8 Things That Probably Led To Triple H's WWE Demotion

2. A Different Vision For The Future

RAW is struggling to hit consistently good overall numbers, but Paul Heyman's helming of it has yielded scattered, notable successes and is slowly morphing the perception of the main roster. Hour-to-hour viewership has steadied, and more women have taken to watching it.

Prior to Heyman's role as Executive Director, RAW was a dogsh*t television programme. Of this there is no doubt. Come on. The Wild Card Rule, two-out-of-three-falls matches, that weird, weird hour in which Mick Foley promised to Make RAW RAW Again - it was completely directionless, asinine, and off the rails. It was hysterically awful.

Heyman's RAW is not perfect, but it is at its best a very good WWE main roster show worthy of investment. Drew McIntyre feels like a star worth getting behind. Becky Lynch hasn't been ruined to the point a heel turn is the only viable option (this is legitimately astonishing, given the length of her run). Asuka is a star again, as Heyman has very intelligently determined how to get her over as a character, and not just a wrestler. The Edge Vs. Randy Orton programme, which Heyman has directly curated, is genuinely masterful, suspenseful stuff. It's great episodic TV because it creates real anticipation ahead of the next story beat. AEW is the real alternative. Paul Heyman is more adept at drawing buzz within the confines of the WWE system.

Triple H's creative vision has aged quite badly over the last six months.