WWE Night of Champions 2011 Results: 7 Candidates To Replace Triple H as COO

Triple H is still the WWE COO...for now.

Although The Game beat CM Punk at Night of Champions to retain his position as the head of the company, we all know he's not going to keep that job forever.

He'll leave his new TV role eventually, whether he's ousted from it as part of a storyline, calls it quits as a TV character, returns full-time to the ring or retires for good.

I think it'll be option No. 1, and Triple H will be replaced by someone else from within the company by the time 2012 rolls around.

If that does indeed happen, then who might we see take control of the WWE?

Well, here are seven possible candidates to replace Triple H as WWE COO.

Note: I'm not including Vince McMahon on this list. Even though I think there's a strong possibility he returns to WWE TV soon, it will likely be as WWE chairman rather than COO.

7. Edge

It wasn't even six months ago when Edge was forced to retire from in-ring competition because of a life-threatening neck injury, but we've already seen him back in the WWE a couple of times since then.

The Rated R Superstar appeared at SummerSlam and on last week's SmackDown for "Edge Appreciation Night," and he's still massively over with the fans.

When he called it a career back in April, I assumed we would see him back on WWE TV full-time at some point. It was just a matter of finding the right role for him at the right time.

While I'm not sure how Edge could be revealed as the COO storyline-wise, I could still see it happening. Whether heel or face, he's always been such a good talker that he'd be a great fit in Triple H's current role.

He's a long shot to be the next COO, but as one the greatest WWE stars of all time, I wouldn't count him out completely.

6. Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash has been at the center of the feud between Triple H and CM Punk, and he was initially scheduled to wrestle Punk at Night of Champions.

Yet, Nash's health has been a concern, and the WWE hasn't really gotten as much out of him as they would have liked. Maybe they can change that.

While Nash has been incredibly rusty on the mic and I wouldn't be trilled with seeing him talk on Raw every week, it would make sense to have him and Triple H fight for control of the WWE.

Nash has plenty of allies who work or have worked for the WWE recently—from John Laurinaitis to Vince McMahon to Shawn Michaels—so it wouldn't be completely out of the question to see Nash return for a big battle with Triple H.

Honestly, though, I don't think Nash is going to be around all that much longer. 

5. Mick Foley

Mick Foley has been hinting at a WWE return for more than a month now, and most of us assume that he'll back with the company by the end of the year at the very latest.

He'd undoubtedly be a great asset to the WWE because he could be used in a number of different roles, from a goodwill ambassador to a mentor to the young talents.

But Foley's such a well-known and well-respected name in the wrestling business that it would be wise for the WWE to get as much out of him as possible.

They should put the man on TV.

I've always thought Foley would have been a great fit for the Anonymous Raw General Manager role, so I think he'd be just as successful in a similar role as the WWE COO.

Bang, bang. 

4. The Anonymous Raw General Manager

Are we ever going to get any closure to the Anonymous Raw General Manager storyline? Probably not.

And that's just ridiculous.

That obnoxious computer with the aggravating iPhone ringing sound was such a huge part of Monday Night Raw for the better part of a year that we as fans deserve to know why the hell it just went away.

No, Triple H taking over as WWE COO isn't a good enough explanation either.

Now, I may be holding out hope here, but I really want the creative team to address the departure of the Anonymous Raw GM, and I could definitely see it happening with Triple H's ongoing "conspiracy" storyline.

Maybe the Anonymous GM comes back, reveals his or her self and battles with Triple H over the title of WWE COO.

3. Vickie Guerrero

Excuse me, but Vickie Guerrero just might be your next WWE COO.

Vickie's worked in so many different positions of power already—from Raw's general manager to SmackDown's general manager to Teddy Long's assistant—and there's been one common theme wherever she's gone: She generates huge heat.

It's amazing how Vickie remains one of the most over heels in the company, despite working primarily as a manager for a mid-carder that hasn't done a whole lot lately.

Depending on what happens between her, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger, it certainly wouldn't be out of the question to see Vickie go after Triple H's position as COO

After all, she did hint at Night of Champions that she would/could be looking to take his job, and it's almost guaranteed that she'd work well in the role as the most powerful person in the WWE. 

2. Stephanie McMahon

Whatever happened to Stephanie McMahon?

After making a few appearances in backstage segments with CM Punk and being mentioned countless times by Punk during his promo battles with Triple H, she completely disappeared from WWE TV.

I don't think that the creative team has forgotten about her, though, and her absence is likely just part of a much bigger storyline.

My theory is that she could be working with Vince McMahon behind the scenes to help him get his job as WWE chairman back, and this could lead to Stephanie taking the WWE COO position from her husband, Triple H.

This would, of course, fall in line with Punk telling Hunter that Stephanie wears the pants in the family, which might have been a bit of foreshadowing.

Don't be surprised to see Stephanie back on TV within the next couple of months.

1. John Laurinaitis

To me, John Laurinaitis doesn't come across as a very good TV character. At all.

His crazy voice, his mannerisms and his obviously rehearsed acting just seem very minor league to me, and I could probably name dozens of characters I'd rather see in his current role. Nonetheless, the creative team seems insistent on keeping him at the center of this entire "conspiracy" angle.

It's pretty clear that Laurinaitis wants more power, and he's just not going to get that as long as he's executive vice president of talent relations rather than COO.

Seeds of a feud between he and Triple H were planted at Night of Champions, and the plant grew on Monday's Raw.

If anyone's going to take Triple H's job title from him, it's the man known as Johnny Ace.