Triple H: A Manager or Just A Wrestler?
HHH has been a road-block for many aspiring wrestlers in the past and has gained a reputation for menacingly doing “what’s best for business”. This has turned many negative remarks towards his direction from the fans but his nonchalant and egoistic attitude has captured many TRP’s too.
He has been instrumental in providing some superstars their long-awaited breakthroughs through some matches which he sets with a personal vendetta in mind. For example, Sheamus has been waiting in the wings for a WWE title shot for a really long time before his wishes were fulfilled when he defeated Dean Ambrose for the WWE United States Championship – in a Battle Royal where everybody had ganged up against the Shield member while Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins couldn’t do anything as they had been banned from interfering in the ring during that match. A personal vendetta met with a cunning way to give off the title to a person who was gradually becoming a people’s favourite. Though the Shield rivalry went on for some time, HHH made sure that he can control the carnage to some extent. But with Vince Mcmahon breathing down his neck with his every decision, it’s down to this question – Do we need HHH to be himself or Vince Mcmahon?
HHH has taken a leaf or two out of Vince’s hugely successful playbook and has modulated them around his own personality. He has brought with him a certain menace that was invisible in Vince’s reign, the primary aspect being that he can fight some battles for himself. But, sometimes, when time has demanded him to step up in extremely key situations, he has let the whole wrestling roster do the talking for him – not once but on many occasions. The numerous incidents involving a ruckus in the ring with the Shield fighting the whole RAW roster are the prime evidences that suggest the wrath of the current COO. Vince, too, used to let his “thugs” do the talking for him but never did he allow his opponent’s to be intimidated in such a ghastly manner. This has inflicted fear in many wrestlers nowadays – even Big Show had been publicly humiliated by HHH’s wife, Stephanie, and had been helpless about it. Such has been the influence of The Game, HHH.
Also, The Game has rubbished the careers of other wrestlers as well, using them as stepping stones for young wrestlers to make their way into the limelight. Kofi Kingston is a prime example of that as his acrobatic talent has been limited to the theatrics in Royal Rumble but not in any other matches, where he gets throttled down by young wrestlers, most recently by Alexander Rusev, and loses a potentially interesting match. On the contrary, former WWE divas champion, Kelly Kelly, went on record about how Vince used a more hands on-approach and made sure that every wrestler showed their talent on-screen.
The withdrawal of the hugely coveted superstar and the 2nd biggest trash talker in WWE history, CM Punk, is just another evidence to how tired the WWE universe is getting of The Authority. Reportedly, Vince wants to get CM Punk back into the business against the wishes of HHH, who feels insulted about the fact that Punk thought it was too demeaning for him to be in a WrestleMania match-up with HHH rather than competing for the title. Well, the fans have been chanting CM Punk’s name for quite a long time, even when he didn’t leave the business. There seems to be absolutely no reason for him to get a shot at the WWE title rather than letting Batista come back and challenge straight for the title. Punk had every reason to feel the way HHH thinks he feels. Rather than understanding what Punk and the business wants, HHH has succumbed to his own emotions. And, apparently, he does “what’s best for business”. Irony at it’s best.
Another aspect of HHH’s reign is that he rarely gets himself beaten. And when he does, he makes sure that he inflicts double the pain that he was inflicted upon. But Vince was an equal in this. He let himself be beaten like a maniac. And he beat others, too, like a maniac. Does that satiate the crowd? Yes it does. Heroes beating villains has been an enjoyable stereotype throughout the years and hasn’t changed much. People still want to see the bad guys get beaten to the pulp. But that’s lacking in the reign of HHH.
Conclusively, HHH has been a manager who has prominently dealt battles on his own and, thus, this has clouded his judgement on management matters as he’s more focused as a wrestler, not as a manager. Vince, on the other hand, has been beneficial in transforming the careers of many. He has been the biggest promoter of WWE in history. The infamous Montreal Screwjob, where Vince betrayed Bret with the storyline, gained prominence in WWE history as it saw the sport touch a certain high which HHH has failed to do with his many antiques in the ring. Hence, The Game should start thinking more from a business point of view, more like Mcmahon, rather than thinking like an eight-time WWE champion. Then, instead of a dip in stocks, we will notice a positive change.