Is Triple H Leaving and Preparing to Say Goodbye to the WWE Universe?

By Liam Crowley

The future of WWE is in flux. Following WWE's sale to Endeavor, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque appeared on Monday Night Raw to assure fans that the company that "you know and love" was here to stay. Just minutes later, reports surfaced that Raw had undergone significant changes both ahead of the broadcast going on the air as well as as it was happening in real time. To the surprise of few, these changes were instated by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Prior to his brief retirement, Vince ran all aspects of WWE: corporate and creative. While he had a team of writers to help flesh out storylines, Vince always retained final say and often utilized that privilege at the midnight hour. Matches got changed, results were switched, and entire segments were scrapped on a regular basis. Upon hanging up his boots, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan took hold of Vince's corporate duties while Triple H picked up creative responsibilities.

The next six months would see WWE reach some of its highest mainstream popularity in years. The company set attendance and revenue records in numerous iconic venues as an added emphasis was put on long-term storytelling. Internal morale was so strong that WWE once again became the place to be, as evident by the dozen-plus returns of former champions.

Things began to get precarious in January, when Vince forced his way back onto the board of directors in an effort to assist with a sale of the company. Despite WWE being in no rush to sell, Vince insisted that the time to execute the move was now, and he spent the next three months shopping his product to potential suitors. This change had some corporate casualties, namely in the form of then-Chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon, who resigned just days after her father's return. Corporate shake-ups aside, Triple H remained in creative control.

Once WWE went under Endeavor's umbrella, Vince seemingly regained all the powers he had before his retirement, and then some. Nevertheless, he insisted that he would not be "in the weeds" of WWE creative, but Monday's Raw casts significant doubt on that statement's validity.

After multiple days of negative headlines, WWE appears poised to address the situation head-on this Friday on WWE SmackDown. The company announced that Triple H would appear once more on WWE programming this week, showing face on WWE SmackDown to "address the WWE universe."

What this appearance will hold is anyone's guess. In the past, WWE had advertised backstage talent for on-screen appearances when they are in the midst of behind-the-scenes drama just for that talent to speak politically to the audience in attendance. This was especially evident during a June 2022 broadcast of WWE SmackDown, as WWE announced that Vince himself would speak on the show just hours after the alleged sexual misconduct report against him came out. Vince did show up but made no mention of the allegations, instead proclaiming that WWE was "then, now, and forever" before returning backstage to thunderous applause.

Triple H's SmackDown appearance could be just that: a rousing speech to WWE fans that does not directly acknowledge the backstage woes. Considering there is currently a fan campaign on social media to have "Fire Vince" chants throughout the SmackDown broadcast, Triple H's appearance might be just a way to distract those in attendance from taking over the show.

That said, what if it's more? What if just one year after he opened WWE WrestleMania 38 to ceremoniously leave his boots in the ring, Triple H leaves his headset in the squared circle, symbolically ending his WWE career completely?

As unlikely as a Triple H exit seems, it is worth noting that 53-year-old has often professed that he does not plan on working for WWE forever, teasing that he wants to walk away at some point in his 60s. While that period of his life is still many years away, his complete retirement may have been accelerated by recent backstage shifts.

Triple H leaving WWE completely is what many would consider a worst case scenario, and while it is a real possibility, it's not one that seems probable. Much of that doubt is due to the fact that he is getting a televised segment, and it's unlikely that Vince would allow such an ill-timed exit to be so publicly stated. After all, Stephanie spent just as much time as Triple H in WWE, and she walked away with a little more than a whisper.

The options for what Triple H will discuss are truly limitless, but one last speculated possibility lies in a WWE Draft. WWE typically resets its Raw and SmackDown rosters every year, but has not officially reshuffled the decks since October 2021. Despite multiple undisputed champions making brand crossovers much more frequent these days, WWE still has the majority of its talent exclusive to their specific shows. Another WWE Draft would allow for more fresh matchups and an overall reset on a product that is teetering on becoming stale.

Triple H's WWE SmackDown appearance goes down this Friday at 8 PM ET on Fox.

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