When Vince McMahon was still in charge of WWE Creative, wrestling fans wanted one thing from him: retirement. He was a complicated man and was responsible for the highest period in the history of wrestling, but he was also a Booker at WWE’s worst moment. For example, SmackDown in the early 2010s was hated by most fans. They also didn’t like how Vince handled the push on Shinna Island in Nakamura, or how he ruined Kofi Kingston’s momentum in just a minute.
when Triple h Became Chief Content Manager, fans quickly noticed many changes. The ban on certain words and more have been lifted, commentators were allowed to speak their minds freely, and long-term stories have become more common. For a while, fans had nothing but good things to say about him. However, the honeymoon period is now over and Triple H bookings have not changed dramatically since he first took over, but he has faced a lot of criticism recently.
NXT’s Black & Gold Era made Triple H popular among fans as booker
NXT was considered a better wrestling show
show | WWE NXT |
|---|---|
debut | February 23, 2010 |
Previous Booker | Triple H (2012-2021) Vince McMahon (2021-2022) |
Current Booker | Shawn Michael (2022-today) |
The Black and Gold Age of NXT is often considered one of the best booked shows overall. This era of NXT gave fans stars such as Seth Rollins, Finn Valor, Bray Wyatt and Kevin Owens. This game booked his show, especially for hardcore wrestling fans. This meant a great match, with the whole brand focusing on up-and-coming superstars. He had a lot of success with NXT, so fans wanted him to become Vince McMahon’s successor.
Triple H became WWE’s new creative head, a breath of fresh air
The reservation for Triple H was against Vince McMahon
- Heart issues forced Triple H to leave NXT in 2021.
- Triple H took over WWE Creative after Vince McMahon suddenly retired in 2022.
- Fans loved bookings for Triple H, simply because he wasn’t Vince McMahon.
In 2021, Triple H held a heart event and took a break from WWE duties. Fans will remember that around this time NXT also played head-to-head at AEW Dynamate Weekly, losing the rating war. Triple H reportedly blamed this failure, which led WWE to revamp NXT and refuel as an entirely separate show called NXT 2.0. Fans didn’t like this decision.
Nevertheless, Triple H gained control of WWE Creative in mid-2022. This actually made WWE’s weekly programming more enjoyable. Many former wrestlers were brought back. Each week there was more wrestling on both Raw and Smackdown. Even the mid-card title belt felt more than just an afterthought.
The Triple H era officially began with Summerslam 2022, and fans loved the show. Everything got a little better over the next few months and there were some minor issues, but the fans were generally happy with the product. However, it has been almost three years since Triple H took over creative. At the time, he had to do better than Vince McMahon to make his fans love him. Things have changed now. The product is not only good, but it needs to continue to improve.
Many defects in Triple H booking
Triple H doesn’t think fans should complain about the product online
- Triple H reservations sometimes drag when they’re too long.
- He also struggles with booking certain popular wrestlers and is not making the right use of their momentum.
- Triple H also took shots on online wrestling fans, further damaging his reputation as a Booker.
Triple H is not yet good at booking tag teams. Judgment Day was last year’s champions, but they barely defended the title. New Day’s heel turns were great, but then they didn’t do anything for the next few months until WrestleMania. Wyatt Sids is nowhere to be found on TV. Even if Bo Dallas was injured, WWE could still have done something with them.
The Women’s Division needed more names than Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, and even within the storyline, WWE focused more on Dominic Mysterio and their relationship with both women than the women themselves. Fans also criticized Charlotte’s Return, and Vince is not here this time. It was all Triple H’s decision to see her come back and win the Royal Rumble any time soon. Chelsea Green and Laila Valkyria are both champions, but they lost a clean match.
Shenangan has become a big part of WWE PLES. There is always some kind of run-in or REF bump spot, which is outdated. Triple H also needs to learn how to properly finish the storyline. The whole blood line story dragged over to too long and when it finally ended, it became more desirable. The Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena storyline also ended in a lame way. Fans have yet to see the face turn from Austin Theory. This shows that Triple H doesn’t understand how to end the storyline. What is a payoff? Most often, it takes years to get there. The whole “Paul Heyman Supports CM Punk” angle was hyped for weeks, and what was obvious felt very overwhelming.
There were still a lot of Triple H supporters, but when the game took a shot against Andrew Schultz’s internet fans, they also turned him on Fragrant Podcast. Looking into it, there are many issues with booking Triple H. Some of them are cast a shadow at major moments like the return of CM Punk and Cody Rhodes’s title. But over time it’s becoming more and more clear that Triple H isn’t the biggest booker in wrestling today. He’s a little better than Vince McMahon.
