Triple H is Botching The Bloodline Story Ahead of WWE Survivor Series

Considering all the great things he's done for WWE in this new era, it is extremely unfortunate to see Triple H fall into severe Vince McMahon-styled pitfalls that were easily avoidable ahead of Survivor Series: WarGames.

And it's really hurting The Bloodline story and names like Seth Rollins.

Call it the elephant in the room or some other cliche, but most everyone can likely agree that this Bloodline tale has moved far too fast.

Roman Reigns is suddenly a good guy. His group has a brand new name and, of course, merchandise to sell. Jey Uso predictably—and quickly—hot potato'd his individual title away and is back in the fold.

Oh, and so is Sami Zayn. After all the years of building a complex relationship with the Bloodline, he's shaky one week and rocking their t-shirt the next.

Now? Bronson Reed is suddenly in the mix as a fifth man for Solo Sikoa's Bloodline due to...reasons? And that means Reigns' team needed to find another guy for...reasons.

It didn't matter if that ended up being Rollins or something shocking like a CM Punk (to make Seth mad) or even a returning Brock Lesnar—it felt slap-dashed together when the event could have easily just remained a family-based, four-on-four affair.

When fans were frustrated last year and prior to that with the methodical, slow pacing to Bloodline stories, this isn't the fix they had in mind. If nothing else, that slow rollout made even predictable results super exciting in the moment.

And it's all in service to Survivor Series and this must-have-themed match with top guys stuff. Remember back in the day when everyone would bash Hell in a Cell for quickly throwing together two Superstars in a match that didn't deserve the payoff? Or when the Vince era did the same thing at TLC?

Heck, remember when Survivor Series featured Superstars in red and blue t-shirts feuding for the sake of the brands that they were drafted to, despite the company not following its own brand-split rules?

This Bloodline WarGames stuff...really isn't that much better. It's rushed and silly and just missing the red and blue shirts. What's scary is that, given the path so far, there's still time to add those to the mix, too.

Not that there's an easy fix. WWE wants to keep Survior Series on the schedule, fine. From a booker's perspective, settling for a lesser storyline in the PLE's top slot probably isn't an attractive idea.

But on the other hand, it's not like Survivor Series at the end of November, near a holiday, is suddenly luring in a bunch of lapsed or even new fans. The fans who were already going to watch the PLE aren't going to complain if say, the "WarGames" matches open the show and a Bloodline match that actually makes sense closes it.

All the while, Superstars like Rollins really suffer setbacks by merely being in the same orbit as the Bloodline. This was the same complaint we had when Cody Rhodes kept getting tossed into what are supposed to be family-based stories that he has nothing to do with.

Rollins is more connected to Reigns than Rhodes, for sure. But he also just spent his last WrestleMania season as the third wheel so other guys could tell good stories and win titles. Now he's doing it again in or near a messy 10-Superstar match. It's pretty clear Rollins won't get a 'Mania match with Reigns, Rhodes or Rock next year, so how does this help him at all?

What's unfortunate is that these booking and pacing hiccups will get lost in the noise if say, The Rock returns to enter the Bloodline story again at the end of WarGames.

But let's not pretend Rock's last appearance was any good or made sense, either. Remember that? When he walked out, he stared menacingly down the entrance ramp at the ring, slapped his goosebumps, and left?

Part of what has made the Triple H era so great is the flexibility. It's the willingness to try new camera angles, interview styles and invest in long-term storytelling. Shifting the mold of an annual PLE to fit around an important story—and not the inverse—should be a key staple of the era, too.

Instead, it feels like WWE has speedrun through some fascinating story beats with the Bloodline, Zayn, Rollins and more just to fit Survivor Series. Even worse, it's done in such a way that it will be hard to build upon, especially in the slow winter months before 'Mania season.