Realistically, When Does Triple H Take Control of WWE?

[Wildcat66]

It's been theorized, it's been predicted, it's been foretold by wrestling pundits of all shapes and sizes; Vince McMahon has gotten out of touch with his audience and is the reason for the suffering ratings and lackluster product and when he retires, Triple H will be the knight in shining armor that saves the company. And with reports coming in that Triple H is allegedly 'frustrated' with the treatment of some of his projects, (See: Bayley, Sasha Banks, Cruiserweights) the fuel to the fire only seems to be growing bigger by the moment.

So allow me to douche the flames and ask the question no one's asked...when is Triple H actually going to take over?

And I don't want a bs answer like, "When Vince McMahon retires/dies/whatever excuse we have for writing Vince McMahon out of WWE" that isn't going to fly.

I want us to seriously consider the business side of WWE and ask ourselves, realistically; when will Triple H become the owner of WWE? Will it take a dark age that's significantly worse than anything WWE did back in 1995 to do the trick? Will Triple H start an uprising and forcibly oust Vince from his position or will it simply be a case of Vince gradually lessening his grip as the years go by and letting HHH do more of the work.

So, talk to me; get me on a side. When will this day happen? And more importantly, how much blood will be splattered on the floor when the dust clears?

 

[Navi]

I'm afraid the answer isn't one you are going to like. Realistically I think it's when Vince McMahon takes his final breath. He is much to much of a control freak to ever let anyone take over while he is still alive.

Listen Vince is a genius when it comes to the product, just look at what he and the wrestlers he's hired have created over the years. The WWE unlike most wrestling companies has grown leaps and bounds, instead of just struggling to keep themselves afloat, see TNA.

Sadly though he has lost touch with his audience, just look at the continued push (going on three years now) of Roman Reigns. I can't remember a time when a wrestler was given so many chances and failed. He is Vince's chosen one and that blatantly obvious, so Vince will stubbornly stay alive till Reigns get's over. I guess that means that Vince will become immortal. Just kill me now.

Anyway, HHH has been given some slack in running NXT and he's done a bang up job, but it's not the big leagues, and the way some of the NXT guys have been treated on the main roster shows that. So unless the board of directors gets so pissed off that they demand Vince stand down, I foresee another few years of what we're getting now.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Vince is a smart man, he's a shrewd businessman and WWE is his baby. I believe there will be a day when he realizes that he's just too old and has fallen a bit to the wayside with the flow of modern thinking. I can see Vince handing the company to Stephanie McMahon with HHH being the General Manager of Operations for all shows (behind the scenes). Steph will step into the shoes of Vince and have the last word on HHH's ideas. IMO it can't happen soon enough, I believe in Steph and HHH and I see them doing great things for the WWE in the future.

 

[Wildcat66]

I'm afraid the answer isn't one you are going to like. Realistically I think it's when Vince McMahon takes his final breath. He is much to much of a control freak to ever let anyone take over while he is still alive.

Listen Vince is a genius when it comes to the product, just look at what he and the wrestlers he's hired have created over the years. The WWE unlike most wrestling companies has grown leaps and bounds, instead of just struggling to keep themselves afloat, see TNA.

Sadly though he has lost touch with his audience, just look at the continued push (going on three years now) of Roman Reigns. I can't remember a time when a wrestler was given so many chances and failed. He is Vince's chosen one and that blatantly obvious, so Vince will stubbornly stay alive till Reigns get's over. I guess that means that Vince will become immortal. Just kill me now.

Anyway, HHH has been given some slack in running NXT and he's done a bang up job, but it's not the big leagues, and the way some of the NXT guys have been treated on the main roster shows that. So unless the board of directors gets so pissed off that they demand Vince stand down, I foresee another few years of what we're getting now.

To be fair though, it's not like Vince was that much better back then. Remember when he tried to push Diesel as a happy go lucky babyface world champ?

P.S: I don't really mind what answer I get, if it's good, i'll take. If my OP makes anyone think i'm on Triple H's side; well i'm not. I respect both men for all they've done to the business and personally want whatever's best for WWE in the future.

 

[ShinChan]

I know that you've asked that the answer shouldn't be about Vince dying. But I think that it's the only way Vince will let go of WWE's main responsibilities. I don't trust him enough to let go on his own.

Triple H taking over is better for everyone involved. But Vince will never admit it.

 

[Wildcat66]

I know that you've asked that the answer shouldn't be about Vince dying. But I think that it's the only way Vince will let go of WWE's main responsibilities. I don't trust him enough to let go on his own.

Triple H taking over is better for everyone involved. But Vince will never admit it.

In retrospect, I probably didn't explain it enough.

When I say the answer shouldn't be Vince dying, I mean that it shouldn't be Vince simply passing away with no reason given. Vince is 71 years old and looks better than most people dream of being. What I mean by Vince dying is that as time passes, he gradually gets more and more ill until poof, he passes on. In short, the process should be gradual, not sudden.

 

[CrunKSinatrA]

If HHH will ever be in charge of the WWE, he needs to take the reins while Vince is alive.

Otherwise, some corporate ladder BS will go down and HHH doesn't hold the same sway in real life like he does on Raw.

HHH has worked wonders in NXT, but I don't think he has a degree in anything.

HHH might know the wrestling business and a bachelor's degree doesn't mean what it used to, but it's the modern equivalent of a high school diploma.

And I don't think the real life board of directors will be comfortable putting him in charge of a public traded company.

Funerals tear families apart and who knows what the relationships will be like after Vince passes.

The power vacuum that Vince's death will cause in the wrestling world would be comparable to the turmoil in the Middle East after Saddam and Qaddafi were deposed.

Odds are Stephanie or Shane will take control.

HHH might still have a shot if Stephanie assumes control.

But she has a bigger ego than her father and I wouldn't doubt if they divorce over the drama of Vince's passing.

If Shane or another party takes control, HHH will be fired out of spite b/c NXT's success will be viewed as a threat.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

Sadly, I know that you won't like the answer but the fact is, vince will never retired and will their training hhh to take over someday, he's will have to wait until vince either dies or he's forced out.

Vince is a workaholic, wwe is his baby and his whole live and while he's letting go of some of the producing with giving smackdown a little bit more freedom, he won't leave.

The way I see it, raw is produced by vince and the won't change, road dog is in charge of smackdown and hhh is in charge of nxt.

As far as the whole wwe as a company, that's still vince controlling everything and tje guy will die in his office or at the gorilla position before giving up is role as ceo of wwe.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I wouldn't get too excited. There will be a long transitional period where Triple H will slowly try to filter his ideas through. And it won't be his company so he'll still be met by some resistance.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Not until Vinnie Mac dies or loses his faculties. Vince Sr died of cancer at 69, while VKM's grandfather Jess McMahon also only lived to be about 70. As morbid as it is, there isn't going to be any kind of kingslayer situation on mad king Vince McMahon.

Vince will croak while in gorilla during an episode of Raw. VKM could live to be 80, he could keep going further. Look at sports personalities like Don Cherry, we could have entire decades of Vince left ahead of us.

He's not the kind of person that will step aside unless he has no choice. Regardless of TV ratings dropping and bad book of Triple H pet projects, if WWE stays profitable then Vince fulfills the requirements of being CEO.

Yes it would be awesome if they weren't burying Bayley or if the cruiserweights mattered, but inevitably Vince has controlling interest. At some point the board could lose confidence, but that would require greater failures than say getting over a particular fan Favourite talent or two.

Most likely Vince lives well into his 80s, which means were most likely looking at Triple H assuming full control sometime in the 2020s to 2030s.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

When Vince passes away or doesn't become mentally or physically able to run WWE.

Vince is really stubborn and just woudn't give up control of his company, unless he was forced to.

 

[dalenichol]

There's no guarantee that he ever will.

Any publicly traded company worth shit has a succession plan in place, with a clear idea of who's going to take charge when the current CEO leaves the post. If it is going to be 'handed' to anybody, it'll go down the family line and go to Steph, or potentially split between Steph and Shane. In that Scenario, HHH would retain a powerful role and would likely get to take control of most of the day to day stuff we (in theory) want him to do, but it could just as plausible go to a completely different CEO. I imagine that by the time Vince, he'd have got Steph and HHH to the point of being respected enough by the boardroom that they'd be supportive of them taking over. Vince passing away before getting the chance to retire could result in a power struggle, though.



However, as an aside, far too many people are placing all of the blame on Vince recently, as if they expect some sort of super miracle if HHH was given more power, whilst failing to consider any external variables in a loss of interest, viewership and a poorer product.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As has been said, I think the only realistic answer is when Vince either passes away or is simply medically unfit to be THE final voice in what happens. The reports of Triple H's frustrations aren't anything new, they've been popping up periodically now for several years; see, Triple H is supposed to be the guy that's in charge of WWE's creative aspect of things and he is in name only. Even though it's in his job title, he's not really in charge of creative, Vince is because he ultimately has the final say. If anything, he's sort of the intermediary between the creative teams and Vince; he often may help the teams come up with ideas and he presents the ideas to Vince but he doesn't decide for the main roster like he does in NXT and he only does in NXT because Vince allows it. Every so often, reports used to come out alleging that talent was confused because they were getting different messages. They'd be told what the plan was for them by Triple H, or someone sent from Triple H, but then, maybe later the day or even a few days later, someone else would then tell them what was going on for them and it'd be different from what they'd already been told. Triple H has a lot of influence with Vince because Vince does respect him and because he's Vince's son in law, but even Triple H has to be a bit careful because Vince is still his boss.

Even if Vince decided to give up his position as CEO and spend the rest of his life just relaxing, Vince will still wield a great deal of influence. While this might sound a bit conspiracy theory-ish, Vince would still be WWE's single largest stockholder, by far, and that's something that'd probably be taken into consideration if Vince told them he was unhappy with what was going on.

It's also possible that the WWE Board of Directors could lose confidence in him and, if there were enough votes, vote him out of his position as CEO but the odds of that are infinitesimally small at this point. WWE took in some $730 million in revenue last year, up from about $658 million or so from 2015, which was up from about $580+ million in 2014. WWE is making more money than ever before and that is ultimately what company executives and stockholders care about, so Vince won't be getting voted out.

Generally speaking, I'm not sure that Triple H will be the singular guy in power the way Vince has been. I could see Shane and Stephanie handling the corporate aspect of things while Triple H finally gets full creative control over the product itself but I ultimately don't see Vince stepping down anytime soon unless he's forced to because of health problems that arise.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

However, as an aside, far too many people are placing all of the blame on Vince recently, as if they expect some sort of super miracle if HHH was given more power, whilst failing to consider any external variables in a loss of interest, viewership and a poorer product.

WWE will never be "perfect" because it's impossible. Different fans are going to have different ideas on what they think is "perfect" and there's no way to completely satisfy everyone. Mistakes such as pushing the wrong person or something coming off not nearly as good in application as it looked on paper are always going to pop up sometimes. However, people see what Triple H has done in NXT and I think it's natural for fans, myself included, to have faith that he has the ability to implement positive changes for the main roster just as he has for WWE's developmental system.

The reason why people blame Vince is because Vince puts himself in that position. Vince is the micromanager, Vince is the one who wants meticulous control over every aspect of the business, Vince is the one who is the true, 100% decision maker on we see week. If he wants that level of control, then the buck stops with him. A few years back when he was on the Stone Cold podcast on the WWE Network, he was raked over the coals by fans and insiders alike because he refused to accept any share of the blame for negative issues; instead, he practically buried the entire roster by laying all the blame there. The reason he was so criticized afterward is because it was such a disingenuous interview and his response of blaming everyone else flew in the face of what everyone had known for years: Vince has to approve of everything from a wrestler's ring name, entrance music, what they say on the microphone, what they can and can't do inside the ring.

Dictators historically get blamed for all the various wrongs that happen during their time in command and Vince McMahon is a dictator. He's proud of it, he embraces it and he accepts it but he doesn't take any responsibility when something goes off the rails yet he's more than glad to take all the credit when things do work out and are working out.

 

[Wildcat66]

As has been said, I think the only realistic answer is when Vince either passes away or is simply medically unfit to be THE final voice in what happens. The reports of Triple H's frustrations aren't anything new, they've been popping up periodically now for several years; see, Triple H is supposed to be the guy that's in charge of WWE's creative aspect of things and he is in name only. Even though it's in his job title, he's not really in charge of creative, Vince is because he ultimately has the final say. If anything, he's sort of the intermediary between the creative teams and Vince; he often may help the teams come up with ideas and he presents the ideas to Vince but he doesn't decide for the main roster like he does in NXT and he only does in NXT because Vince allows it. Every so often, reports used to come out alleging that talent was confused because they were getting different messages. They'd be told what the plan was for them by Triple H, or someone sent from Triple H, but then, maybe later the day or even a few days later, someone else would then tell them what was going on for them and it'd be different from what they'd already been told. Triple H has a lot of influence with Vince because Vince does respect him and because he's Vince's son in law, but even Triple H has to be a bit careful because Vince is still his boss.

Even if Vince decided to give up his position as CEO and spend the rest of his life just relaxing, Vince will still wield a great deal of influence. While this might sound a bit conspiracy theory-ish, Vince would still be WWE's single largest stockholder, by far, and that's something that'd probably be taken into consideration if Vince told them he was unhappy with what was going on.

It's also possible that the WWE Board of Directors could lose confidence in him and, if there were enough votes, vote him out of his position as CEO but the odds of that are infinitesimally small at this point. WWE took in some $730 million in revenue last year, up from about $658 million or so from 2015, which was up from about $580+ million in 2014. WWE is making more money than ever before and that is ultimately what company executives and stockholders care about, so Vince won't be getting voted out.

Generally speaking, I'm not sure that Triple H will be the singular guy in power the way Vince has been. I could see Shane and Stephanie handling the corporate aspect of things while Triple H finally gets full creative control over the product itself but I ultimately don't see Vince stepping down anytime soon unless he's forced to because of health problems that arise.

In retrospect, I might have killed the thread on accident when I said the answer shouldn't be when he dies/retires/leaves via deus ex machina. It was one of those 'heat of the moment' posts you make when you want to make your voices heard, but you haven't thought it out yet. It's probably just me; but I get kind of tired of hearing rumors about Triple H being 'frustrated' with Vince. It feels like blatant clickbait for smarks and like you said, isn't new at all. It's been happening for years, Triple H pushes the storylines, Vince ultimately has the final say. I'm sure that if the roles were reversed, Vince would be the one that was frustrated at Triple H for wasting 'his hard work'.

 

[rmp0012002]

I believe he has his successor already planned but it's going to be a situation like his father where he had failing health. Vince loves being the boss and as long as he's breathing he will be calling the shots.

 

[jachba]

I believe he has his successor already planned but it's going to be a situation like his father where he had failing health. Vince loves being the boss and as long as he's breathing he will be calling the shots.

A failing health situation won't happen any time soon. In a recent interview Triple H said that Vince's workout regimen is so intense that even he won't wok out with him (sorry I don't have a link).

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Never.

Stephanie is the next in line to take over WWE and even if Vince dies, I'm afraid we'll see an in-between period where someone else has control of the company.

But HHH will never take it.

 

[Phenomenal]

I think HHH has been in charge for at least couple of years now, he's made wrestling more irrelevant than Vince could ever do after buying WCW.

HHH doesn't have leadership skills, he panders to the marks and has not created a star and never will from the looks of it. Most of the wrestlers he signs are jobbers or mid-card at best, no wrestler under him will ever draw a dime, he needs to take a book out if his father in laws book.

Look how many mega-stars and box office draws Vince produced - Hogan, Andre, Dusty, Warrior, Savage, Austin, Rock, Cena, Brock, Batista... I'm sure there are more.

 

[stingray11214]

Even if Trips WANTED to run WWE, the Board will NEVER give him the keys for one very simple reason: He doe NOT have a Degree. Since WWE is publicly traded, that will speak volumes. The next Chair of WWE will be Shane, period. His experience in building YOU on Demand for the Chinese market will be the selling point. Stephanie is not liked by the money people. Some still remember $500,000 growing legs and walking out of WWF New York under her watch. Chief Brand Officer is a "feel good" title that puts Stephanie in her strengths: Building partnerships. If Trips runs ANYTHING, it will be on the Talent Relations end.

When does all this happen? Probably when Vince drops dead or becomes incapacitated to a point where the Board will remove him. If it happens, Paul Levesque gets two votes: His and Stephs. Shane gets everything else.

 

[thebarber]

From most reports, Brian James is making the final decisions at Smackdown, Vince doesnt go to Smackdown anymore.
Vince is so out of touch, HHH is trying to produce great talent in NXT, then getting misused on Raw/ Finn Balor stuck with Elias Samson??? Reigns vs Strowman still? Rollins vs Wyatt??Havent we seen all of these over and over???? Cass will get a small push, Revival will get the tag belts from Cesaro/Sheamus in good time. I get a feeling things are stale as batshit as there is something big around the corner on Raw. I see HHH returning and forming a NXT faction, with a heel turn for Balor, Cass and Revival doing HHH bidding.

 

[Goldie]

Now that Shane is back with WWE won't he be a candidate?
Though I'm not sure what kind of role he has backstage these days?

For a long time he was earmarked as Vinces eventual successor... but then left in 2009 to chair another company away from wrestling. There were rumours circulating that he was unhappy with the power and leverage HHH and Steph had gained.

But now Shane is back... surely Vince would rather give the reigns to his son rather than his son-in-law?

 

[neildittmar]

And I don't want a bs answer like, "When Vince McMahon retires/dies/whatever excuse we have for writing Vince McMahon out of WWE" that isn't going to fly.

The answer you don't want is likely the only answer that has wings.

Vince only steps aside completely when he feels that he can no longer produce characters / angles / television in his vision. Either that, or until his health is at a point where he doesn't possess the physical / mental faculties to continue... or, of course, when he's dead.

Paul Heyman said it best when he talked about Vince being such a competitor... competing with his own sneezes. Paraphrasing, he intimated that one must fight and claw and tear for every single inch of turf you hope to take from him. If this was true when it came to rival companies over the years, why would it not be true when his role as the "final say" in WWE is concerned?

 

[THTRobtaylor]

A lot of people saying when Vince is medically unfit but I don't think that's strictly gonna be true.

Vince will stop when he can no longer live up to the monster schedule he has created for himself over the years... much of WWE has been built on his near legendary level of commitment..."first in, last to leave...only sleeping 2 hours a night...doesn't expect anyone to do what HE doesn't..."

Once he can't do that anymore, be that age, health or even just because HE feels he's lost a step...that's when he'll stop running the company. Once thing I doubt he'd ever want to be is a hypocrite. If he can't run at "Titan Training" pace, then he will just stop... he won't slow down or be seen to slow down.


When he tore his quads, that could have been the signal very easily for the end of his character...or when there are very real concerns about his sight for example both times could have been the time we stopped seeing Vince ONSCREEN... one thing is certain, if the time comes where he can't BE Mr. McMahon physically, we won't see him on camera again...He won't ever want to be seen as "that guy who stayed around old..." He'd hate to be seen in the same way as a tragic figure like Bobby Heenan is now, even if he was 100.

Backstage, Vince has other concerns... there are shareholders who will be monitoring him closely, looking for signs of weakness to oust him. Perception is everything, so once Vince can't DO that schedule or feels he is putting blood in the water is when he steps aside in favor of...

Shane.

Sorry Trips, Sorry Steph... neither of you is equipped to do it... even though you manouvered for over a decade to get it.

Shane's masterstroke was walking when and how he did... he pulled his money out, took it to China and made that sum bigger, making crucial contacts for WWE in the process. If they want to expand into China, it's Shane they will want to deal with, not Vince, Steph or Trips... Shane also spent time with one of the major talent agencies, learning how the REAL talent business works... principles that he can use to "update" WWE's antiquated and bizarre practices for a modern company. Much of what happens in WWE would see them crucified if it was another show, much less a traded company like Uber.

Shane is seen by Wall Street as the safest pair of hands... he gets enough about the business to make it work AND how REAL business works, something Vince has relied on Linda for in the past so he could focus on the product.

Steph has a role to play, replacing Linda as the "influencer" of the company, behind the scenes and you can see her doing it now. She's open about being "two faced" with a character on TV and the real Steph being different in interviews, the one on This Morning in the UK a few weeks back shows what she'll be doing.

Trips will be the guy running TV and the day to day operations as a COO should... He, Shane, Steph and probably Regal will likely be the main management team... I can see Regal being the "top guy" backstage ahead of Hayes and the like with the rest of the board being the business types they have now.

Vince won't go unless he feels he has to... but those drivers are not gonna be cos WE or Wall Street think he's lost it... it's going to be whether he feels he has.

 

[multiverseman.com]

Quite frankly, most of the conventional thinking with regards to this is probably wrong.

HHH will never be fully in charge of WWE. In my opinion of course.

The days of one guy running the company with an iron fist die with Vince. After Vince it will probably be group of people, the leaders of which will be the McMahon family who will have a controlling interest. Vince's shares will likely go mostly to Stephanie and her kids. She'll have the most amount of say. She'll likely defer to Triple H to run creative/TV and talent the way he sees fit. She'll become CEO.

Linda, Shane and his family probably get the rest and be on the board of directors. They'll likely get a say, but not a ton. Shane will be on the outside looking in like he always has.

Shane.

Sorry Trips, Sorry Steph... neither of you is equipped to do it... even though you manouvered for over a decade to get it.

Shane's masterstroke was walking when and how he did... he pulled his money out, took it to China and made that sum bigger, making crucial contacts for WWE in the process. If they want to expand into China, it's Shane they will want to deal with, not Vince, Steph or Trips... Shane also spent time with one of the major talent agencies, learning how the REAL talent business works... principles that he can use to "update" WWE's antiquated and bizarre practices for a modern company. Much of what happens in WWE would see them crucified if it was another show, much less a traded company like Uber.

Shane is seen by Wall Street as the safest pair of hands... he gets enough about the business to make it work AND how REAL business works, something Vince has relied on Linda for in the past so he could focus on the product.

Uh....no.

Shane's Chinese company failed. He tried admirably, but that experiment didn't work. There are no new streaming in-roads to China and there probably won't be for a long time. It's too complicated to navigate and too much politics and beaurocracy to cut through. All that company has done is lose alot of money.

Stephanie will become CEO just like everyone predicts because she'll have the backing, the shares, and the votes. This isn't really even a hard puzzle to solve.