10 Insane Lengths Wrestlers Went To Get Revenge For Real

8. Vince McMahon Demotes Triple H

Bron Breakker
WWE

Triple H lost the Wednesday Night Wars conclusively.

NXT felt small in contrast to the return of major league competition, but the scale wasn't the only vast difference. AEW rendered NXT an alternative that only felt like one measured against the WWE curve. The detail-driven long-term storytelling; true in-ring range; compelling unscripted promos; wonderful moments of charming levity: AEW, at its best, was everything missing from mainstream North American pro wrestling for much of the 21st century.

NXT offered high-end in-ring, some polished video packages, and little else. AEW was on fire, became the epicentre of pro wrestling conversation, and NXT - after descending into parody - became a Triple H vanity project throughout 2020 as Karrion Kross dominated programming to a chronic lack of interest. HHH knew he couldn't do a super-indie anymore. AEW subsumed that ethos. Instead, he rebooted it as his own personal playground: a dank heavy metal pit of long and uninteresting matches with an undercurrent of dorky comedy.

He failed, and Vince McMahon let him have it. The lengths to which he took revenge were spiteful even by his standards; the rebooted NXT 2.0 was a brightly-coloured, gimmick-heavy mess of a sexcapade. Everything Triple H once held dear - kick pads, respectable women's wrestling, Slipknot - disappeared. And, to symbolise this, Bron Breakker booted the old NXT logo in half.

He might as well have sprayed water from his mouth, laughed, and performed the "w*nker" hand gesture in that ring entrance.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!