Triple H Breaks Kayfabe To Comfort Crying Fan

Triple H maybe the nefarious COO of the WWE with a fist of iron. But as Monday Night RAW demonstrated, a crying child is enough to melt one of the company’s most experienced superstars’ heart. During the main event of the show, a handicap match pitting John Cena against Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane at the behest of the despicable Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. However, these actions and Triple H’s fervent anger at ringside was enough to send a young fan to tears. Twitter user @chrisolds2009 captured the pictures of The Game breaking his heel persona to give the tearful kid a hug, before returning to action.

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The television cameras did not capture the event, but since the pictures caught fire on Twitter, the entire WWE Universe now has access to these pictures of one of the most experienced and dastardly performers in history breaking character. Usually, this would be considered a huge taboo in the industry. WWE superstars and divas are not only athletes but entertainers, who adopt specific characters to add another dimension to the program. Heels may not be popular among the crowd, but the staple of a bad guy vs. a good guy has been the lifeblood of the wrestling industry since its earliest inception.

Now, this situation can be read a number of ways. Obviously, Triple H is human like the rest of us, and witnessing a situation like this he felt it his duty to try and make the kid feel better. As a father of three himself, this scene likely tugged at his heartstrings like any other parent. Also, despite the poor rap a number of fans give the COO for his history of burying talent and marrying his way to the top of the industry, Triple H has often been heralded as a nice and likable guy by colleagues and acquaintances (as long as you steer clear of CM Punk). So from a purely humanitarian standpoint, this was a nice thing to do by the Cerebral Assassin.

Courtesy of @chrisolds2009

Courtesy of @chrisolds2009

However, on the other side of the coin, Triple H is a professional, and must understand that his actions aren’t going to make a lot of fans happy. They aren’t intended to be viewed as positive, nice things, and especially among children that are unaware of the kayfabe nature of the business, some activities might bring them to tears. Obviously, if Triple H’s taunting of the crowd was the cause of the child’s tears, it is kind of counter-intuitive to then hug the person you were insulting. The children in the audience would be more sensitive though, and unlikely to be as comfortable participating in the banter like some of the older, more knowledgeable fans.

The child fan and his father were led by security backstage after the match in a nice gesture by Triple H. Perhaps there is an argument that this could have been achieved without the hug in plain sight of all the nearby fans. Of course, I’m not suggesting this was an ego-stroking maneuver by the Game, as the cameras didn’t pick it up and only the fans in close proximity would have witnessed the moment first-hand. Nevertheless, the question remains whether it is okay for Triple H to break his heel character in such a manner, where others might be punished for such behavior. The lines between truth and fiction are more blurred than ever before, but that does not mean that heels can openly act like babyfaces when a member of the crowd becomes upset at the scenes before them.

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Still, the act has mainly been regarded as a positive by WWE fans, applauding his actions and for ensuring that they didn’t feature on the main broadcast. Those close to the incident applauded both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon for comforting the young fan, and in the end very little damage was done. I’m sure that in circumstances similar to this, if the cameras are not on, characters would be allowed to break character to comfort fans that might be hurt or saddened by the incidents taking place. In the end, it is a moment that would have gone unnoticed if not for the ever watching eye of social media, and has been taken as an interesting tidbit rather than the collapse of staples of professional wrestling.

So good on Triple H for what he did, as even though his character isn’t exactly designed to earn him fans, his actions sure did garner him a lot of respect.