10 Ways Triple H's WWE Dream Became A Complete Nightmare

5. Hostile Takeover

Despite the criticisms leveled so far, it’s more than fair to say that Triple H greatly improved the WWE product during his first several months, and the belief was that as he gained his footing and distanced himself from the stink and influence of Vince McMahon more, things would continue to improve.

And then came Vince’s return to his baby. The man who was publicly scorned for his sexual misconduct and coverup conducted a hostile takeover of the board of directors to force his way back into power, less than six months after “retiring.”

Morale immediately plunged despite promises and assurances that Vince wouldn’t interfere in the day-to-day operations or the booking of Raw or SmackDown. But that promise carried as much weight as a wrestler adhering to the stipulations of a retirement match. We started seeing Vince-isms creeping into the programming more and more, and the era of good feelings faded away.

For the next four months, a cloud hung over WWE as rumors flew around about whether the company would be sold and what that would mean for everyone. You definitely can’t throw any of this at Triple H, but it had to keep Hunter up at night, going from leading the company out of the creative doldrums to be faced with such uncertainty.