Fans were excited when Triple H took over WWE Creative back in 2022. Perception was that Vince McMahon’s inept booking was to blame for the dismal creative direction of the show. That perception was spot on for the majority of what was wrong with the product. However, three years later there’s a lot to not like about Triple H’s leadership in this area. There are things that are working, but several issues that fans continue to point out across social media on a weekly basis. Here are the three biggest issues fans are having with the product today.
Women’s Midcard Booking
This is a tale of two stories. On one hand, Becky Lynch has created a fire under the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship. Her reign helped rebuild Lyra Valkyria and put her in position to become a future main event performer. Now, she has AJ Lee standing across from her as the women who will most likely take that championship from around her waist. The women’s midcard scene is thriving on Monday Night Raw, but it took for Becky Lynch to make that happen. Had it not been for her, there’s a strong chance this would not be the case.
Look no further than WWE SmackDown. As of his writing, Giulia is 83 days into her run as WWE Women’s United States Champion. In those 83 days, she had only two title defenses, one against the former champion Zelina Vega more than a month after winning the title. The second was against Michin after another month had passed. None of these matches took place on PLEs.
The WWE women’s division is stacked. There are several women who are ready to step up and the midcard titles should be tools to put a spotlight on them. However, the booking doesn’t seem to have the intention of building up that division as badly as is needed.
The Tag Team Division Has Stalled
Tag team wrestling across North America has seemingly hit a rough patch. Both AEW and WWE have taken the focus off what should be strong divisions. The Wyatt Sicks are WWE Tag Team Champions on SmackDown and doing a good job with those titles, including stealing the show in the Six Pack TLC match at SummerSlam. The Judgment Day defeated The New Day back in June and have defended the titles only once since. This was the exact issue the prior time they were champions.
With teams like DIY, The Motor City Machine Guns, Fraxiom, Pretty Deadly and several others on the roster, it is impossible to understand why this division is so poorly booked. The blame must fall squarely on the shoulders of Triple H.
Black and Asian Male Talent Can’t Breakthrough
One of the biggest complaints that continues to rage surrounds who Triple H books on these shows. Or who he does not book on the shows in fact. It has still been years since a Black male performer has won a singles match on a PLE. Male wrestlers of Asian descent are even less visible on the weekly product. If you’re not a Samoan, there’s clearly a glass ceiling to how high a male performer of color can rise up the roster.
Triple H’s response to questions about this is just as bad as the situation. The idea that he “doesn’t see color” speaks to larger issues that cannot be quickly unpacked in one single piece. But the point still remains, Triple H has a massive blind spot when it comes to creating a range of performers on screen who represent the diverse fanbase that is throughout professional wrestling. Fans of the product can only continue to call them out.