Vince McMahon deliberately booked a Triple H-favorite to lose on RAW this week to spite him, feels veteran (Exclusive)

Vince McMahon's growing creative influence is being felt with each passing week. Vince Russo feels that Carmelo Hayes losing on RAW might have been McMahon's way of getting back at Triple H.

The highly-rated Hayes made his in-ring RAW debut against Finn Balor, advancing the World Heavyweight title storyline. While the NXT Champion had a decent showing, getting beaten clean on your first night on RAW isn't what top prospects aspire for. Vince Russo thinks he knows the actual reason behind the booking.

Triple H has been the creative head since Vince McMahon was forced to resign from his WWE roles. As reports suggest, Mr. McMahon has returned to prominence in the company in the boardroom, and it seems he's back impacting the creative direction.

Carmelo Hayes is reportedly one of Triple H's favorites from NXT, and Russo believed having the 28-year-old star lose was Vince McMahon sending a message to The Game:

"Bro, is this Vince McMahon shoving it up Triple H's backside?" Russo questioned on Legion of RAW. "You've got to look at that, bro! Whether Triple H is still as much tied in with NXT as he was because now it's like Shawn Michaels' baby. For NXT talent to come to the main roster and do a job, I'm telling you, that is his pettiness of sticking it to Hunter, man! That's like Vince saying to Hunter, 'Bro, I'm big league, and Hunter, you're little league.' Just like WWE is the big league and NXT is little." [14:20 - 15:00]

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"I saw the pettiness first-hand" - Vince Russo on Vince McMahon

The former WWE writer responded to people claiming he was "crazy" and stressed that he knew how petty Vince McMahon could get when dealing with his employees, irrespective of their stature.

Vince Russo spent several years working on storylines for McMahon during the Attitude Era. He has said he's personally seen many instances of his former boss' vindictive personality.

Given Russo's past experiences, he just couldn't rule out the possibility of McMahon's role in the reigning NXT Champion getting booked to lose on Monday Night RAW:

"I'm telling you, people think I'm insane, Chris, when I say this stuff. Guys, I worked there!" Russo continued. "I saw the pettiness first-hand, and when you see something like this, Chris, you've got to ask the question." [15:01 - 15:30]

Is there more to the story about Hayes losing to Balor on RAW? Sound off in the comments section below.

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