WWE Fail: 10 Reasons the Triple H RAW Storyline Is Weak

Since this past summer, Raw may have piqued my interest here and there, but in the end always left me feeling unfulfilled.

The foremost reason is the storyline that is the central focus of not only Raw, but WWE programming in general.

It involves a man who is part wrestler, part COO, part son-in-law and part WWE corporate employee (in real life).

He goes by many nicknames like the "King of Kings" and "The Game," but there is one handle he goes by that is immediately recognizable: Triple H.

What started out as a promising storyline, with Triple H as its starring character, has fizzled out since its inception.

From the ousting of Vince McMahon, the involvement of Kevin Nash, the feud with CM Punk, the vote of no-confidence, walk-out, being relieved of his duties, puzzling alliance with CM Punk and predictable foe in John Laurinaitis, Triple H has been in the middle of a whirlwind of nonsensical confusion.

The question "where is this all going?" has never been more apropos.

The Triple H storyline may culminate in a fusillade of fireworks, but as of now it has failed to rivet the fans or accomplish anything of substance.

In fact, there are 10 reasons why the weekly drama has underwhelmed...

The Dismissal of Vince McMahon Was Weak to Begin With

In hindsight, the night Triple H came out to relieve Vince McMahon of his duties as head honcho of the WWE makes little sense.

Let's take a trip down memory lane...

The night before, at Money in the Bank, Vince McMahon saw the rebel CM Punk take the title away from John Cena in front of 15,000 rabid, Chicago fans.

So, Mr. McMahon does the logical thing most would do in his situation: he declares CM Punk's championship null and void and has a tournament to decide a new WWE Champion.

The Miz and Rey Mysterio make the finals of the tournament, but Vince postpones the match because he suddenly feels compelled to fire John Cena, who could not get the job done against Punk.

This brings out Triple H who relays the message by the board of directors to relieve McMahon of his duties because he's no longer fit to lead.

Who does the board of directors appoint as the new COO? The messenger, Triple H, of course.

And what does "The Game" do to to remedy the WWE Title scene?

He simply decides to continue the mandate laid out by his predecessor, allowing the finals of the tournament between The Miz and Rey Mysterio to play out the following week.

If McMahon wasn't fit to lead, why was his successor's first rule of action to follow in his footsteps?

What Was the Point of Kevin Nash?

After his surprising Royal Rumble cameo, Kevin Nash shows up at Summerslam, costing CM Punk the WWE Title.

In the following weeks, there are back-and-forth verbal battles between the 7-footer, Punk and Triple H.

Did Triple H order Nash to "stick the winner?"

Who sent the text to Nash, anyway?

After allegations made by all sides, and CM Punk being firm in his belief the old clique buddies were in cahoots all along, the whole thing turned out to be much ado about nothing.

Literally.

Nash was replaced and eventually fired by Triple H, who filled in the missing gap, wrestling CM Punk at Night of Champions.

Kevin Nash, the rogue "agent" that he is, proceeded to make a pointless run-in at the pay-per-view.

Unfortunately, for those trying to keep track of the storyline, his interference was practically brushed off by the announcers on Raw.

"Big Sexy" hasn't been on WWE programming since.

Raw Was More Exciting Before Triple H Showed Up

Before all this COO/conspiracy stuff confounded us, we were on the edge of our seats watching a new star born in CM Punk.

He represented everything that we wanted to see in a performer.

He was brash, anti-corporate, a leader, and compared to John Cena, an underdog.

We could all root for a phenom waiting in the wings who wanted to turn the WWE on its rear by putting  "wrestling" back in the company.

He was on fire in the weeks leading up to Money in the Bank, and he was even on the cusp of wrestling transcendence in the events before and at Summerslam, notwithstanding the final few minutes.

Once Kevin Nash "jack-knifed" him, Raw became all about Triple H and his motivations.

The one man who resonated on a visceral level with fans, growing in popularity with each promo, was now playing second fiddle to the "King of Kings."

Unfortunately to the disappointment of many, Punk truly turned out to be the the "Leader of a New Era That Never Was."

Why Should We Care If Triple H Is COO or Not?

Why should the fans care if Triple H is the man with all the power?

Why should we care if he's forced out of his position when he himself never wanted it (by his own admission) to begin with?

There's nothing for the viewers to really become invested in, anyway, as Triple H has only been an on-air authority figure for a few months.

Not to mention, has anything changed with him at the helm? Granted, jurisdiction now lies in Johnny Ace's court, even though Triple H is still technically COO, but RAW didn't feel any more novel when the "Cerebral Assassin" decided to don a suit and tie every week.

One could, in fact, make the argument that no authority figure in the history of the WWE (whether it be Vince McMahon, Vickie Guerrero, Teddy Long, Stephanie McMahon or Mike Adamle) ever really stood out from one another. More or less, the "boss template" is overdone, overused and no longer intriguing.

The point is, it doesn't matter who the COO is, especially if business goes on as usual.

In this case, not only has the product's homogeneity remained unchanged with this storyline, it has also managed to addle viewers.

Where Is Stephanie McMahon?

Ever since Triple H ran into controversy as COO, even the most casual of viewers had to expect his wife, also a power player in the company, to show up at his side.

When the vote of no-confidence occurred, Stephanie McMahon was nowhere to be found.

One would think she would be there, even in the context of the storyline, supporting her husband, defending him, fighting for his cause to be respected and helping him uncover the pseudo conspiracy that has plagued him.

Yet, for all intents and purposes, she is practically non-existent.

If she's not going to show up now, she should never show up, because there can't be a greater motivation for doing so when your husband's livelihood is on the chopping block.

Simply put, her utter lack of participation in the storyline is an insult to fans.

The Vote of No-Confidence and Walk-Out Made the Wrestlers Look Like Buffoons

Since we already established why any fan investment in Triple H's new position would be temporary at best, WWE decided to test the fans' faith, anyway, by scripting a vote of no-confidence and subsequent walk-out.

During the vote of no-confidence, the talent surrounded Triple H, who stood tall in the center of the ring.

As the microphone was being passed around, we heard so-called tough male and female wrestlers lament the "fact" that WWE was ridden with too much chaos since Triple H took over as COO.

Therefore, "The Game" was in an untenable position at that point because he brought all of it upon himself.

To quote Vickie Guerrero, "excuse me?"

How was Raw any more chaotic compared to years past when we bore witness to attempted murder, vehicular assaults, the Nexus takeover, evil general managers and a host of other events that defied not only physics but penal codes?

Why were wrestlers who wrestle and "fight" suddenly shuddering in fear?

And why were the supposed "good" guys in agreement with the "bad" guys over the decision to vote against Triple H? Surely, most, if not all, babyfaces would see the valor in a man sticking to his guns, doing everything to the best of his ability to fairly suit the talent's needs.

Their refusal to accept him, led by Jerry Lawler, only undermined their portrayals in the eyes of fans.

Why didn't they ever walk-out on a nefarious, unjust authority head? Why now?

In the end, they undercut their own integrity, affronting the intelligence of viewers who could never buy these characters being collectively unanimous in their distrust of Triple H.

To make matters worse, the superstars all showed up the next day at the Smackdown tapings, "ignoring" the axiom Triple H is/was COO of the entire WWE, not just Raw.

And just this past week on Raw, Jerry Lawler was "happy" to see Triple H on the program; that's right, the same guy who led the walk-out against him!

At the end of the day, the motivations of everyone involved are too inconsistent, undermining the storyline instead of hooking viewers like it's "designed" to do.

Why Should Anyone REALLY Fear R-Truth and Miz?

The antagonists, who have been causing so much "chaos," are, in fact, R-Truth and The Miz.

Yes, these two comical characters are so ominous they compelled an entire roster to basically capitulate unless Triple H was replaced as COO.

These two are the thorns at Triple H's side, two NWO-esque insurgents popping in and out at their leisure until the new interim General Manager, John Laurinaitis, eventually rehired them.

They are at the forefront of a conspiracy in which Triple H is unwillingly embroiled in.

The only problem is this: very few take The Miz and R-Truth, dubbed "Awesome Truth," seriously.

The Miz can't stop bellowing "awesome" in reference to himself, and R-Truth can't stop blaming "little Jimmy" for his troubles in between rapping about God knows what.

How are fans supposed to shrink in fear when they see a man who went on and on about how delectable Subway's sandwiches are not too long ago?

How can anyone be fearful of a schizophrenic man who fears an imaginary person (people) named "Jimmy?"

When the antagonists are so weak they are leaking credibility, the protagonist (Triple H) suffers by default, leaving the entire storyline in disarray.

Triple H's "Replacement" Is John Laurinaitis?

Let's put the preceding events into perspective: Triple H is deemed unfit to rule as COO by the talent because of the chaos caused by The Miz and R-Truth.

Yet, in an implausible twist of story-telling, John Laurinaitis, a man universally disrespected by every wrestler in the company, is appointed interim GM.

And oddly enough, the same talent who cast aside Triple H have absolutely no qualms about Laurinaitis being in charge.

There was no outcry, no petition and no walk-out in response to the new interim GM being anointed. How does Johnny Ace satisfy the strikers who waked out on Triple H, when he, in comparison, is much more incompetent?

The answer is, he doesn't satisfy the needs of the wrestlers, who had the guts to walk out on an impartial figure, Triple H, but lack the same mettle to do it in protest of Mr. Ace.

Nobody would question the wrestlers if they rallied against an interim GM who predictably betrayed everyone's trust by rehiring the supposed "reason" for WWE's "unsafe" working environment: R-Truth and The Miz.

No worries, though, because the talent doesn't seem to realize what a mistake they made by negating Triple H's influence.

To make matters worse, John Laurinaitis, the performer, is a sub-par speaker and has the charisma of a dead horse.

Why Are Triple H and CM Punk Buddies Now?

Remember when CM Punk harassed Triple H?

Remember when the "Straight Edge" superstar called his wife an "idiot" who wore the real "power" pants in the company?

Remember when the rebellious, "best wrestler in the world" promised change by eradicating corporate "suits" and putting the clout back in the people's hands?

The smarmy Punk pushed Triple H's buttons so much, "The Game" was left with no choice but to unbutton them, asking to be reinstated as an in-ring competitor by the board of directors in order to avenge Punk's insensitive comments about his wife (who never bothered to show up).

CM Punk was driven to badger Triple H because he believed the entire time, erroneously, that he was a malfeasant COO allied with Kevin Nash.

Nevertheless, a match between Punk and Triple H ensued at Night of Champions where the two did everything short of smiting each other.

And yet, after all that, CM Punk apologizes for ever doubting his former boss, inexplicably deciding to endorse him the week after the walk-out, even going so far as to joke with is bygone sworn enemy.

To add insult to a bucket of manure already thrown at the viewers, Punk even asked to borrow Triple H's jacket before sauntering off to the commentating booth.

Wait...Triple H Is Still COO?

Since being "replaced" by the interim GM John Laurinaitis, the announcers have alluded that Triple H is still COO of the WWE on the last two Raw broadcasts. If there ever was a "capper" to this entire disheveled storyline, this is it.

A plethora of questions rise to the surface of this farcical storyline like annoying bubbles that refuse to be popped.

Why can Triple H no longer exercise his power if he's still entitled as COO?

Why is he suddenly being "deported" from Mexico by someone who ranks beneath him? This is irrespective of the fact that Triple H has toured Mexico countless times before without any visa issues.

What was the point of the vote of no-confidence, the walk-out, Vince McMahon suddenly reappearing and John Laurinaitis suddenly throwing his weight around if the storyline linchpin of Triple H relinquishing his authority never really transpired?

Well, it did, technically, except the writers have seemingly forgotten about building on the details--some minute, some crucial--that have characterized the chronological progression of this storyline.

You think I'm nonplussed by this rolling, labyrinthine ball of tomfoolery?

Just a little...