Triple H

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WWE Reportedly Interested in Doing More Viral Campaigns

On the heels of the success of the White Rabbit teasers leading up to the return of Bray Wyatt at Extreme Rules, WWE is reportedly already thinking about doing similar viral marketing campaigns in the future.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Saksham Bartsch of Ringside News), people within WWE are happy about the buzz the White Rabbit teasers generated, and they have interest in following a similar formula in the future even if Wyatt isn't involved.

It was also noted that head of creative Triple H is far more open to such ideas than Vince McMahon was during his time in charge.

In the weeks prior to Extreme Rules, WWE dropped several clues on Raw and SmackDown in the form of QR codes that fans could scan. They would then be shown the White Rabbit and any other cryptic information WWE wanted to relay.

It all led up to the highly anticipated return of Wyatt at Extreme Rules, and the clues have continued to pop up since then as well.

There is still a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to Wyatt and his character, and more clues may help fans peel back the layers even more and ensure that Wyatt continues to be a hot topic of conversation.

The White Rabbit teases undoubtedly got the WWE fanbase buzzing, and it perhaps helped make Wyatt's return even more special since fans were hoping it would be him.

Creating intrigue is one of the most important things in pro wrestling, and WWE is now fully aware that it is capable of doing that in a unique way.

Road Dogg Talks Wyatt's WWE Return

Count WWE Senior Vice President of Live Events Brian "Road Dogg" James among those who were not privy to Bray Wyatt's WWE return until it happened.

During a discussion on his Oh... You Didn't Know? podcast (h/t Manik Aftab of Ringside News), Road Dogg discussed being surprised by Wyatt's return and enjoying the fact that he wasn't aware ahead of time:

"It was done so well and it [was] just a visual roller-coaster ride. I am not in that, those inner circles anymore that talk about creative, so I honestly did not know he was coming back. I love it. I love not knowing. There is something very liberating about being ignorant … Not knowing everything is cool sometimes, because then you get surprised, and so I think that's the age-old argument about spoilers."

Like many fans, Road Dogg may have assumed that the White Rabbit teasers were related to Wyatt, but nobody knew for certain until he showed up at Extreme Rules.

Wyatt was shockingly released last year amid a deluge of budget cuts, and he remained a free agent for more than a year before returning to WWE under the new leadership regime of Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan.

While Wyatt has long been lauded for his creativity and promo ability, it can be argued that his first WWE run didn't reach the heights it should have because of a lack of synergy between his ideas and what played out on television.

Triple H is seemingly more willing to be collaborative with talent than Vince McMahon might have been, which could mean Wyatt is in a better position to succeed than ever before.

Even with Wyatt officially back in the fold, there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding what the plans are for him among fans, and based on Road Dogg's comments, that may be true of people in the company as well.

Escobar Responds to Dominik Mysterio's Declaration

Legado del Fantasma member Santos Escobar took issue with something Dominik Mysterio said Monday night on Raw.

During a heel promo by The Judgment Day, Dominik took the mic and called himself "this generation's Eddie Guerrero." Escobar made it clear on Twitter that he didn't agree:

No. https://t.co/yeGpHTYaMh

— SANTOS ESCOBAR💀🇲🇽 (@EscobarWWE) October 25, 2022

Dominik, who is the son of legendary luchador Rey Mysterio, was close to Guerrero as a child. Guerrero and Rey were best friends, and Dominik referred to him as his Uncle Eddie.

Guerrero died in 2005 at the age of 38, and his passing remains one of the most tragic losses in wrestling history to this day.

Many current wrestlers list Guerrero as one of their greatest inspirations, including Sasha Banks and Escobar.

Although Escobar plays a heel on SmackDown alongside Zelina Vega, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro, even he couldn't stand idly by and watch Dominik compare himself to an all-time great.

While Legado del Fantasma and The Judgment Day are on different brands presently, Escobar's tweet could always be something WWE goes back to at some point if it wants to start a rivalry between the two factions.

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Road Dogg Reportedly Ran Monday's Raw

Someone from within Triple H's inner circle reportedly led the way backstage during Monday night's episode of Raw.

PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson reported that Triple H was not present for Raw on Monday because he tested positive for COVID-19.

Since Vince McMahon retired in July, Triple H has been the head of creative and vice president of talent relations, and he has been at the Gorilla position for both Raw and SmackDown.

Per Johnson, Road Dogg was the "point person" for Raw with Triple H unable to be there in person. WWE parted ways with Road Dogg earlier this year, but when Triple H took over, he brought Road Dogg back in August as the senior vice president of live events.

Road Dogg previously worked closely with Triple H in NXT, and they also teamed up for years in WWE as performers when they were members of D-Generation X.

In addition to Road Dogg, Johnson reported that writers Ed Koskey and Michael Hayes helped lead the creative team at Raw.

Bruce Prichard normally would have been second in command during McMahon's tenure, but he was not present at Raw due to a previously planned vacation, per Johnson.

Even though Triple H was not at Raw, the show seemed to run smoothly, as it started with a brawl between Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley and ended with an entertaining United States Championship match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle.

It isn't yet known if Triple H will be cleared to attend Friday's SmackDown, but if he isn't, it seems likely Road Dogg will be at the helm once again.

Omos and MVP Reportedly Moved to SmackDown

The combination of Omos and MVP is reportedly slated to primarily be part of a different brand moving forward.

According to Johnson, the plan is for Omos and MVP to appear regularly on SmackDown despite previously being part of the Raw roster.

Omos and MVP appeared in the crowd during a Braun Strowman squash match on last week's SmackDown, seemingly setting the stage for an eventual match between the two behemoths.

On Monday's Raw, MVP cut a promo alongside Omos backstage, but that was likely a pre-taped segment that didn't actually require them to be present at Raw.

Per Johnson, Strowman vs. Omos is "penciled in" for Crown Jewel, which takes place on Nov. 5 in Saudi Arabia.

Omos and Strowman are two of the tallest and most physically impressive Superstars in WWE, so it makes sense to put them in a feud against each other.

Since ending his feud with Bobby Lashley, Omos has primarily wrestled in squash matches. The same is true for Strowman, who recently returned to the company after getting released last year.

Omos vs. Strowman will be far from a technical masterpiece, but it should be a fun attraction that will capture the attention of fans.

If booked carefully, perhaps it could even lead to Omos and Strowman gaining respect for each other and agreeing to team up with MVP serving as their mouthpiece.

Rousey Says Thumbtacks are Banned from WWE Programming

SmackDown women's champion Ronda Rousey revealed during her "Baddest Stream on the Planet" YouTube stream last week that her idea for the finish to her Extreme Rules match against Liv Morgan was shot down due to an internal WWE rule.

While speaking on the stream (h/t WrestlingInc's Colby Applegate), Rousey noted that she wanted to do a spot involving thumbtacks:

"Yeah, actually. I pitched the finish to be thumbtacks. [Morgan] would put down thumbtacks and powerbomb me onto the thumbtacks. Then as a repeat of our finish before, I would go for the armbar in the thumbtacks, but they would start counting the pin. Then I'd have to push up on my one shoulder into the thumbtacks to keep the armbar on. Then Liv would be biting her hand trying not to tap, and then pass out face down into the thumbtacks with her hand there to protect her face."

Rousey added that when the idea was turned down, she was told that it was for legal reasons since WWE Superstars are not permitted to purposely cut their skin so as to remain in compliance with the PG rating.

WWE took a much safer route with the finish to the match, as Rousey made Morgan pass out in a submission to become the new SmackDown women's champion.

Although the thumbtack spot would have created more buzz, Rousey was made to look strong in the victory, as was Morgan, since she had a smile on her face as she passed out.

Rousey's negativity toward the crowd after beating Morgan suggests she will be firmly portrayed as a heel moving forward, which has typically been her best role during her time in WWE.

The biggest challenge for WWE moving forward as it relates to Rousey will be finding her credible opponents and building storylines that the fans can get invested in.

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Triple H Taking Note of White Rabbit Buzz

WWE's recent "White Rabbit" tease has left fans talking and speculating to a huge degree on social media, and WWE head of creative Triple H is reportedly paying attention.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc's Phil Hall), merchandise related to the White Rabbit has been selling well in addition to the buzz the viral campaign has created, and Triple H has interest in doing something similar in the future.

The marketing campaign began this month when WWE started playing the Jefferson Airplane song "White Rabbit" during breaks in the action at live events and episodes of Raw and SmackDown.

Since then, QR codes have appeared on Raw and SmackDown, leading interested viewers to scan them and come across more potential clues regarding what or who the White Rabbit is.

While many theories have been bandied about, the most popular one is that Bray Wyatt is the White Rabbit and is poised to make his WWE return in the near future—perhaps as soon as Extreme Rules next weekend.

Despite being a three-time world champion and one of WWE's most popular Superstars, Wyatt was shockingly released last year amid a flurry of talent releases that were framed as budget cuts.

Since Vince McMahon retired and Triple H replaced him as head of creative in July, however, he has brought back several wrestlers who were released or not re-signed by the company.

Given Wyatt's status as the biggest star available to any wrestling company currently, it seems likely that Triple H would like to have him back.

Wrestling fans generally love being surprised and enjoy the opportunity to speculate and fantasy book scenarios, and the White Rabbit idea has satisfied all of those desires.

If the campaign turns out to be a success, there is no reason why WWE can't continue to do similar things in the future.

Robert Roode Undergoes Surgery

Robert Roode took to Instagram on Thursday to announce that he underwent surgery at Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama.

Bobby Roode underwent a procedure today in Birmingham, Alabama. Get well soon. pic.twitter.com/X6iXUXmhtq

— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) September 29, 2022

Roode did not provide any specifics on the nature of the surgery or the timetable for his return, but he noted that he hoped it was successful and thanked those who took care of him in Alabama.

The 46-year-old Roode hadn't wrestled at a live event since June and hadn't had a televised match since April, leaving fans to wonder where he was. Those questions were seemingly answered Thursday.

Prior to apparently getting injured, Roode was primarily teaming with Dolph Ziggler, and he backed up Ziggler on a couple of occasions in March when Ziggler was NXT champion and feuding with Bron Breakker.

Roode is a former NXT champion in his own right, plus he has held the United States, Raw Tag Team and SmackDown Tag Team Championships during his WWE tenure.

Before signing with WWE in 2016, Roode was best known for his success in Impact Wrestling, where he was a two-time world champion and eight-time tag team champion.

Roode wasn't much of a factor in the weeks and months leading up to his surgery, but his greatest success in WWE came under Triple H's leadership in WWE.

That suggests Roode could be in store for a push when he returns since Triple H is now the head of WWE creative.

Kaiser Shoots Down Rumored Gunther Burial Under McMahon

Ludwig Kaiser suggested this week that a rumor regarding Vince McMahon wanting to bury Gunther on SmackDown was untrue.

Kaiser was asked about a rumor that was first reported by the Twitter account WrestleVotes, which claimed that McMahon intended to halt Gunther's push after souring on him in early July.

By the end of July, McMahon had retired and was replaced by Triple H, who has kept Gunther installed as intercontinental champion and solidified his presentation by calling up Giovanni Vinci and putting him alongside Gunther and Kaiser to reform Imperium.

Speaking to German wrestling website WAZ (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Kaiser highly doubted the authenticity of the report, saying:

"I don't know anything about the rumors. It's also usually the case that we don't let it get to us like that. From our side, we have been totally satisfied since we started on Smackdown. We've had a great reception there, the feedback has been positive right from the start. We can't complain about our TV time either. When you look at what we've done in a few months, even with Gunther's Intercontinental Championship title, it speaks for itself. Of course, there are always rumors here and there, but a lot of it is just not true."

Gunther faced and defeated Sheamus in one of the best matches of the year at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, earlier this month, and he has continued his rivalry with Sheamus since then.

In fact, all of Imperium has been feuding with the Brawling Brutes, and the two stables are set to meet in a Donnybrook match at Extreme Rules. Gunther is also set for another title defense against Sheamus.

After a dominant run in NXT UK and NXT, Gunther has been booked to near perfection on WWE's main roster, and there is seemingly no end in sight to his run of dominance.

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Despite dropping "2.0" from its branding, WWE reportedly intends to maintain its current ideology for NXT moving forward.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), NXT won't be called "NXT 2.0" anymore, but it will remain similar to NXT 2.0 in that the primary focus will be on "younger" wrestlers.

Just over one year ago, NXT was rebranded as NXT 2.0 with a new logo and color scheme. It also had a new philosophy, as less-experienced and lesser-known wrestlers were pushed over the independent stars who had become the faces of the brand under Triple H.

The change occurred while Triple H was on the mend from heart issues, meaning Shawn Michaels was left in charge. Triple H is back and in a more prominent position than ever as head of WWE creative following Vince McMahon's retirement, but Triple H has kept his longtime friend in Michaels as the head of NXT.

NXT celebrated the one-year anniversary of NXT a couple of weeks ago, and at the end of the show, a new logo was revealed with the "2.0" branding disappearing.

That led to speculation about whether NXT would now more closely resemble what it was under Triple H's leadership, but that apparently won't be the case.

Triple H's NXT was arguably one of the best things in wrestling ever, so there was understandably a great deal of backlash when WWE transitioned to the NXT 2.0 concept.

While few would argue that the NXT product is better now than it was under Triple H, there is little doubt that far more stars have been built from the ground up, including the likes of Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Toxic Attraction, Cora Jade, Solo Sikoa, Grayson Waller and Tony D'Angelo, among many others.

Now that Triple H is in charge of the main roster, he can run it like he previously ran NXT, while Michaels can make NXT a true feeder system to Raw and SmackDown.

The biggest difference with Triple H as head of creative figures to be a much smoother transition from NXT to the main roster and a far greater chance for those Superstars to succeed.

There was a clear disconnect under McMahon's regime, but given how much time and effort Triple H has invested in NXT, he is unlikely to make the same mistakes.

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Dwight Howard would choose WWE over the NBA next season if the money is right.

"Whatever opportunity is best," Howard told TMZ Sports.

The 18-year NBA veteran is currently unsigned after playing 60 games with the Los Angeles Lakers last season, setting career lows with 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Howard is now keeping his options open, showing up for a WWE tryout in July:

Dwight Howard was a surprise participant at the WWE Tryout in Nashville today. He told me he legit wants to join the WWE one day. pic.twitter.com/LiUnNqPsdv

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 28, 2022

The audition was enough to impress Chief Content Officer Triple H.

"He came by our tryouts in Nashville, was incredibly entertaining, jumping in promos by himself and then with others—incredibly entertaining," Triple H told Sporting News (0:52 in video). "So, when he says, 'Hey, I want to give this a shot,' he's got my phone number. All he's got to do is call me, and we'll see what can happen."

The 6'10", 265-pounder also told TMZ he could be a "good guy sometimes and a bad guy sometimes," implying he could be "both a hero and a villain" in the ring.

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Triple H Talks NXT Model

Triple H founded the NXT brand that exploded in popularity several years ago before transitioning to NXT 2.0 last year, but now that he is the head of WWE creative, he conceivably can have as much influence on the brand as he wants.

While NXT began as a developmental brand, it evolved over time and began to feature more experienced performers who were stars on the independent scene. The philosophy changed last year with the transition to NXT 2.0, as WWE went back to featuring less-experienced wrestlers with the goal of building them from the ground up.

Triple H seems to be embracing that plan of attack, as he said the following about NXT in an interview with SPORTbible Stories (h/t WrestlingInc's Dakota Cohen) this week:

"NXT, for us, is that academy model or sort of that collegiate athletics for us. If Raw and SmackDown are the NFL ... NXT is collegiate athletics. And we had a small brand here called NXT UK. We were headed down this road prior to the pandemic, pandemic kind of like, put a hold on it. But, we shut that brand down because we're going to relaunch it in 2023 as NXT Europe and try to blow it out bigger."

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the first episode of NXT 2.0, and the show ended with a new logo being revealed, sans the "2.0" branding.

That led to speculation among fans that NXT would be transitioning back to what it was during its heyday under Triple H, but that may not necessarily be the case since Triple H has largely been supportive of the direction publicly.

Also, Shawn Michaels has been the one in charge of NXT over the past year, and Triple H's primary focus is likely to be on Raw and SmackDown, although there promises to be more synergy between NXT and the main roster with The Game in charge.

NXT has had a collegiate feel over the past year in terms of taking green performers and molding them into stars, and the brand has largely been successful in that regard, with Bron Breakker being the most obvious example.

WWE may not shy away from using veterans in NXT more often moving forward, but it seems like the crux of the brand will remain its development of young, inexperienced wrestlers.

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Bayley on Differing Relationships with Triple H, Vince

Bayley gave her take this week on the differences and similarities between working under Vince McMahon and Triple H.

Appearing on In The Kliq (h/t Cohen), Bayley noted that while she has enjoyed working with both of them, there is a different feeling with Triple H in charge since he was the head of NXT when she signed with the company:

"I've had a great relationship with [Triple H] since NXT, and he's watched me grow and we've had many conversations," she said. "He knows me, and it's so easy to be able to talk to him. Like, I had a great relationship with Vince as well, but he kind of didn't watch me grow up like Hunter did. So having him there and just having him very hands-on ... It feels like 'The Twilight Zone,' like we're back seven years, you know, in NXT. But what Hunter is doing is just changing and revolutionizing what WWE was already, which was already an amazing show."

Shortly after Bayley arrived in WWE in 2012, she developed into arguably the most popular figure in the history of the brand, as her bubbly "hugger" character got over huge with the NXT fanbase.

The gimmick never translated well to the main roster under McMahon's guidance, but he was intuitive enough to allow Bayley to turn heel for the first time in her WWE career, and it worked to perfection.

It can be argued that the best run of Bayley's career occurred when she was a heel alongside Sasha Banks and held the SmackDown Women's Championship for a record 379 days.

Bayley missed more than a year with a knee injury, and by the time she returned at SummerSlam in July, Triple H had taken over creative duties from McMahon after he retired.

The transition in power likely paved the way for Bayley to lead her own stable called Damage CTRL with Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky by her side. Before Triple H took over, Kai had been released and there was talk of Sky leaving WWE for her native Japan at the conclusion of her contract.

Instead, Triple H allowed Bayley to work with two talents she likes and respects immensely, which speaks to how positive of a working relationship they have and will likely continue to expand moving forward.

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Updates on Toxic Attraction Call-Up, Aliyah Injury

The WWE women's division could be receiving a shake-up of sorts based on some news tidbits that surfaced this week.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), WWE has "talked about" calling Toxic Attraction members Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne up to the main rosters, and the discussions have been ongoing for "a while."

Dolin and Jayne were named replacements for Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark in the tournament for the vacant WWE Women's Tag Team Championships, and they beat Natalya and Sonya Deville in the first round, but they were removed from the tourney due to injury.

While Dolin and Jayne soon returned to competition in NXT, they resurfaced again on SmackDown two weeks ago, losing to Raquel Rodriguez and Aliyah.

There was some thought that they had been called up, but they went back to wrestling in NXT as well, and they may be trying to get back in the hunt for the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships they held twice.

While Toxic Attraction is likely ready for the main roster, it may make more sense to wait until leader Mandy Rose loses the NXT Women's Championship before calling them up.

In other news, Meltzer (h/t Mukherjee) reported that Aliyah is dealing with a minor injury and is expected to be back in action next week.

When Rodriguez got attacked last week on SmackDown, it was Shotzi who made the save rather than Aliyah, and it was mentioned on commentary that Aliyah was out due to injury.

Rodriguez and Aliyah won the tournament to crown new WWE women's tag team champions, but they dropped them to Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky of Damage CTRL shortly thereafter, creating some uncertainty regarding the direction of Rodriguez and Aliyah as a team moving forward.

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WWE head of creative Triple H believes heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury has a great deal of interest in having another match in WWE in the future.

Speaking to Sporting News (h/t Joseph Lee of 411Mania.com), Triple H gave his thoughts on Fury and the chances of him competing in WWE again at some point:

"I think Tyson Fury is chomping at the bit to get in the ring. The question is which ring will he get into? Is it going to be the boxing ring? Is it going to be the WWE ring? We were just together in Cardiff. We had a long talk about it. He's as enamored as ever in wanting to do this with us.

"I think he knows he's got a few big fights left in him in the boxing world. I think he's going to capitalize on those fights as you are hearing. You know, talks about [Oleksandr] Usyk, talks about Anthony Joshua. Selfishly, I want him to come work with us, also selfishly, I want to see those fights. So I hope he knocks those out and I hope he stays interested because I do think with the dedication and the drive that he had to do what we do, I think he could do something special with us as well."

Fury's first and only match with WWE occurred in 2019 when he defeated Braun Strowman by count-out at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

The Englishman has made a few appearances for WWE since then with the most recent coming earlier this month at the Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff, Wales.

Fury was ringside for the WWE Universal Championship match between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, and he even got involved by punching out Mr. Money in the Bank Austin Theory when he attempted to cash in.

After McIntyre lost, Fury consoled him in the ring and led a rendition of American Pie in an attempt to send the crowd home happy.

During the press conference following Clash at the Castle, Fury confirmed his desire to continue boxing despite briefly retiring this year. That means a potential WWE career is likely on the back burner for now.

Last week, Anthony Joshua and his team announced that he had agreed to terms on a Dec. 3 fight against Fury. The fight has yet to be made official, but a framework appears to be in place.

If Fury vs. Joshua happens, it is likely that the winner would go on to face Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight title unification match, meaning Fury may have at least two fights left in him before transitioning to something else like wrestling.

Fury seems to be a natural fit for WWE due to his size, athletic ability, charisma and star power, and there is little doubt that Triple H and Co. will wait as long as they have to in order to secure Fury once he decides to move on from boxing.

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