WWE: Triple H Needs to Retire After His Poor Showing at Vengeance

Edge has retired. The physically wrecked Undertaker is all but considered so (although he will likely come back for a match at WrestleMania). Rey Mysterio has undergone his 4,147th knee surgery and will be out until at least next year.

HBK is seemingly content to stay retired and go hunt wild animals. Batista is off pursuing a career in Mixed Martial Arts and bad B movies. Chris Jericho is on the reality-show circuit and currently writing his next book.

Yes, at a time when WWE is woefully short on headliners, it is easy to see why the company cannot resist the urge to throw out Triple H to wrestle on Raw and pay-per-views. 

He’s reliable, very over with the fans and, due to his status as a McMahon family member, is highly unlikely to leave WWE to pursue a career in the mainstream.

However, examining HHH’s performances in recent weeks, it is becoming extremely obvious that the 42-year-old father of three needs to step away from the ring for good and place his full focus on his corporate duties (Hunter and his wife Stephanie are currently being groomed to take over the company once Vince retires).

He has nothing to offer WWE anymore as a wrestler, plenty to offer them behind the scenes, and it is time for him to step aside and give the younger guys a chance to shine. 

It is not so much that HHH performed dreadfully in the tag match at Vengeance (in which he teamed with old enemy CM Punk to take on the team of R-Truth and The Miz). 

But his flat, lethargic performance in the bout left a lot to be desired, even if it wasn’t a complete disaster.

In there with quicker, more exciting younger competitors like The Miz, CM Punk and R-Truth, the aging HHH’s flaws were even more clearly illuminated.  

Nor did he look his best cosmetically, either. Indeed, during the match, many observers noted that HHH, who was known for being a bodybuilding fanatic and his impressive physique throughout his time in WWE, appeared to be a little flabby.

While not a huge deal, and at his age no one can realistically expect him to look like Mason Ryan, it was just another reminder that HHH has missed a step or two during his time off. 

HHH’s current program with WCW/WWF veteran Kevin Nash does not look too promising, either.  The lumbering, physically knackered Nash is in no shape to deliver good, consistent wrestling performances anymore, and it is highly unlikely HHH in his current condition will be able to carry him to anything decent.

Heck, even during his prime in 2000, he probably would not have been able to get anything respectable out of Nash in a match. Following on from this, Nash’s terribly botched jackknife powerbomb at the pay-per-view, in which he almost seriously injured Hunter, certainly does help answer the critics who say he has no place in wrestling in 2011, either.

The campy, over-the-top storyline that accompanies this program isn’t up too much either. “Kevin Nash, you broke my heart,” moaned Hunter on the opening promo of last week’s Raw. Not to mention Nash’s utterly ridiculous sneak attack on his former friend shortly after. 

“Does he have a pulse!?” screamed a scared paramedic, in a line that had everyone laughing, before a wounded and unconscious HHH was rushed off to the hospital in a speeding ambulance.  Well, Hunter may have a pulse, but this feud certainly doesn’t.

Per a WWE article last week, HHH will be out around six weeks recovering from his injuries at the hands of Nash.  Despite this, though, many fully expect Hunter to make a speedy recovery and rush back for an expected grudge match with his ex-friend at the Survivor Series pay-per-view.

Needless to say, fans aren’t exactly clamouring for this match, mainly because the build-up has been so ludicrous and the in-ring action will, barring a miracle, be terrible.

Perhaps HHH should decide to use this injury angle as the perfect opportunity to have himself written out of the storyline and return to a strictly backstage role. Certainly, no one is going to mourn the current angle with Kevin Nash being dropped, either.