Ex-WWE star reveals nixed title match idea involving Triple H
Triple H cemented his status as one of WWE's all-time greats during his 24 years as an in-ring competitor with the company. In a recent interview, former WWE wrestler Jay Bradley recalled how he almost went one-on-one with The Game.
Bradley worked for WWE between 2005 and 2009. On the October 10, 2008, episode of SmackDown, he was initially booked to challenge Triple H for the WWE Championship. However, plans changed and The Big Show received the title opportunity instead.
On Developmentally Speaking, Bradley recalled how there was absolutely no build-up or plan before his debut in WWE, and that he kept being told about different ideas on the day of the show.
"They finally debuted me to absolutely no build-up, no planning, no angle, no nothing, and I got called that I was debuting against Triple H because they were doing a new talent initiative and they were giving a title shot to an unknown guy. I got there and they flipped it to The Big Show, then they flipped it back where I was wrestling Hunter [Triple H], and then they flipped it back to The Big Show," said Bradley. [44:54 – 45:23]
The match between The Big Show and Triple H ended in a no-contest after The Undertaker interfered. Jeff Hardy and Vladimir Kozlov also got involved in the show-closing segment, which ended with Hardy hitting The Game with a Twist of Fate.
What happened after the Triple H match idea changed
Jay Bradley, known at that point as Ryan Braddock, joined forces with Curt Hawkins, Kenny Dykstra, and Zack Ryder. The makeshift quartet teamed up in a losing effort against Carlito, Festus, Jesse, and Primo.
Bradley added that then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon likely changed his mind about the world title match at short notice.
"For whatever reason, they kept flip-flopping, probably because Vince and the writers rewrite everything else. So, yeah, I was on there, they renamed me Ryan Braddock. There were several ideas that just never made it to air," said Bradley. [45:25 – 45:44]
In March 2009, Bradley received his release from WWE after competing in six matches on SmackDown. His only victory came via disqualification against Festus on September 19, 2008.
What do you make of the last-minute creative change? Hit the Discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Developmentally Speaking and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.