10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Triple H

9. His Role In The Destruction Of The Summer Of Punk

Triple H
WWE.com

As PR-friendly water-under-the-bridge versions of themselves following CM Punk's sensational WWE return - and with it the decision to work under Paul Levesque's creative vision - the obvious mutual disdain that manifested back in 2011 has largely been brushed to one side of late. Punk said as much in his November 2023 return promo, uttering off-mic that he was back to make money rather than friends, presumably to insulate himself from the emotions that he ploughed into the torpedoed post-Pipe Bomb run.

Many things went wrong for Punk in the weeks after his glorious Money In The Bank win over John Cena, but much could be centred around the fact that John Cena was just about the only guy he was actually able to beat. And if this wasn't bad enough, he was looking at the lights for one of the other supposed babyfaces in a muddled and messy power struggle story that left nobody in a positive spotlight other than 'The Game' himself.

After a series of bitter face-to-face promos around whether or not Hunter knew about Kevin Nash's random insertion into the thickening plot, the two were then forced into battle when 'Big Daddy Cool' pulled up injured. Triple H refused to make himself the heel against the anti-authority Punk, won the match (!) and had the 'Voice Of The Voiceless' kowtow to him as an ally and partner in the weeks that followed. 

In this post: 
Triple H
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 almost 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 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL 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