One Moment WWE Wants You To Forget From Every Year (1985 to 2026)
13. 2014 - Triple H Shoots On The Last Hardcores Left, Then Loses Them
Though not exactly on par with the time Dixie Carter bollocked her entire roster (and a good portion of the fanbase) for not supporting the impending arrival of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff into TNA, Triple H's lecture of the WWE audience on the July 21st 2014 edition of Monday Night Raw developed its own level of infamy the more time passed.
Myopic, self-destructive and arrogant, the speech saw a suited-and-booted 'Game' theatrically put his bottom lip out mocking fans that by this point were routinely protesting the state of the main roster booking, all under the guise of a storyline war with Daniel Bryan and/or wrestlers fans vociferously enjoyed.
The deal was this; if you didn't like John Cena or Roman Reigns or whomever WWE told you, forcefully, to like, you were the problem. "Me and my friend Mark are going to complain on the Internet" was the line Triple H looked particularly thrilled with, but because the biggest stick to beat him and the organisation with when fans fled the promotion in droves as the years passed. AEW was still five years from existence as Hunter patrolled the ring as a stubborn Vince McMahon's vocal foot soldier, but the fact it came to be at all was as much to do with WWE's mishandling of their monopoly as anything else.
The market leader was failing, profoundly, to lead the market. It actively luxuriated it its own creative filth a few months later...