How WWE Destroy Their Own Creations

Batista Ric Flair Triple H Evolution
WWE.com

On SmackDown 1000, Triple H swapped the leather jacket, jeans and DX t-shirt for the leather jacket, jeans and Evolution t-shirt, instead of a suit, because that might be confused with his Authority suit. Or his actual dressed-for-work suit. This is the schizophrenic life of 'The Game' now, but it's been like this for ages.

The cheeky b*stard only got himself on the show to bask in the reflected glory of legitimate Hollywood star Dave Batista. Evolution were never - literally never - a part of SmackDown until the celebration show, but turned up all the same because 'The Animal' was a huge part of the blue brand.

God forbid Hunter let it just be about Ba/Boo/Blue on his first time in front of a live crowd in four years. He enjoyed bantering off Damien Sandow as part of a comedy DX supergroup at the start 2012's Raw 1000 before returning later as the hardest man in the world for a scrap with Brock Lesnar. He went from Gorilla Position gaffer to wannabe Bullet Club degenerate at Raw 25. He managed here to set up a WrestleMania programme whilst another legend ended the show using his brief appearance to reference his problematic Saudi Arabia tag match next month.

He does this because he can, by the way. Nobody else gets the agency Hunter gets, and it's not about amassing title reigns now but establishing a false narrative as a cast-iron truth. The company hasn't destroyed Triple H, but he had to become the company to ensure its safety.

Can Batista - a legitimate megastar that wants one last WWE run more than he needs it - trust this same company not to bodge it?

CONT'D...

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Contributor

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