10 Times WWE Failed At Forced Emotion
8. Triple H's Retirement Threat
At SummerSlam 2012, Triple H was bested by the Beast, Brock Lesnar, in what was drab fare received with little in the way of crowd heat.
It wasn't an entirely unpredictable result - you can never be sure when The Game's ego was involved - but most saw it coming. Logic would have seen Trips gracefully bow out to allow a young, emerging star the opportunity to work with Lesnar in a stature-enhancing match.
This didn't happen; Trips instead mustered up a few tears and protractedly exited the ring, trying to garner sympathy and intone gravely that this might be "it". He was trying to evoke widespread resistance to this threat.
People were worried - because they spotted a rematch to a bout they were barely enthused for in the first place from a mile away.
Triple H is too naturally detestable, with too much real-life heel credibility, to occupy the babyface role. This was made plain during the inevitable rematch, which is the quietest feature bout in the history of WrestleMania. Only a librarian could love it.
The sought-for reaction was so severely misjudged that, despite the incredible effort Triple H has put forth in developing the NXT beast as it exists today, many cynics wonder if he really does have his finger on the pulse of what fans want.