This past Monday on RAW we saw the beginning of what looks like a “Triple H/Concussion” storyline on RAW. We also saw the beginning of what looks to be a significant push for Curtis Axel, the former Michael McGillicutty. By the time the night was over, I think it was pretty clear that neither one of these angles are going to work. Lets start with Curtis Axel. Listen, I’m all for pushing young talent and giving new guys a chance to get over with the audience. That’s the only way a business like pro wrestling can survive. You have to give new guys a chance at the top and let the audience decide whether or not this push will work. But Curtis Axel just doesn’t seem like he is going to work. They needed someone who you actually felt like could be a “Paul Heyman Guy.” Axel has had a chance to get over before, and the audience didn’t buy into him. Plus he doesn’t come off as a Paul Heyman guy. Someone like Antonio Cesaro comes off as more a Paul Heyman guy than Axel. We know Axel trained with The Rock, and is thought highly of by HHH. So he seems like more of a “HHH Guy.”
Not only that, but he was pretty much an afterthought by the time RAW was over. He was buried by HHH during his open segment, and he barely got any offense in before HHH started his concussion collapse on RAW. That is not the best way to get over when you are suppose to be bound for a big push. Sure he beat Sin Cara on Smackdown, but that doesn’t exactly mean you are made nowadays. With Paul Heyman by Axel’s side, there’s still the possibility it could work. But Heyman is really going to need to work his magic to make it happen.
And with that out of the way, let me go ahead and focus on the end of RAW. I like the idea of doing a concussion angle. It plays into current events with the worry about concussions in sports. So on that end note it works. But the problem is, you need a sympathetic character to play the role of concussion victim. And Triple H, no matter how much he wants to think differently, is not and has never been a sympathetic character during his WWE career.
Triple H has always been better as a heel. Even when he plays a face, it just doesn’t click as well. And even when he is a face, half the stuff he does is more like a heel. Who can forget the numerous times he bullied Paul Heyman during his program with Brock Lesnar. Nothing he has ever done is career has made him seem like a sympathetic guy. I might give you his comeback in 2002 when he won the Royal Rumble and won the Undisputed Title at Wrestlemania, but even that would be stretching it a bit.
Not only is HHH not a sympathetic guy, but the people that are suppose to be a part of this storyline can’t be considered sympathetic either. Vince McMahon? Stephanie McMahon? You really want us to buy them as sympathetic characters throughout this whole process? The McMahon Family is one of the most ruthless set of characters in wrestling history. And there is even talk about bringing in Triple H’s daughters into the storyline. Do they really want the angle to completely go up in flames? That might make it even worse. And of course they will bring Shawn Michaels into this storyline as well. He might be the only one people really care about in this entire process. Michaels is one of the more sympathetic characters in wrestling, especially during his second run with the WWE.
I’m not trying to discount anything Triple H has done throughout his entire career here. He’s one of the greats to ever step foot in the WWE. I know a lot of people will say he is only where he is because of his marriage to Stephanie McMahon. And while that may have given him some leeway, I still think HHH would have been in the place where he is today. Triple H can tell a good story in the ring and he has been a good worker during his time in the WWE. But he’s best when he is the ruthless ass kicker. He’s been like that his entire career. And now we are suppose to feel bad for him?
Not only that, but this is the third time in less than a year that we are suppose to believe that HHH is near the end of his career? We were suppose to believe he was gone after SummerSlam, then he put his career on the line at Wrestlemania, and now this recent concussion angle. Hell, you can use Wrestlemania 28 as an example too. His match with The Undertaker was billed as the “End Of An Era.” Maybe Triple H just wants the spotlight all too himself still. But people aren’t going to buy into his real retirement with all of these false ones. With Shawn Michaels, he retired at Wrestlemania. Edge announced his retirement on RAW. Ric Flair’s “WWE Retirement” was built up over a couple of months. I guess Triple H just wants his career to last a little longer so he can soak everything in a bit more.
So here we are, getting ready for this storyline to play out. Having every McMahon come out and tell HHH that he should retire. And by the way, what is this even building up to? Another Triple H return match? Against Curtis Axel? Haha. Another match against Brock Lesnar? God help us if that is the case. This is why I thought HHH should have left at Wrestlemania. There are no big matches left for him to have. And I’m sorry if my faith in Triple H putting young talent over is low, but I have yet to see it in his career.
The WWE normally does a big angle headed into the summer. And I really hope this isn’t it. I for one do not want to see months of McMahons and everyone else who has been a part of HHH’s career come back and telling him to retire, only for the mighty warrior HHH to return and win against his opponent. This isn’t a bad idea for a storyline, it is just the wrong person taking part in it. I’m not looking forward to this angle at all. If there is any good that can result from it, let me know. Because right now I just don’t see it.
Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka
