Editor’s note: This column originally appeared on www.bleacherreport.com and was written by Tom Clark.
Triple H‘s transformation from WWE’s babyface chief operating officer to cold and calculating dictator was a very abrupt one, to say the least.
Hunter’s betrayal of Daniel Bryan occurred of course at the company’s SummerSlam pay-per-view on August 18. Just three weeks later, he has become the most devious corporate figure since his father-in-law Vince McMahon.
Not only is it one of the biggest heel turns in recent WWE history, it’s also one of the most perfectly executed.
For me, this heel turn far surpasses that of the newly crowned WWE champion Randy Orton.
Orton may have chosen to take advantage of a downed Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam, but it was Triple H who laid Bryan out to begin with. If not for Triple H, we would likely not be facing the storyline that is currently dominating WWE programming.
Hunter is the one that all of this centers on. He has not stepped into the ring as a wrestler during any part of this angle, and the truth is he doesn’t need to. All he needs to do is just come out, flex his corporate muscle and he is booed out of the building.
Hunter’s new administration is ruling the company with an iron fist. The Superstars have been silenced, prevented from speaking their minds. The Shield have been put in the position of Hunter’s henchmen, and Big Show is being forced to cooperate against his will.
And at the head of it all is the Game, doing what he feels is “best for business.”
This is working, it fits him perfectly. And it’s not just because he is the on-air authority figure for WWE. The truth is that any one of the McMahon family could be put in that role and the storyline would work just fine.
But the reason it’s working now is the same reason that Hunter is the best choice for this role. The fact is that fans hate him.
And by “hate” I mean really hate. Really, really hate.
I’m not talking about all fans of course, but there is a large portion of the WWE faithful that just despise Triple H. Many of those fans feel that Hunter is the perfect example of a guy who was in the right place at the right time.
They believe that he had the benefit of having the boss’s ear when he came up with Shawn Michaels and that he was given a lot of freedom to do what he wanted later on during his time in the company.
Then there’s the matter of Hunter’s wife being the daughter of WWE’s chairman.
The fact that Stephanie McMahon is Mrs. Triple H is basically all some of his critics need to continually roast him on a daily basis.
They believe that he is doing nothing but burying his opponents and he is now merely stroking his ego by being on TV in WWE’s biggest angle.
Hunter has his fair share of haters and they’re only growing.
And for me that is precisely why having Triple H turn heel now is absolutely the right move for the company. The King of Kings is now finally getting an opportunity to confront all of his critics, to answer for all of the heat that he has incurred over the years from fans.
By smiling in his custom suit while hiding behind the Shield, Hunter is also thumbing his nose at WWE’s live crowds. He orders the continued destruction of Daniel Bryan and he smugly stands by knowing that no one can touch him.
The best part about this is that he’s not just in charge on TV. The fact is that he has more responsibility behind the scenes now than ever, so reality is becoming very blurred for the crowd and fans watching at home.
Is Triple H really an egomaniac? Is he really calling the shots? Did he actually fire Cody Rhodes?
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