4 Reasons Bobby Roode is the Next Triple H in WWE

credit: WWE.com

4. Good to Be Roode

The Game has always carried himself differently than other superstars do. The swagger he brings to the ring emerged around 2000 and it never left, no matter what his present situation. He always stands tall, walking with an arrogance that says “I’m the King, I dare you to knock me off the throne.”

It took time for Roode to find that kind of confidence, and it was tough in TNA when he didn’t have the same level of competitor as HHH did. He didn’t get the benefit of facing Shawn Michaels, The Rock, and Mick Foley every week. But he eventually found it, and fined it to a razor sharp point during his record-breaking run as TNA World Champion, presenting an air of superiority that would make Ric Flair, HHH’s mentor, take a second look. He even adopted a similar entrance robe as Flair for a while.

In the wrestling business, attitude can be everything.  It’s what can make a horrible gimmick work when all evidence says it should tank. Roode’s “Gordon Gekko” phase, in which he was managed by Traci Brooks and took the name “Robert Roode” was one of those periods that should have been a disaster.

Instead, it was where Roode laid the groundwork for the character he would eventually become. He became more cold and precise with his violence, attacking his foes with the clinical efficiency of a Wall Street trader only concerned about the bottom line. It was a stroke of genius and Roode emerged from it as TNA’s top heel, which he then rolled into a successful tag team run as the latter half of Beer Money, Inc.

Roode has the attitude of a superstar who refuses to let others dictate his success. My goodness how many awful matches with Doink the Clown or terrible “Katie Vick” storylines did HHH survive and none of it slowed him down? Instead, he used it and became the Cerebral Assassin, who employed mind games with clinical precision before brutally finishing off his foes. Again, does that sound like anyone we know?

The devious, manipulative side of Roode mirrors HHH almost exactly, especially in the way they treat friends. Just as HHH never let HBK stand in his way of becoming World Champion, Roode has similarly turned his back on friends, namely his Beer Money partner James Storm, to win gold.

And let’s keep it real, Roode is totally the type to sell out and become part of the Authority, just as HHH sold out and became part of The Corporation. “Best for business” could be a motto for both of them.

Next: No. 3 Glorious!