Triple H Has Stumbled Upon the Key to Saving WWE

WWE has something special on its hands with the main-event scene right now. 

Fun as Oba Femi and the future seem, this isn't about any one wrestler. It's more about a dramatic shift in the handling of the entire scene by Triple H and WWE creative. 

Simply put, shorter title runs for top stars continue to breathe new life into WWE programming. 

The latest in this new era came recently when Sami Zayn shockingly took down CM Punk to steal Undisputed WWE Champion status. That's the second time he's done it since the summer, the first being a Night of Champions triumph that lasted about 10 days before Punk grabbed it from him. 

This still-fresh approach follows on the heels of Cody Rhodes doing it multiple times over the past year or so for the likes of Drew McIntyre and Zayn. The WWE Women's Championship with Chelsea Green has done similar things due to injuries and Stephanie Vaquer just grabbed the other women's top title at a live show overseas. 

Talk about refreshing. What better way to reignite an oversaturated sport with far too much programming than to stress to fans that any title can be up for grabs at any moment? 

For years, WWE had programmed its own fanbase to understand when the "offseason" was and that any top titleholder wasn't really in danger unless under very specific circumstances at very specific events. 

Which sounds counterintuitive, right? Telling fans that some events don't really need to be watched (except for the love of the game, of course) hurts the business. And the well-known fact that titles wouldn't actually change hands hurt the wrestlers trying to sell a good narrative each week, too. 

And yes, yes, everyone is going to point at the super-giant elephant in the room here: The one exception to all of this right now is World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns. 

But is he really? 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Reigns hasn't had the title that long. He's spent the time since winning it at WrestleMania propping up the likes of Jacob Fatu and people near him like Solo Sikoa. He's been full-time and putting on stellar defenses, most recently the classic in Mexico City against Penta. 

Is Reigns really immune to a shock drop too? Maybe that's what WWE hopes fans still think. Let's not pretend LA Knight has zero chance in the coming weeks and months, especially if a title change helps keep the Bloodline story fresh and faction stuff strong for Survivor Series: WarGames in late November. 

Call this a little bit of future-proofing by WWE. Oba Femi is on the rise. He's the next big thing, unquestionably. 

But older fans know how this goes: Femi's going to get to the top, then fans will predictably ask the next question: How can anyone realistically look like a threat and actually beat Femi now that he's retired Brock Lesnar, smashed Bron Breakker and (likely) taken down Reigns?

The answer is simple: Anything can happen, any night. 

Yanking WWE booking's handling of title scenes out of the "predictable" waters solves so many of these issues. Yeah, JD McDonagh isn't going to run down to the ring and beat Femi, things need to remain reasonable, but spreading the love through more "real sports" sorts of finishes helps an entire main-event scene. 

And really, the casual crowds WWE so desperately wants to get in the door for events like WrestleMania aren't going to care that Reigns dropped the belt briefly for Knight in September of the prior year. There's not a sexy 400ish-day number next to Reigns' name, sure, but the only fans who actually care that Knight got his moment are the year-round fans. Time to do right by everyone in a sensible manner, really. 

Nobody is saying prestigious, long runs with titles shouldn't happen anymore. Playing hot potato with a title too much will cheapen the wins and runs. There's a balance to be had. But for far too long now, WWE has gone too far in the lengthy-runs direction. 

The correction feels like it's taking place at a really good time. There's a budding new era of wrestlers starting to become worthy main-eventers and excellent guides like Reigns and Punk at the top to help them along. 

Add on smart, balanced booking of title changes and we're nearing the most watchable, must-see weekly WWE product in a long time.