Tyson Kidd & Triple H Absences Cited For WWE Royal Rumble 2022 Problems
The absences of TJ Wilson and Paul Levesque were said to be heavily felt this past weekend.
For those who thought this past weekend's pair of Royal Rumble matches were a little lacking, there's now an update on two reasons that those Rumbles maybe felt a little off at times.
As per Mike Johnson at PWInsider, the absence of both Triple H and Tyson Kidd are said to be major reasons the PPV's two 30-person contests felt different to recent years.
In the case of the Game, this was the first Royal Rumble event in several years that Paul Levesque hasn't been present for. Of course, last year saw Levesque undergo surgery following a "cardiac event", with him still absent from all things WWE while he continues his recovery. Previously, Triple H would often be viewed as an advisor of sorts for the Rumble matches, with him usually suggesting changes and spots that were designed to help talents shine and get their own "moments".
As for Tyson Kidd, the real-life TJ Wilson has had a major role in producing the women's Royal Rumbles in recent years. However, this year saw Kidd absent from the Rumble PPV. While he is still with the company, the Canadian has not been at WWE TV for the past few weeks. In his place at the Royal Rumble, it was NXT producer Dave 'Fit' Finlay who was brought in to help produce the 30-woman Rumble contest - with Finlay having worked closely with so many of those ladies over the years.
For the Royal Rumble PPV as a whole, plentiful reports have come out to say that morale amongst the WWE locker room took a significant hit due to a slew of late changes being made to the show. Added to that, Shane McMahon is said to have heat backstage for how strong he was made to look in the men's Rumble - McMahon making it to the final three of that bout - with Shane himself acting as lead writer and producer for that contest.