Why Vince McMahon Has Erased Triple H's Legacy
For 25 years, it was all about The Game, and how he played it. But nobody expected Triple H to lose.
NXT 2.0's September 14th 2021 debut was immediately - immediately - not the show that the three letters had been synonymous with for the bulk of the prior decade.
There was a panicked vibe about it while the the Then/Now/Forever/Together video was still playing. A feeling that whatever this was going to be was brand spanking new, and it was happening to you whether you liked it or not. The package before we got a first glimpse at NXT's new digs profiled old hands Tommaso Ciampa, LA Knight, Kyle O'Reilly and Pete Dunne as contenders for the vacant Championship, but even this was merely a trojan horse designed to comfort unwilling recipients. It was clear before the credits rolled.
LA Knight had his rah-rah speech interrupted by complete unknown (but second generation Steiner) Bron Breakker, who looked hard as f*cking nails even in a singlet that matched the show's frenzied new colour palette. Suddenly the two were booked in an impromptu opener that was won by the newcomer. This hobbled Knight's chances of winning the aforementioned main event, but at least he made it - Kyle O'Reilly was attacked, and replaced by his apparent lifelong friend we'd never heard of Von Wagner.
Who was he? Who were half of the wrestlers on the show? What even was this show? Where's Vink? All questions that have only partially been answered nearly two months later, but not by the man that once proudly fielded queries about the brand from fans and press alike.
Even before his recent health problems, the world wasn't looking to Triple H for remarks on this bold and bizarre new era for NXT, but then why would it? The 'King Of Kings' categorically wasn't ruling over this specific kingdom anymore, and for a change, WWE were showing rather than telling us just how much this was the case.
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