Should the HHH/Steph regime storyline trump other stories going on right now?

[It's...Baylariat!]

After Raw this past Monday, I've come to the conclusion that there's a full fledged goat rodeo taking place with HHH/Stephanie vs. the world. Why? Because some of the world's not involved. CM Punk's involved with Paul Heyman, the Diva's are in their own world, and other 'role players' (Barrett, Del Rio, Axel, etc) aren't super involved either.

To me, for this to work as well as it needs to, this story should involve everybody. It should involve Del Rio and him being kept WHC because of his appeal to the Latino market, and screwing AJ out of the Diva's title because she's not what's 'best for business' and putting the belt on one of the Bella's or Total Diva cast members. Make Punk a focal point of frustration, too due to his 'Anti-HHH' ways in the past.

What are your thoughts on this? Should this only include a select few members of the WWE and have other stories still go on, or should this HHH/Steph regime transcend everything else?

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

So what you're saying is you want HHH and/or Stephanie to be involved in every segment... Yeah, that won't get old fast.

Frankly, in their current role, it's not even 100% clear if they're heels or faces. Maybe they should figure that out before they try and get involved in anything else.

I don't mean to knock on your original idea, Lariat, as how you proposed to use each individual in the storyline works (clearly Punk has issues with the establishment), but to involve one character or set of characters in every aspect of the show makes things get boring and monotonous. Fast.

I see where you're coming from and, from a realistic standpoint, it makes a lot of sense. From an entertainment standpoint, it seems like a bad move.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I don't think it should touch everyone in the way you described for numerous reasons. Fire Marshall Bill made a good point on how old it will get and that's very true. I know a handful of people in my area that like to watch wrestling but have actually stopped for the time being and the answer I get every single time is "I've seen this storyline before, I've seen the McMahon's and Triple H running the company before, I don't care to see it again". The fact is a lot of people are turned off by the corrupt leader that has dominated WWE television since the end of '97, a lot of people got over it long before they knew who Daniel Bryan was so they don't want to watch a repeat. Don't get me wrong, I think the story line has been alright so far, I think it will serve its purpose but I see too much of Triple H in a week as it is, I don't know if I can handle much more of him on a weekly basis.

The biggest reason why this is such an issue is simple: What about the people who don't want to watch Triple H and Steph? That's a very important thing to remember because not only is wrestling a soap opera its also a variety show, you got jobbers getting the crap kicked out of them, you got a main event match, you got hot women doing their thing, you got comedy in Santino, you got some segments about different things, you got a spotfest and a nice, old school, strong match, in short if you don't like the comedy of Santino you still got other stuff to watch. I know that you would still have variety but if Triple H and Steph have their hand in every single pot within the WWE then that variety just seems like everything else on the roster and that becomes a huge problem. One of the best things about wrestling is the amount of variety 1 show gives and it would be unwise to tamper with that, its actually the reason why I can't watch a whole episode of Impact. I don't know if it still happens but there was a long stretch of time where Hogan or Sting would pop up every 15 minutes and every time I saw either guy I changed the channel because I was sick of seeing them, if I saw them once an episode for 5 minutes it would be different but that wasn't the case, it was overkill and turned me off from the product . That's essentially what you are doing with Triple H if you have him on TV that much, you are turning people away from the show because its just too much of him (not to mention Triple H has always been best in small doses).

I'm all for realism in wrestling but a lot of times realism doesn't equate to good television, if the realism tampers with the quality of the product then its best not to be realistic.

 

[ecwsux~!]

That sounds pretty Russoesque where you have the whole roster as part of a main storyline. It's overkill and it doesn't help anything, you need to keep the angle simple if you put too much into it, it will confuse people.

 

[Mac Attack]

I don't want to repeat everything that everyone else has said but logically that make a ton of sense, however unless we're setting up a 3 hour every heel on the roster versus every face on the roster survivor series elimination match it doesn't make entertainment sense. The last time they tried using the entire locker room for a storyline like this it ended with disappointment. I think avoid that and keep it targeted. There's no reason for everyone to get involved cause then it just be Monday Night HHH. There's no flow to that. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

The thing is, if the corporation is involved in what's best for business, then the logical thing to do is micromanage everything that's going on.

It can become redundant if done the wrong way, but there are ways to make it exciting and see folks like CM Punk, Bryan, Zack Ryder, and Ziggler unite against the machine of Shield, Del Rio, Axel, Heyman, etc. If you make the story last until Survivor Series - which is less than two months from now - then it can become intriguing with a great payoff for a major PPV.

The thing is to not let the draw out until Wrestlemania. If that happens, then my proposition would become monotonous and long-winded. Make it short-term, and move on to something else before Wrestlemania. There are so many things that can happen storyline wise between Survivor Series and Wrestlemania, which includes the Royal Rumble.

 

[MCMG]

Not necessarily the entire roster should be directly involved but they can make reference to it in every aspect of WWE. Injuries to many key names has a negative effect on this storyline in two aspects: 1) there is a clear lack of star-power after HHH and Orton. 2) The "other" feuds and storylines aren't as interesting. Now, when some of these names return everything should fall into place and HHH will be able to boss bigger names and Bryan will have greater support. Secondly, R-Truth and Zack Ryder won't ever be allowed to main-event Raw again.

I personally think that, for example, CM Punk should be directly or indirectly involved in this storyline. However, if he started feuding with HHH/Orton/The Shield then there isn't much else of relevance going on. After Kane and hopefully one of Sheamus, Cena, Jericho, Taker return then the WWE can have interesting storlylines outwith the main angle. Moreover, it will make Triple H's quest for control more interesting.

As it stands, the WWE has to keep some storylines separate but as time passes and we move closer to the Road to Wrestlemania they should gradually start to merge. Even if some feuds are built on proving themselves to HHH and Steph it will make the entire main angle look more effective.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It wouldn't bother me to have HHH/Steph more involved but I don't find it to be necessary. The WWE Title is the main title draw for the company and that is where their focus should mainly lie. The other titles are just filler.

I do think it is very logical for HHH/Steph not to be involved with Heyman/Punk. Logically HHH and Steph's ego and pride are too big to accept Heyman in to their circle. Having Heyman and Punk feud/kill each other is also logically best for business since it is entertaining and keeps Punk out of the WWE Title picture (I can't see HHH naming Punk as the face of WWE whether face or heel). Plus why would HHH/Steph want to make an enemy of Punk? He a threat that is better pre-occupied with other things.

In the end, despite the heel tactics maybe their point really is about "what is best for business" and what is best for business is accomplished by stirring up shit where there is nothing interesting going on.

 

[Stinger]

After Raw this past Monday, I've come to the conclusion that there's a full fledged goat rodeo taking place with HHH/Stephanie vs. the world. Why? Because some of the world's not involved. CM Punk's involved with Paul Heyman, the Diva's are in their own world, and other 'role players' (Barrett, Del Rio, Axel, etc) aren't super involved either.

To me, for this to work as well as it needs to, this story should involve everybody. It should involve Del Rio and him being kept WHC because of his appeal to the Latino market, and screwing AJ out of the Diva's title because she's not what's 'best for business' and putting the belt on one of the Bella's or Total Diva cast members. Make Punk a focal point of frustration, too due to his 'Anti-HHH' ways in the past.

What are your thoughts on this? Should this only include a select few members of the WWE and have other stories still go on, or should this HHH/Steph regime transcend everything else?

I think your AJ scenario may very well happen, which I'd be frustrated to see and I'd like that scenario more if the Bellas were still heels. But part of me likes the idea of a heel screwing another heel out of a title.

I don't think that someone like Punk needs to be involved in this, at least not until his feud with Heyman et. al is over because he's already had a similar feud with Triple H. I think Punk should get involved though to be on Team Bryan eventually to back up Bryan as this feud continues to manifest (Punk could say something along the lines of "remember when you said I couldn't be THE FACE of the WWE? Well, Bryan comes from the same place I came from, he can also be THE FACE of the WWE!").

Quite frankly though, I like the way Triple H and Stephanie are kind of making cameo appearances in different wrestlers lives right now. For example, the chat that Steph had with AJ on Raw, Triple H telling RVD he'd give him another title shot, Triple H telling Axel he had to wrestle Kofi, Steph telling the Big Show to knockout the Miz. I like the way the WWE is handling it so far. I don't want them to overdo it.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Personally, if Punk was involved in this storyline, it could probably be the best thing going on in the WWE for so many years, possibly even in its entire history. Punk is rebellious in his nature, and his ability to cut promos and give the intensity and feeling into what he says and believes in, would make it really awesome. No disrespect to Bryan, I know this storyline is there to promote mainly Bryan and secondary every other guy that is involved (Ziggler, Rhodes, Shield etc) and that Punk might overshadow anyone else, including Bryan, but it is so natural for Punk to be involved. The McMahon-HHH vs Punk history is there, so it wouldn't be unnatural to start a story.

Punk's feud with Heyman is really entertaining and helps elevate rising stars like Axel and Ryback, but a top-rated Superstar feuding with a manager is kinda "stupid", if you get this the way I have it in my head. Eventually, Punk and Heyman will have told so many stories to the point where it will just get repeated all the time and it won't be as interesting. Frankly, the only reason I still enjoy and like this angle is because Punk and Heyman are there to make it interesting.
Anyway, I got a bit sidetracked. The company getting involved in every storyline / feud has a logical base to it, after all it's their company and they want to have their top choice guy to every position. I don't know if it will get repeatitive and therefore boring, having HHH hogging so much spotlight to announce decisions, but on the other hand, having every single Superstar being involved in one single main storyline with slight variations to it / sub-storylines is most probably gonna get stale.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to go with Fire Marshall Bill on this. Triple H & Stephanie are already featured pretty heavily on Raw and SmackDown!. A good number of internet fans are already complaining that they're featured too much as it is though, to be fair, it's not as if a lot of the IWC needs any real reason to bitch about anything at any given time. I personally like that "everyone" isn't included in this angle and I don't necessarily believe they need to be.

As far as whether they're heels or faces, I think it's pretty obvious that they're heels operating under the guise of "impartial" and even benevolent executives. Often times, a character's role can be defined based on who they're up against. In this particular case, Triple H & Stephanie initially targeted Daniel Bryan, who is arguably the most over babyface in wrestling right now. Fans WANT him to succeed and the fact that the executives have screwed him repeatedly out of the WWE Championship while condescendingly telling everyone they did it because it was "best for business." Now they've expanded into people like Big Show by airing his "dirty laundry" in public with the "you're broke" aspect of the angle while continuing to insinuate he's in major financial trouble. As a result, he does what they tell him or he's fired. Again, it's easy to dislike someone who does this. Then they've targeted The Rhodes family, initially by unjustly "firing" Cody Rhodes only days before he gets married. Then, they go to include Goldust, AKA Dustin Rhodes, and they bring up his past mistakes & failures in his personal life to belittle & degrade him after failing to "win" back Cody's job. Finally, they target Dusty Rhodes, one of the most celebrated stars in pro wrestling of the past 50 years, who also happens to be a 68 year old father & grandfather. They "insult" him and his entire family before Big Show is ordered to "knock him out" or The Shield will take him apart using steel chairs. If Show doesn't do it, he gets "fired" and he has to endure watching a man he has profound respect for get ravage by 3 men 40 years younger than he is. They've taken it a little further still by targeting some wrestlers who they feel have been "disrespectful" in their comments, namely Dolph Ziggler & The Miz. To a lesser degree, other wrestlers who have "criticized" them or "stood up" to them have felt their wrath, or implied wrath, like The Usos and Rob Van Dam. I know that Triple H isn't always going around growling, snorting, breathing fire, shooting lightning bolts from his ass or whatever it is people think that heels are always supposed to do, but the notion that he & Stephanie can be defined as anything other than heels strikes me as being on the nitpicking side of things.

 

[BestIntheWWE]

I think it will eventually become one huge storyline which involves everyone. It already kind of does, with how HHH treats and orders around the entire roster. It will start with a few heels switching over to HHH's side and his corporation growing bigger to take on the faces. I think it will eventually come down to a "you're on my side or on theirs" type of situation which would force the roster to choose a side. It would be one huge storyline with many spinoff fueds