Triple H Has Entered a New—less Kind—era as Head WWE Booker

One could feel the backlash brewing before WrestleMania 41—and we’re not talking about the the upcoming Backlash PLE. 

No, the backlash to Triple H’s run at the head of creative for WWE has been simmering to a boil for a while now. The breakpoint occurred just before ‘Mania itself when interviews around the event seemed more tense than usual in the wake of big issues, such as the lackluster build around John Cena’s heel turn. 

Things are only getting worse and it has made one thing clear—the honeymoon phase Triple H enjoyed is way over. 

It’s bad enough that things already felt like WWE was heading for an offseason of sorts. Cody Rhodes appears to be on a hiatus after his loss to Cena who, though understandable, is something of a part-time champion. Roman Reigns appears to be on a break for the foreseeable future, too. 

Normally, fans forgive those breaks from top names though—most sensible fans agree WWE is silly for not better mimicking a real sport and having offseasons so wrestlers can rest and lead somewhat normal lives, anyway. 

But also normally, the gap after ‘Mania usually gets some good stories and chances for other names to shine. 

What fans have seen so far this year, though, hasn’t provided much in the way of encouragement. 

The tag-team scene, for example, is a trainwreck. The women’s tag scene just hot potatoe’d titles around ‘Mania and the night after to…set up a Becky Lynch solo feud apparently aimed at propping up another mid-tier women’s title. Liv Morgan, one of those caught in the crossfire, could be on a hiatus soon while holding a title, too. 

On the men’s side, New Day got just over nine minutes on Night 1 of ‘Mania. That was still somehow better than The Street Profits, who didn’t even get a spot on the show. 

As far as singles titles go, Jey Uso’s big win over Gunther at ‘Mania was hamstrung by a mediocre build derailed as soon as it started because it was a Raw retread. The feud between Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair just got straight-up weird in many ways and seems to have stunted momentum for the champion, too. 

Then there’s the Cena-Rhodes fallout. It was always going to be hard for Triple H and Co. to meet decades-long expectations around a Cena heel turn. But what they offered up was so bland that it’s hard to wonder if fans didn’t have better ideas. 

It’s worth wondering, of course, how much The Rock’s involvement or lack thereof ruined things. Because his awkward writing himself out of storylines, then re-inserting himself in Cena’s heel turn, just to not show up alongside Travis Scott in the main event of ‘Mania just stinks. 

Rock’s interviews before and after ‘Mania and internet spats about the business side of wrestling and what’s real and fake have done more harm than good, too. If it’s an attempt at a character for a storyline, it’s backfiring hard, even with some casual fans. 

Make no mistake, WWE is eating good right now. These problems aren’t necessarily reflected in programming ratings or show attendance yet. But they tend to happen on a delay and when they hit, they hit hard. 

The fact ‘Mania felt like a bottom-half showing in the storied event’s history is a big red flag flapping in the wind, considering the headline act was Cena’s heel turn. One shudders to think what it looks like without that carrying along a middling card. 

Again, the fact that we’re talking about the main event of Mania as a flop and where it might rank on the all-time worst ‘Mania main event lists is a shocking development, given what the Triple H era has accomplished so far. 

It’s all a shame, too, because when WWE hit on its resurgence under Triple H, it felt like a motivated response to fend off competition. AEW hit on a massive downturn at the same time. Now, it feels like the scales are tipping a little bit more to even out—which wouldn’t happen if there weren’t so many self-inflicted wounds by the much bigger company. 

The Triple H era no longer enjoys the honeymoon phase in a post-Vince world, but that’s not all that’s at work here. There are bright spots, like the Seth Rollins stable. But that can only do so much of the heavy lifting when so much else is obviously wrong across the roster. 

And again, testy, if not defiant interviews from Triple H and others around ‘Mania season haven't helped. The angry reactions are a warning sign to WWE because what they fear the most in the pro wrestling business could come next—straight-up indifference. 

Given what fans have seen from these creative forces in the past, this is usually the time of year good stories and fan favorites get moments to shine. That can still happen, but it’s clear fan patience and willingness to hand out benefits of the doubt are over. 

If WWE doesn’t respond to this less kind environment accordingly, things could devolve into dubbing it a new era with a to-be-determined name—and it wouldn’t be a nice one.