I'm going to jump off the TNA bashing train for a little (but do check out my other recent pieces, I try to entertain my readers) and discuss WWE's Smackdown!. Ron had a few topics in his most recent article that people could choose to write about and I chose the one dealing with WWE's decision to keep Triple H as WWE Champion.
Personally, I am fine with Trips as champion for the present time. Hate him or love him, Triple H is the total package when it comes to professional wrestling. He has it in the ring and he is golden on the microphone. He can be the worst of heels and the best of faces.
He is one of those people who are just made for the squared circle. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, John Cena are a few more that come to mind that will forever be synonymous with wrestling. They have a love for the profession that is unmatched and though they might delve into other projects, their first love will always be wrestling.
Enough of the back story, let's get to the meat of the discussion.
Friday night has become the home of fantastic wrestling as of late. The past draft was amazing and finally did justice to the B show unlike previous drafts where Smackdown was raped of talent. It was known that a big name would switch from RAW but Triple H? Wow, that was a shock to many. He came over with the WWE Title and has yet to lose it.
Since being away from the live show, HHH has had to fend off Edge, The Great Khali, Jeff Hardy, MVP, The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, and Big Show for the belt.
Now you can say that any of those individuals I just listed can carry the strap and I won't object. They can. But can they do it successfully (with the exception of Edge)? That remains to be seen.
Edge is getting some much needed time off and once he returns you know it won't be long before he gets back into the title hunt. Good for him. Edge is the most hated wrestler on Smackdown and can rival Randy Orton and Chris Jericho in the heat one can get. Edge, much like HHH, has given his all for this business and I am glad that one time Brood member has risen like he has.
Big Show has held the WWE Title twice in the past. He won it at Survivor Series in 1999 in a triple threat match with Triple H and The Rock then at 2002's Survivor Series versus Brock Lesnar. There's no denying that he is an imposing figure in the ring and can do a match up with many superstars but can Show draw?
I believe that was the issue when he held the title in the past. After the first win, he lost two months later to Triple H on a Raw show. The second reign lasted only a month when he dropped the belt to Kurt Angle at Armageddon.
The longest he has ever held a title was five months: US Title (2003), ECW (2006), and World Tag Team with Kane (2005). That may be a long time in this day and age but five months isn't a fantastic reign in my opinion.
Right now Show is getting major heat from the fans but that is mainly due to the program he is in with the beloved Undertaker. Show is a huge individual and many people don't buy into the whole big man versus little man feud like we are seeing with Rey Mysterio and Kane. Can you see The Brian Kendrick going over Big Show? How realistic is Jeff Hardy picking up the win over Show after a grazed Whisper in the Wind and the Swanton?
Undertaker has sure drawing power but can you really depend on the Phenom when he isn't in the healthiest of states? Putting the title on him will require him to be in more action and that can possibly be a detriment to Taker.
Everyone is clamoring for Jeff Hardy to get the strap and it will be a historic day when he finally gets it but that shouldn't happen right now. I am a big fan of having Hardy win the coveted title at a big four Pay Per View, most notably Wrestlemania. But we need to make sure Jeff is completely over his screw-up days.
How sad would it be to have the WWE champion have to drop the belt a week later because of a Wellness Policy violation?
Shelton Benjamin needs serious work on his mic skills. That has been his biggest drawback. He is talented in the ring, no doubt. We also need to make sure that he is going to give his all like he has as of late. MVP needs a little more fine tuning. He has the mic skills and his in-ring abilities have come a long way. Can he stay out of the doghouse is my question.
Vladimir Kozlov is getting up there as a big time heel but they need to decide what his finisher is and how they will proceed from here. If he had a mouthpiece, it would be fantastic. I am not completely happy with the top champ not doing promos. I would prefer Kozlov getting the US Title and getting massive heat being the title holder and being Russian.
R-Truth is getting up there with popularity. A few more months, after he moves through the US Title level, and I can see him challenging for the WWE Title. The Brian Kendrick is a pleasure to watch in the ring and he has shown he can do the microphone thing. He is definitely a player in the future but he's got to get in line behind a few names.
Carlito is the only other truly established name there right now and he's needed in the tag division to try and bring some credibility back to those belts. Mr. Kennedy is an injury waiting to happen, unfortunately.
With all that said, Triple H is the best possible solution right now. He still gets a huge reaction from the crowd. He can put on a match with just about anyone. And when the time is right he will drop the title to a deserving candidate. There's no point relinquishing it to someone who's not ready for it.
It's like when a father owns a business. He only turns it over to his son when he feels the son is ready to run the business.
21 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Trevor Dix 8 months ago
The problem with alot of today's current talent is none of them have great mic skills.
McMahon said it himself.
Gone are the days of well rounded entertaining wrestlers.
Triple H is a dying breed of talent.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
true words
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Andrew Southworth 8 months ago
Triple H = Cash flow. He puts rear ends in seats, sells merchandise, gets PPV buys, and is well respected as a champion by the general public. Like him or not, he literally is all they got right now. Great articles. You nailed it.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
yes he does and yes he is
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Joe Burgett 8 months ago
Don't worry Trippel H is going to lose his WWE Title soon to Kozlov, frankly because Vince has fallen in love with Kozlov as he did Khali a while back, so I am sure it will only be for a small time. And I like The Game but really he does get royal treatment sometimes, but also he is populart, check ou my aticle I wrote about The King of Kings and you'll see my point Shane
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Shane H. 8 months ago
Kozlov, huh? I don't see that. As much as they love Kozlov I don't see Trips dropping it to him
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Joe Burgett 8 months ago
well Shane he is going to soon enough, maybe not at Cyber Sunday, but within the next few months, the WWE has keep the title aroung Triple H for a while now, and with that said he has to drop it soon. Jeff Hardy is supposed to win MITB this year, since he as out last year because of suspension, so Hardy is out, and Edge will be back soon, but most likey a face type guy this time around, Taker and Big Show are in a rivalry so rule them out. And Kozlov is the only one, and Vince loves him, that is why he has been getting such a huge push as of late.
Whether its this PPV or the next Kozlov will win the title from Triple H. I am not a fan by any means, but word going around is that Tripel H will go down to Kozlov, just saying dude. Most likeyl Jeff would be the next champion, since he would have the right to challenge for the title at anytime after the MITB win obviously
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Shane H. 8 months ago
yeah ok Joe. Whatever you say. Your reasoning for HHH losing the belt is because he's held it for a while? Wow. How long did Cena hold the top belt the last time he had it?... JBL?
Because Vince is high on him he will win the title from someone Vince is more high on? Hmmm..
But hey, if you say so Joe. You do have your sources so you must be right. In my opinion, and this is MY opinion, Kozlov may being built to job to Trips much like how Umaga was. They'll get their licks in on tv but come PPV, Trips walks in and walks out champ
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Ross 8 months ago
Good read Shane!
In my opinion I think Triple H has earned the right to be top dog in the WWE. Before he was even in a relationship with Steaphine McMhoan he was working hard to get tot he top. In 1998 and 1999 he was the "Jeff Hardy" of today. The guy that always came so close to winning the title, but never did. Triple H has paid his dues and deserves to be champion. He is the most credible and most dependable guy Vince has. He may have a little control backsatge, but that doesn't take away the fact that the guy has lived and breathed this bussiness for almost 15 years.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
damn right. I appreciate an intelligent and well thought out response.
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Daris Brown 8 months ago
To me, Triple H is like Michael Jordan. Growing up I hated Jordan 'cause he was always destroying my teams. So as good as he was, he always stunk to me. I think Triple H get's that same kind of heat. Those who hate him it's because he wins all the time, not because he doesn't deserve it. (but he is kind of monopolizing the belt)
Plus, like you said, I don't buy anyone else as a contender. As talented as they are, don't just throw Kendrick and MVP in the main event and expect me to believe they went from mid-card to superstar over night. And even though R-Truth won world gold in TNA, don't be surprised is mid-card is as high as he goes. Something 'bout him seems like he'll never get to the next level in the WWE, no matter how talented he is.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
the R-Truth thing is interesting. Do you think WWE may be try to send a message with him. Trying to show other TNA talent how quickly they might be able to rise to the top if they are talented enough in the ring and on the mic. This can possibly cause more to make the jump to the big boys in Titan Towers.
Anyway, I hated Jordan too because I'm a Knicks fan from the time I lived in Brooklyn. I couldn't stand the stuff #23 did to the orange and blue. I always loved HHH though, but I see your comparison
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Ryan 8 months ago
He's got a position of power much like Hulk Hogan did in WCW. Any time he wants the belt, it's his. He still draws, sure, but I would think it's more about him wanting to have a Nature Boy-like legacy. He'll end up with 15-16 World Title reigns but they won't mean as much. Naitch did it across three companies (NWA, WCW & WWF/E) whereas Triple H did it in one company while married to the boss' daughter.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
Is it HHH's fault that he didn't go from company to company? Naitch started in a different era where guys did that frequently.
I am pretty sure HHH will make sure he won't pass Flair's 16 titles as an homage to his idol.
Now on to the main issue I have with your comment although I always appreciate your comments bro: If HHH was married to Steph and was a less than or plain average worker then I would agree that he doesn't deserve what he gets. Fact is, HHH is a very talented individual when it comes 2 what he does. It's not like he had Khali's talent and is a 12-time champ
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Ryan 8 months ago
Don't get me wrong, he's a great worker. But you're going to tell me he deserves more title reigns than Austin, The Rock & Kurt Angle? He's a solid worker but there's no way the 4th most famous guy from the attitude era should be champion 12 times.
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Shane H. 8 months ago
well let's take Angle out of the sitch because he came into wrestling at a later stage than the other guys. but if you're talk about the attitude era you r saying HHH was the 4th most famous out of those guys? wasn't HHH part of DX which was one of the biggest things in WWE history?
Austin and Rock are and were big names during that time but were they better in the ring than Hunter? Plus, Austin dealt with injuries and his issues with creative sometimes and Rocky had outside interests. If those 2 were to stay healthy I'm sure they would have gotten more titles.
Now put Angle back in the equation. During the Attitude Era, Angle wasn't that big of a player compared to Austin, Rock, and DX. This doesn't take away from his wonderful work ethic and ability. But we cannot rewrite history and Austin got injured, Rock had his movies, and Angle started late plus was a supporting character for a while.
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Ryan 8 months ago
O NO'S! HOW WIL I GO ON LIVIN?!?!?!
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Shane H. 8 months ago
lol, ok you lost me with that response Ryan
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Ryan 8 months ago
Shane,
Haha, sorry that was a response to "Rat Hunter". Anyways, getting back on track...
Trips was probably the most talented in-ring performer of the group, but couldn't touch them on the mic. Austin was very solid in the ring and Rock improved as time went along. Also, you mention that DX was just as popular. And you're right. DX (X-Pac, NAO & HHH) were that popular but during his DX time, HHH wasn't. For the whole attitude era, I'd say he was fourth in popularity behind Austin, Rock and Foley.
As for Kurt, he was never a supporting character. He had the IC and euro titles within six months and was in major feuds with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit before winning the WWF title from Austin by the end of his first year. I'd say he had a huge impact.
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Mina 5 months ago
Actually, Trips does deserve more title reigns than The Rock or Stone Cold for one very simple reason: Longevity.
Neither The Rock, nor Stone Cold, were around long enough. I think had The Rock not left for Hollywood and Steve's body been less battered, then the argument could be made that both men are more popular than Trips and should have more title reigns. But that is what if thinking.
The Rock was around from 1996 - 2003 on a regular basis, with sporadic appearances from 2004 to the present.
Stone Cold started in WCW in 1991 (where he was egregiously misused), went to ECW in 1995 after Bischoff said he couldn't draw, and was in the WWF/E from late 1995 to 2004 and makes sporadic appearances, though never to wrestle. Much of 2003 on, he has played non-wrestling roles.
Triple H was in WCW for one year in 1994 and then jumped to the WWF in 1995. He has, barring injury, not taken a break or left the company or peformed in a non-wrestling role.
Sheer longevity, combined with his popularity and his skills say that it's okay for him to have more titles than The Rock or Stone Cold.
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Ryan 5 months ago
By the longevity definition, wouldn't Taker & HBK be nearing double-digit reigns?
Don't get me wrong, HHH is a talented worker. But 12 title reigns? No. Especially when you look at the list of guys he was put over during his most prominent reigns (99/00 & 03/04): Rock, Stone Cold, Big Show, Taker, Foley, Angle, Jericho, Steiner (I know, I know. But he was big when he initially came in), Kane at his peak, Benoit, Goldberg, HBK. You're telling me he deserved to have a long reign over all of those guys?
I'm sorry, but HHH doesn't have that many reigns without Steph.
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