I hope you will forgive me if I do not get too excited about Triple H’s lack of involvement in the final Raw show before Clash of Champions. There are too many loose ends that have not been tied up, too many questions about how the sudden change of heart by the COO of WWE will ultimately lead to a match with Seth Rollins and how the swerve that has lost its luster will mean a fractured relationship with his wife, Stephanie McMahon.
To say WWE dropped the ball on this one would be on point.
With the go home show on Monday night a lot of the same hullabaloo with Rollins and Kevin Owens an afterthought because Roman Reigns is still the chosen one in terms of the company’s future, I wonder if the Universal Heavyweight Title Match really means anything. What is WWE’s real plan and why hasn’t Triple H been front and center in all of this?
Clash of Champions on Sunday night is either going to be one of the biggest nights of the year, where all the questions surrounding Owens winning the title will be answered or fans will continue to wonder why $9.99 is still too much to watch the mishmash of thrown together booking. And as I write this piece, we still have no idea why the man who became Rollins’ mentor came out of the crowd to turn on the former Authority bidder.
I suppose we just have to speculate, hope for the best and expect the worst. That has been the company’s M.O. – to have fans bob and weave through storylines until they finally tell us the truth.
The Rollins-Triple H angle has been kicked around for some time, long before the former WWE World Champion blew his knee out. But for now, if a match between mentor and student is to happen, it might be the Royal Rumble before that happens. In any event, we still have to think out loud why this all happened in the first place.
Here are five reasons why Triple H may have turned on Rollins and handed the belt to Owens, to begin with.
1- He wants to run Raw
One of WWE’s biggest angles it has repeated over the years is McMahon Family control. Triple H has been the reason NXT is so successful and he has had some major signings in the past four years – AJ Styles, Bayley, Owens, etc. His track record speaks for itself and now, he wants to run the red brand once again – sans Stephanie McMahon.
It could also lead to an angle with Vince McMahon returning to television – after he recovers from his workout injury. The one angle WWE has not used yet where the McMahon family is concerned is Triple H and Stephanie on opposing sides. This might be the case.
2- Deception
What if the relationship between Seth Rollins and Stephanie McMahon walks on the side of danger? I got this idea in my head when I saw the promo before the Fatal Four Way match with Mick Foley, McMahon, and Rollins. The hug between Rollins and McMahon was more than a friendly gesture.
What if WWE wrote a script based on that? There have been plenty of angles with Vince McMahon and his plethora of women – so why wouldn’t it work here? Stephanie has been in angles with Triple H and Kurt Angle and Triple H and Test. This would just be another way of Triple H getting even.
3- Another Stable
I have kicked this around for some time, even discussed it with fellow wrestling bloggers. What if Triple H plans to make Owens the centerpiece of a new faction comprised of former NXT stars? It’s logical and it has been kicked around on the Internet. How would a Nexus-like group made up of Owens, Samoa Joe and Dash and Dawson look?
There could be others (Bobby Roode, Austin Aries), but it could be plausible heading into 2017. I could also see a scenario where current WWE veterans join the stable as well, i.e Sheamus or Chris Jericho.
4- The WrestleMania 33 match
Yes, in the end, it all comes down to this. Triple H will have to get in the ring with Seth Rollins. Maybe it’s because the King of Kings wants to prove he is still the baddest man on the planet. Maybe it’s because Rollins touts himself as a better wrestler than his mentor. Maybe, it’s because, well, there is no reason.
Triple H turns on Rollins because the Architect has gotten too big for his britches because he wants to teach Rollins a lesson. If the match does happen, which it will, Triple H will put Rollins over as the new babyface of the company.
5- There is no reason
Like so many other angles that have been attempted in WWE, there is no real reason for them to happen in the first place. We haven’t seen Triple H since the match on Raw. The company has been going through as if Owens won the title cleanly, with Stephanie McMahon fending off questions about her loyalty to Rollins and Raw.
While ratings are an issue with Owens holding on to the title, there is still a solid possibility nothing comes of this, that Triple H attacked Rollins and gets away with it. WWE may have moved on to a new era, but old habits with booking die hard.
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