How Triple H changed his outlook on smaller Superstars
It's a widely known fact that many old school wrestlers believe in having "bigger" Superstars as World Champions. People such as Superstar Billy Graham, Kevin Nash, and even the head honcho, Vince McMahon, share this opinion. Many other former Superstars still have this belief as well.
WWE has always been known as the land of the giants. Triple H appeared to agree with WWE's theory of having guys over 260 pounds as champions until recently. To add some value to this claim, Triple H basically held the Heavyweight Championship hostage all through 2003.
It is widely believed that he refused to lose it to guys like Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and Scott Steiner. Many other guys like Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, and Kurt Angle were reluctantly put over by The Game. These men weren't the desired big wrestlers WWE liked to have as the face of the company.
In more recent years, guys like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, and many others have become World Champions. Many of these superstars were never supposed to make it in WWE.
Triple H was apart of the authority storyline against Daniel Bryan in 2013-2014. They targeted Bryan, believing he wasn't a credible guy to have as the face of the company. Many other aspects played a part, such as Triple H making fun of Bryan's size and heart to be in the business.
It seemed that this story played off the old school mentality that many former wrestlers have about smaller performers. Without realizing it, I think we gained an understanding of how hard someone that size has to fight to be a top player.
The elements involved were so real. Having Shawn Michaels defending Bryan's intentions to Triple H was the added touch it needed to understand how bad some people were.
Since Triple H developed NXT into basically a third brand, he seems to have changed his mindset on smaller performers being top players.
I believe that a combination of working in the ring with a few and watching NXT stars, helped him change his outlook. Undoubtedly, more people will become more appreciative of these smaller superstars and give them more opportunities to be top stars.
It's good to see how certain people are able to adapt to changes in the industry. This has helped us have more confidence in Triple H taking over WWE in the future. People don't want to see a poor quality match between two big men anymore. They usually have a very limited move-set, and some have bland characters.
Triple H seems to understand this and gets 5-star performances out of his smaller superstars in NXT regularly. These days, wrestling is about having the right blend of ability and charisma. Size is no longer a big issue.
Vince McMahon may have a problem with guys like Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins being world champions, but they have earned it. They regularly go out and deliver good quality matches and have huge fan support. They may not be the ideal "face of the company" that Vince sees in Roman Reigns, but they have the heart and passion to be the best.
Triple H has always believed in and been a mentor to Seth Rollins. He is partly responsible for helping him become a top guy. Having the support of someone like The Game is huge in WWE with how high up in the industry he is now. Undoubtedly Triple H has finally grown up and realized that smaller superstars don't have to be cruiserweights.
I certainly think that WWE will evolve more with The Game in charge, and there will be less monotonous content. Knowing he supports the smaller talents, many of them will achieve greatness under his watch.
It won't matter if it's in NXT or on the main roster for these talents. Guys like Finn Balor would never be buried under Triple H. Things will not change straight away if Triple H does take charge. He will need to prove himself and earn the fans' trust, but as it stands, I doubt he would fail.
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