Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: Triple H Exceeding Expectations as WWE World Champion

1. Triple H on a Tear

In the midst of a WrestleMania season marred by injuries, it's a 46-year-old executive who is carrying the load en route to the biggest show of the year. Triple H is simply thriving with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on his shoulder.

When The Game outlasted the field in the 30-man Royal Rumble to seize the world title, doubts rumbled. In many minds, Triple H was too old, not relevant enough anymore, the wrong choice as champ. In a recent stretch, though, The Cerebral Assassin has delivered some of the best work of his career. 

On the mic and in the ring, he is looking every bit like a top titleholder and marquee star. 

What could have easily been a forgettable, transitional bout against Dean Ambrose at Roadblock became the front-runner for Match of the Year. Champion and challenger clicked in the ring. They told a story of a heel barely escaping a red-hot babyface, Triple H kept off balance by Ambrose's surprisingly calculated strategy. 

Just two nights later, Triple H and Dolph Ziggler put on a stellar show on Raw.

This was a throwback work of art. The Game and Ziggler patiently built toward the climax, pulling in the crowd as the match wore on. Many watching at home, former WWE star Jim Brunzell included, had plenty of praise to hand out:

Triple H has been a revelation on the mic, too.

Turning up the intensity on his character, he has begun to tear into the audience more viciously. He talks about how pathetic and weak the crowd is, promising they will all fail in their lives just as Roman Reigns will fail in his quest to become champion at WrestleMania.

This has been a biting and merciless version of Triple H. And as former WWE Creative member Alex Greenfield pointed out, his disdain for the fans is palpable:

The Game has been the ideal foil for Reigns, even if the challenger is still struggling to get over. He has made it easy to hate him, easy to pine for him to fall. It's Reigns' issues with crowd connection that have held this narrative back.

The WWE champion is a larger-than-life figure, a superb supervillain who hasn't lost as much of a step as one would expect. 

As WrestleMania draws near, Triple H is making WWE look smart by crowning him. His heel acumen and artistry in the ring will be key to Reigns' rise. The question is can WWE's Superman step up to the level of its Lex Luthor?

2. A Slow-Moving Revolution

Yes, WrestleMania is set to have the biggest women's match in the event's history. Yes, the Divas Division is the deepest it has ever been. But WWE has still struggled to provide one of the most basic elements of a viable women's division—ample match time.

A look at what the company has allotted to Charlotte and company in the past 10 weeks on its marquee show points to things not being nearly where they need to be in that department.

Date	Match	Time
Jan. 11	Charlotte vs. Brie Bella	0:00 (no contest)
Jan. 18	Becky Lynch vs. Tamina	4:06
Jan. 18	Natalya vs. Brie Bella	1:28
Jan. 25	Natalya and Paige vs. Alicia Fox and Brie Bella	2:45
Jan. 25	Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks	3:33
Feb. 1	Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks	3:38
Feb. 1	Brie Bella vs. Charlotte	4:35
Feb. 8	Tamina vs. Becky Lynch	3:38
Feb. 8	Charlotte vs. Alicia Fox	5:14
Feb. 15	Summer Rae vs. Paige	3:40
Feb. 15	Becky Lynch vs. Naomi	2:08
Feb. 22	Sasha Banks vs. Naomi	6:47
Feb. 29	Naomi vs. Brie Bella	4:07
Feb. 29	Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch	9:40
March 7	Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks vs. Naomi and Tamina	1:54
March 7	Summer Rae vs. Brie Bella	2:05
March 14	Naomi and Tamina vs. Alicia Fox and Brie Bella	2:39

Of the 17 matches in that span, 11 of them lasted under four minutes. Not one of them surpassed the 10-minute mark. Paige had a total of 6:25 of ring time in 10 weeks; Natalya had just 4:13.

That's unacceptable.

No amount of talent can overcome being hurried so much. The quality of the stories the women tell in the ring will suffer as long as they have to be told in such a short amount of time. 

3. Throwback Video of the Week: Jacqueline

WWE announced Jacqueline will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

The former women's champ is of the rare breed of woman who could mix it up with the men. When she collided with Crash Holly in 2001, for example, it was no novelty act.

Jacqueline was powerful and hard-nosed enough to thrive in that spot. Congrats to her on joining Lita, The Fabulous Moolah and others in the WWE Hall of Fame.

4. Bring on More NXT-WWE Overlap 

When Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady battled The Revival for the NXT Tag Team Championship match at Roadblock, it just felt right. The marriage of the two brands added an electricity and freshness to the event.

The benefits of going this route were plentiful. NXT got a spot on the stage at a WWE show. A wider group of fans got a peek at four prospects. The card was more varied than it would have been without the NXT influence.

This is something WWE absolutely has to do more of.

Put NXT Championship matches on SmackDown on occasion. Have NXT stars challenge WWE wrestlers at pay-per-views. Tap into the multitude of options available.

For one, that will make the transition from NXT to the main roster easier. If fans have seen glimpses of NXT prospects before they make their official debut, the audience will be more familiar with these men and women.

WWE wouldn't be hampered by having to put on the same matches so often. Throw in a Samoa Joe here or an American Alpha there. WWE can and should create its own rules about how these two universes coexist.

5. The Biggest Roman Reigns Fan

Reigns' quest to win over the fanbase has been a slower process than WWE had to hope. While he is still earning too many boos for a babyface, at least one woman is fully onboard with Reigns' rise.

Live Audio Wrestling shared a clip of a frenzied fan reacting to seeing Reigns up close. Now if only WWE can just get the rest of the arena to react half as passionately as her. 

6. Surprisingly Dangerous Move

With all the powerbombs, suicide dives and moonsaults that happen every night, one wouldn't expect something as seemingly banal as the baseball slide to be what puts a wrestler on the shelf.  

It was that exact move, though, that left Neville with a fractured ankle on Monday night.

He is far from the first to get hurt on a baseball slide, though. Davey Richards recalled on Twitter getting injured the same way. Indy wrestler Tommy Wilson knocked himself out in mid-slide.

And as F4WOnline's Bryan Alvarez noted, 'Other wrestlers have severely injured their ankles over the years on baseball slide spots, including Rob Van Dam during an ECW match in the 90s."

Seeing Neville's leg bend under him while hitting a move he does routinely is a reminder of how dangerous wrestling is. The stars are just so adept at executing everything they make the risk look routine.

7. From Bottom of the Barrel to Top of the Mountain

When Drew Galloway (formerly Drew McIntyre) was asked to play air guitar and eat pins every night as one third of 3MB, it was hard to imagine him ever being a world champion.

With WWE, Galloway was too often underused and undervalued. The company relegated him to a comedy role before letting him go. He has found new life since with TNA.

That has now translated to him wearing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Cashing in his Feast or Fired briefcase, the bruiser toppled Matt Hardy to take home the title.

Galloway and Ethan Carter III's success post-WWE has to have a guy like Damien Sandow pondering his own exit. While WWE is the bigger stage and can offer the bigger paychecks, TNA can be a place where a forgotten man finds new life.

8. Goldust's Finest

Goldust and R-Truth are looking to be closing in on becoming official tag team partners. That's going to mean seeing a lot more of The Bizarre One in the ring.

While Goldust is past his athletic prime, one can expect some good matches with R-Truth at his side. For a look at him at his best, dig into these recommended clashes:

• Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin: WCW Halloween Havoc 1991
• Dustin Rhodes vs. Bunkhouse Buck: WCW Spring Stampede 1994
• Goldust vs. Roddy Piper: WrestleMania XII (Hollywood Backlot Brawl)
• Goldust and Booker T vs. Chris Jericho and Christian: Raw, Dec. 23, 2002
• Goldust and Cody Rhodes vs. The Shield: Raw, Oct. 14, 2013

Note it was just three years ago, at age 43, he had one of his best performances to date. That came 25 years after his debut. Goldust's longevity has been a marvel to watch.

9. The Ravishing Mouthpiece

WWE looks intent on having Lana start competing in the ring. As she and Brie Bella collide more often, a match between them looks more and more inevitable.

The focus moving forward, though, should be to make the best use of Lana's talents. She is a strong, captivating talker, one of the best in the women's division in that department. Team B.A.D. could certainly use her services.

Credit: WWE.com

Naomi is average on the mic. Tamina's strength is definitely not speaking. Why not pair them up with Lana and have her do the trash talking? That's her forte, after all.

That will allow Naomi and Tamina to focus on taking out babyfaces and doing damage in the ring. 

10. Foley on Passing the Barbed Wire-Wrapped Torch

Mick Foley and Dean Ambrose shared a memorable moment on Monday's Raw. In a backstage segment, Foley gifted The Lunatic Fringe with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire. It was a perfect passing-of-the-torch moment.

Foley could tell the scene was a hit right away. The Hall of Famer posted on Facebook, "As soon as last night's promo on #RAW ended, I held up my arm and said "I'm pretty sure getting goosebumps during a promo is a sign that it worked."