10 Major Challenges Facing WWE In 2018

1. The Ego Has Landed

Triple H Stephanie McMahon
WWE

He just couldn't help himself.

Triple H, even during his last WWE Title victory in 2016, wasn't as big a d*ckhead as he was at November's Survivor Series. Or the Raw that preceded it.

He put the very worst of himself on display for the first time in a generation. Those that lived through his 2002-2005 reign of terror felt the bile rising in their stomachs as he pounded away on Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura as commentators were instructed to bang on about him effectively gifting them the privilege of sharing the ring with him. It's perhaps why his closing stretch with Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman was particularly vomit-inducing.

It was worse when the cameras ceased rolling. He defeated Jinder Mahal in New Dehli, after joining The Shield just for the craic on the European Tour weeks earlier.

Based on how he abused his position as NXT kingmaker to no-sell a Roman Reigns assault in 2015, it's astonishing he's not yet wrestled a match on a TakeOver special, but plummeting attendance figures could indeed motivate his latest 'Cerebral' manoeuvre.

On circumstantial evidence alone from his movements over the past several years, keeping Triple H's illogical and immovable gimmick as far away from television over the next 12 months is by far WWE's toughest test.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett