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The 'Triple H' show has run its course
WWE tirelessly promoted Michaels defending his newly won WWE World title against Van Dam for an entire week heading into last Monday's "Raw." "The Game" destroyed the monumental moment in an instant.
Wrestling fanatics frothed at the thought of Michaels, the quintessential showman in the mid-1990s, and Van Dam, the heir to Michaels' high-flying throne, meeting in a one-on-one match.
The "fantasy matchup" seemed impossible after Michaels retired from active competition in April 1998, around the same time Van Dam started garnering mainstream attention as part of ECW.
The chants of "HBK" were replaced with "RVD." Attitude replaced flamboyancy as pro wrestling's new ideology. Fans had their new showstopper, but Michaels' legacy was far from forgotten. Van Dam's air show rekindled memories of Michaels' past feats, and enthusiasts continued with their "what if" talk in the off chance "The Heartbreak Kid" decided to give us an encore and match moves with his successor.
Time away from the ring did little to soothe Michaels' competitive desire. A smarter, sleeker, happier version of "The Heartbreak Kid" emerged from retirement and proved at "SummerSlam" that even Shawn Michaels at 80 percent was better than no Michaels at all.
Michaels emphatically showed he still had it, or at least most of it, in his street fight at the annual August pay-per-view. The only thing left to do was give fans what they wanted: HBK vs. RVD.
The two delivered a strong television match last Monday that had the potential to grow into a better one, or at least could have been the first step toward establishing a long-running feud between the two. Just as the two found their rhythm and the crowd's attention, something happened.
Game over.
Hunter, still nursing a bruised trachea, interfered in the championship match, discarded the challenger (Van Dam) and turned his attention to more pressing matters, getting his face on television after a one-week absence and assuring everyone watching that he still is the dominating presence in all of WWE.
Hunter's willingness to hog the spotlight and downplay the importance of mid-card superstars such as Van Dam is disappointing, frustrating and sad. "The Game," before he shed his beard and ring savvy for a pair of dockers and a muscles-equal-success mind-set, truly earned his status as the most complete performer WWE had ever produced and promoted.
His legendary battles with The Rock and Mick Foley have become distant memories of a man who apparently is so insecure with his ability that he's resorted to becoming the kind of sports entertainer he once loathed: a selfish, near-sighted egomaniac determined to grasp the spotlight for the duration of his professional wrestling tenure.
The result of Hunter's cat-always-kills-the-mouse game is an overexposed, annoying "Game" character that fans jeer not because he's that damn good, but because he's become that damn bad. He's constantly the centerpiece of the company, only gets pinned by friends (Michaels) and in tag-team matches, and allows his influence over the McMahon family to translate into being favorably portrayed on television.
Triple H can justify his position with the Catch 22 excuse that no one else has the drawing power he does. Mid-carders can't become Hunter's equal if he continues to sabotage their careers by working harder to protect his No. 1 spot than to help create new, money-drawing challengers. That lack of fresh challengers has been a contributing factor to Hunter's severe decline in appeal.
Fans aren't exactly eager to invest their time and money into a series of Kane-Triple H matches, a feud that's been sporadically manipulated over the past five years in one form or another. What these post-"Attitude" fans want is RVD, Booker T, Brock Lesnar and stars who perhaps haven't totally exhausted their main-event potential.
As long as Hunter's around — he's dating Stephanie McMahon, and he's in his mid-30s — that's all the aforementioned superstars will have: potential.
Just like Michaels' first-ever match with Van Dam had the potential to be something special. Instead, it was Hunter reaffirming his status as the most famous son-in-law-to-be, indirectly touting his propensity to run roughshod over WWE.
The charges stemmed from Austin hitting his wife, Debra, in June. She called the police and was found with visible bruises on her face. The two had since patched up their differences, but the Bexar County district attorney's office has a "no-drop" policy, meaning Austin's trial had to take place.
As for a WWE return, Austin said he doesn't rule it out but has no immediate plans in mind. Austin left WWE on June 10 after failing to appear as advertised for a "Raw" show.
