become fan favorites.
Even the Women’s division got new life injected into it with Guilia, Roxanne Perez, and Stephanie Vaquer. This shows The Game knows how to properly elevate talent.
Match quality, too, has improved overall with talent given more freedom. In the last 3 years, we have seen matches be as intense and engaging as they were during the glory days of NXT, and having producers such as Abyss, Petey Williams, and many others only helps make it better.
Cross-Promotion and Acquisition
While Vince McMahon tried cross-promoting, it didn’t last long, and he had a reputation for destroying any company he bought over. The burial of Sting at WrestleMania 31 just to drive a nail in WCW’s coffin is proof of that.
However, ever since taking over, Triple H has managed to build a solid working relationship with TNA, something that was unthinkable in the previous era, and even bought Mexican promotion AAA. This has been a successful tactic as all the companies are currently benefiting from the relationship. Look no further than the success of the Worlds Collide PLE.
The Creative Missteps Of Triple H’s WWE CCO Era
While we have seen somewhat of a resurgence for the company, it has not been all sunshine and rainbows. Let us gloss over some of the misses that have happened since Paul Levesque took over.
Massive Returns And Call-Ups with no Follow-up
The best example of this has to be Karrion Kross. After a disastrous stint under McMahon, Kross returned to much fanfare and hype, and currently is one of the most popular stars.
However, he got over oranganically, has no major storylines since his return, and has overall been presented as a gatekeeper.
The same can be said for Carmelo Hayes, who was an NXT champion but now is almost a glorified jobber; even a partnership with Miz couldn’t elevate him. Though in all fairness, after what seems to be ages on the main roster, fans have been vocal about pushing him lately.
Other names in this would be the Wyatt Sicks, who were brought back with hype but had nothing to do once they arrived, and though they have won the tag titles, the booking of the faction as a whole leaves a lot to be desired.
Stagnation in the Women’s Division
While the Evolution PLE was a great show for the women to showcase their talent, it was them who got it over; WWE barely promoted the show. Instead, they saw it as an opportunity to counterprogram against AEW, which greatly affected storylines and ticket sales for the event.
Along with that, a majority of the angles seem to be concentrated on a few women, such as Rhea Ripley or Becky Lynch, which greatly attracts eyeballs to the product, but overall has not helped the division move forward. A major example would be Natalya wrestling outside the company recently.
While the WWE has put efforts into establishing new talent, they are still trying to figure out a balance between pushing older and more known stars and elevating new talent.
Relying on Established Stars
While yes, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and even Logan Paul have had fantastic booking, we have not seen a new star break through into the main event.
What made NXT special was its elevated talent, something that Triple H did fantastically. However, he hasn’t been able to fully translate it on the main roster, which, at the end of the day, leads to a bloated roster with the majority of the talent left in catering.
Even when talents who were relatively lesser known, such as Damian Priest, took years to break through, and even his reign was short-lived.
Triple H has a golden opportunity to right this wrong with people like Karrion Kross or even R-Truth; however, even their stories seem to be going nowhere.
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Conclusion
Well, as the saying goes, “you can’t please everyone,” and that is what summarizes Triple H’s reign since he became CCO. While he has a lot of it hits, one has to be aware that there are lows too. But in all fairness, comparing his reign to the decades-long tenure of Vince McMahon would be unfair.
While he has his share of misses, Hunter has made WWE relevant again and made the locker room less toxic, as said by Carlito, which is also something that should be taken into account.
Given that Triple H has a feel for what people want, fans can hope The Game will step up to reduce the lows of his reign somewhere in the near future.
What are your opinions of Triple H’s reign?