The Rise Of Triple H | Wrestling Timelines
September 18, 2011 - Night Of Champions
The evidence piles up against Triple H.
CM Punk set WWE alight with his legendary Pipebomb promo in June. This initiates WWE’s dismal version of the Summer of Punk, which ends with the anti-establishment Punk aligning with authority figure Triple H as a scab.
Prior to that, at Night of Champions, Triple H - a man with a toxic reputation of burying talent - plays heel against the man many deem capable of becoming the face of WWE. The guy the millennials want is visually pinned by Triple H before the finishing sequence. This spot is diabolical; as Triple H simply cannot be ignorant of, the visual pin is reserved for a cheated babyface.
Triple H is clever, but not clever enough; he grants himself plausible deniability, with a long and overbooked late interference sequence, but the match-winning Pedigree still feels too definitive, too clean.
Punk is established as the guy below John Cena, but the missed opportunity is incredibly depressing.