How Triple H Has Created Evolution 2.0 For WWE With The Undisputed Era

Triple H nxt
WWE.com

The Batista run was the first proving ground for Triple H as a developer of talent rather than an IRL destroyer. The 'reign of terror' was finally over, and though he never met a clean job he particularly liked, he leveled the playing field a little as the decade wore on. Ageing icon Hunter's job was at this point to start helping get over the stars of tomorrow, but his vision for protecting the future the business wouldn't take shape until he'd smashed his hammer into the back of the man gradually killing it.

The timelines are predictably a little muddled, but Triple H's rise to corporate power within WWE naturally came as his in-ring role diminished - it had to in order for him to spend more time thinking of others rather than himself. Even during the transitional phase, he built a WrestleMania match with The Undertaker by verbally eviscerating the entire roster backstage before decking Sheamus in a pathetic excuse to a payoff to a dead angle. John Laurinaitis was even deader behind the eyes than 'The Deadman' himself when 'The Game' stepped to him and his Talent Relations role, dulled by relentless failure to bring through talent to carry WWE into the next several decades. NXT - the original NXT - was a warped on-screen vision of the developmental disrepute.

The Undisputed Era as they are now would not be allowed to be the coolest dipsh*ts in the room on that NXT. They'd be forced to cut promos on the fly about their wrist-tape and do jumping jacks blindfolded whilst Michael Cole and Matt Striker called them all geeks. Triple H - as he did when he brought together his idol and his hottest prospects in 2003 - wants not to shame but to show off the individual and collective talents of all four.

The comic timing of Fish and O'Reilly from their ReDragon ROH days remains in tact. Longtime frenemy Strong completes the package with similar chemistry. It's almost as if Hunter knew what made them work already and looked to exploit it rather than expel it. Times are continuing to change, but those that don't learn from history are still doomed to repeat it.

CONT'D...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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