WWE Vengeance 2011: Why Triple H Must "Do the Job"

When it was announced last week that Triple H and CM Punk would team up against the dynamic duo of Awesome Truth, I was met with both trepidation and excitement. 

These are four of the best ring workers in the WWE at the moment, so the sheer thought of them in the ring together is enough to drool. 

However, it also left me wondering—how do you book something like this?

The issue becomes the need to elevate three men at once due to future considerations. What it comes down to is this—Triple H is the only one with nothing to gain with a win. 

He must take the loss.

The Truth and The Awesome One

Awesome Truth might be a case of right time, right place for the WWE.  Looking at the Raw roster, there is only one main event-caliber heel in Alberto Del Rio, and the simple fact is he can't wrestle every match. 

Dolph Ziggler, while technically a former World Heavyweight Champion, had the title for an extremely short period of time.  There is little doubting his ring ability, but he has been a bit "vanilla" on the microphone up until recently. 

Being embroiled with Jack Swagger doesn't help matters either, but that is just personal opinion.  I believe the WWE has plans for him down the line, but to push him to the point of title contention again is going to take a lot of work. 

That leaves Awesome Truth. 

There are few that possess their ability to work the microphone and the crowds, of which R-Truth is a genuine master.   Both he and The Miz are very good in the ring and have the tools necessary to stay at the main event level. 

The WWE pushed them on an "outsider" angle, similar to Punk's push during the summer, in order to establish fan interest.

Have they accomplished it? 

Time will tell, but to further the duo to the point of main eventing PPVs and TV in general, and to recover some lost momentum, they need to pin a top face and soon. 

No time like Sunday, right?

The Curious Case of the Second City Saint

Another issue is Punk is in the doldrums right now.  Having lost two straight PPVs to Triple H and Del Rio, he needs to pick up momentum in a bad way. 

The new "King of Merchandising" needs exposure to continue to sell.  He was curiously silent last week on Raw but received a massive reaction from the crowd.

Punk is rumored to feud with Del Rio for the title after Vengeance, but a third loss in a row might damage his credibility too much. 

Going back through the "Summer of Punk" saga, he went over John Cena twice and lost once via screwy means, fell against Triple H again via screwy machinations, then lost to Del Rio after eating a couple of "pipe bombs."

Compare that with Sheamus, who went on a 14-match swath of destruction before being halted by Del Rio on SmackDown. 

Punk's push, while seemingly the better of the two if considering money, has been the more curious, but it establishes that Punk can be on the losing team without taking the pin directly.

Punk is in a holding pattern at the current moment until Cena and Del Rio finish their feud.  Punk is still hot, albeit not the same degree he was during the summer, but he is firmly established as the "1a" babyface of the company right now.

However, as Ric Flair so aptly says, "In order to be the man, you have to beat the man." 

At the current moment, Punk is not the man.  He is in the curious position of being on the losing side.  Consider his record over the past few months, when he defeated Miz, Truth, and Del Rio cleanly on TV.

He cannot take the pinfall for a third time and maintain credibility.  

After the PPV, a simple defeat or two of various mid-card heels or even beating R-Truth on TV will be enough to put him back on the road to redemption.

The Right Thing

There comes a point where wrestlers of the previous generation need to put over wrestlers of the current generation. 

This is something I respect Triple H for.  He has put over guys like Cena, Batista and Orton on the biggest stage available. 

For all his rumored ego, he knows when the time is right.  Also consider Triple H has nothing to gain via winning, while losing could further his interest in the current corporate angle.  

A loss thanks to Nash's interference or something akin to it is highly appropriate.

Recall that Nash has direct ties to acting Raw GM John Laurinaitis, whom seems to have gone out of his way to inconvenience and subvert "The Game" at every opportunity. 

Nash also owes one to Trips for laying him out with the sledgehammer shot that, kayfabe, shelved him for a month.

Pretty much the only logical conclusion is for Triple H to take the loss.  There is everything to gain and nothing to lose by doing so.