The Worst Year Of Triple H's WWE Career
Back in the naughties, he was in a very boring TV show.
This article will not be about 2020, even if that subsequently makes a bit of a mockery of the title.
In the last 12 months, Triple H's brand has left its cosy spot on its own Network for the vim and vigour of proper television thanks to a USA Network deal that saw the show move from one to two hours to compete directly with the soon-to-launch AEW Dynamite on TNT. The Wednesday Night Wars were to be a thrilling reminder of a particular period of old days some people still can't stop talking about, and for the first few months they were just that.
NXT had cynically but successfully marginalised their opposition, while booking a compelling run of episodes either side of November's Survivor Series that fed into a deserved ratings victory in December for a show headlined by Rhea Ripley's Women's Championship victory over Shayna Baszler. That was less than 12 months ago, and for reasons beyond the global health crisis, the black-and-gold brand no longer resembles what it was back then.
Battle-bruised and battered by the demand, NXT remains WWE's best show and has still badly hit the skids, taking with it Hunter's reputation as an astute booker and safe heir to the McMahon empire. Perception was something he knew how to massage before now, but the actions on any given week have spoken louder than his media conference words.
That's not to say he can't regain a lost magic touch. We are here to talk about his actual worst year after all, and the golden era of the black-and-gold brand suggests that - like WWE's success - things might just be cyclical. With booms come busts, and there were none bigger in 'The Game's entire career than when the product crumbled around him. But you may not remember that...
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