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No Games Played In Firing Of HHH As RAW COO

Posted: Oct 17th 2011 By: CMBurnham

On the surface, it was just a business decision. 55 members of the WWE roster walked out on COO Triple H at the end of RAW on October 3. That included wrestlers, divas, referees, camerman and the announce team. Only HHH was left in the ring at the end of that broadcast.

But not all the WWE roster was present at the meeting HHH called on that broadcast. And their absence would prove very important when RAW took the air from Oklahoma City on October 10. However, some of the most important people to the future of RAW not only weren't at ringside, but weren't even in-ring competitors. And when all the decisions were made regarding Triple H's leadership, the landscape of RAW was quite different from what it had been just 2 hours before.

RAW opened with HHH coming to the ring after walking through the empty hallways of the Chesapeake Energy Building. As his music played, he mouthed to the crowd that they showed up, but implied that everyone else was absent. Then he shrugged his shoulders and walked to the ring. HHH took a microphone and told the fans that he showed up and they showed up. Last week, he saw something he never thought he'd see as his entire crew and roster walked out. But as far as he was concerned, they walked out on the fans, not him. As he spoke, the protesters were standing outside in the parking lot holding solidarity rallies because the WWE is "too tough". They have their gear, but they won't step into the building to perform until HHH steps down. "The Game" then asked the crowd what to do and they clearly indicated that they wanted him to stay. HHH said he had never been a quitter and he wouldn't start at this point. He wouldn't be intimidated, coerced or blackmailed and the guys in the parking lot could kiss his ass! He didn't care if he had to strip to his underwear and wrestle a broomstick for 2 hours and sarcastically suggested that the broomstick would perform better than most of the guys in the parking lot. But no matter what, he ws going to give fans a RAW broadcast.

At this point, John Cena became the first member of the WWE Universe to emerge from the back. He told HHH that there was a reason he wasn't present at the meeting the previous week. Lots of people said the walkout would be stronger if he had joined. He then revealed that all 55 roster members had contacted him personally, yet HHH never sent him as little as a text. The wrestlers believe that HHH is self-centred and power hungry, but compared to some of the other people Cena has worked for (including Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff, who Cena called "2 humble guys", Vickie Guerrero, 56 celebrity General managers an anonymous computer and Mike Adamle, HHH is certainly not the worst. Cena and HHH will never be best friends, but Cena pledged loyalty to the GM as long as he was in charge because loyalty was a principle.

The numbers then increased by another as Sheamus joined the discussion. He said that 2 years before, when HHH was giving a speech about Shawn Michaels, Sheamus attacked HHH with a lead pipe. He wanted to make a name by taking HHH out. HHH could have taken legal action about this, but he didn't. And Sheamus isn't embarassed to admit that HHH gave him the biggest "arse-kicking" of his life. With a bit of good-natured amusement in his voice, Sheamus assured HHH that if the match happened today, the outcome would be very different. But with that set aside, Sheamus respects HHH. He adheres to HHH's policy and won't be part of the parking lot shenanigans. He said he didn't travel here to sit with "those losers". He came to be part of RAW.

And then a thunderous ovation rang through the arena as C. M. Punk came out. He took the mic and said that in a way he felt responsible for for startring all this and it was his fault because he made walking out look cool. The difference was that when he walked out, he was at the end of his contract and he was trying to prove a point to the company, not one man. He had all kinds of reasons to walk out: his microphone kept cutting out in the middle of promos, Kevin Nash screwed him out of the WWE RAW World Title, etc. But this was an industry built on the idea of two men solving their problems between the ropes. If the other wrestlers wanted to complain about an "unsafe working environment", Punk brought up how Hell In A Cell and the Elimination Chamber couldn't be looked at as anything BUT that, yet no one complained about those matches happening. Punk refused to participate in a sit-in like a hippy. When he had a problem with John Cena and HHH, he went to them and dealt with it in person. He's sure that when the time comes where he has a problem with Sheamus, he'll do the same. He knows that he's the last guy they expected to see in the foxhole with them, but he's there, so now what? HHH suggested they should shut up and fight and arranged a match between Cena & Sheamus. He would serve as special referee and Punk had a live microphone to do commentary on. Punk could even wear HHH's blazer (which sold Punk on the idea) and would get double pay for being the bell ringer as well.

The match went on for several minutes before one last surprise guest arrived in the form of WWE CEO Vince McMahon. McMahon arrived and stopped the match, apologising to the contestants, but saying he needed to speak to his son-in-law. Vince thanked the others for standing up for what they believe in, saying that was admirable and the people in the parking lot were doing the same thing, just as people on Wall Street were doing the same. Vince made it clear that he believed in HHH and found it entertaining to watch RAW, but there were some who didn't believe in him and those people had sympathisers in the Board of Directors. He went on to talk about the financial responsibilities the WWE had and how he was concerned that if this walk-out continued it could spill out of control, cancelling live events, PPVs and maybe even WrestleMania and RAW itself. That could lead to catastrophe and McMahon wasn't willing to see that happen, so he subsequently removed HHH as the General Manager of RAW. He then announced that they were looking for a more permanent GM who wasn't a McMahon family member, but for the time being the Interim General Manager would be Head of Talent Relations John Laurenitis. This brought a deafening chorus of boos as Laurenitis strode to the top of the ramp with a smirk on his face. The crowd absolutely hated him and gave HHH a thunderous ovation as he left the ring.

It wasn't the last time we saw either man. A backstage confrontation between the two culminated with HHH calmly asking if Laurenitis had ever tried to pick up his teeth with broken fingers. Then, Laurenitis displayed complete contempt for the Oklahoma City crowd by firing Jim Ross in public while his wife and family members were present. But the big surprise came when Laurenitis reinstated R-Truth and The Miz and put them in a tag team match against Punk and WWE RAW World Champion Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio walked out on the match, making it a Handicap match which Punk won after the team of Awesome Truth refused to listen to the referee and got DQed. This lead to a 2-on-1 beatdown until HHH came to help. He entered the ring and threw the Miz out while Punk handled R-Truth. Punk then cleared the announce table while HHH threw the steel stairs everywhere. A post-match handshake by Punk and HHH closed the broadcast show, but fans in attendance were treated to some extra punishment as Miz & Truth returned to the ring, saying HHH and Punk weren't going to ruin their "Welcome Home" party. They charged the ring, but it was no good as HHH Pedigreed Miz and Punk made Truth Go To Sleep. HHH then threw Miz back in the ring so Punk could do the same to him. The duo then went around shaking hands and signing autographs for the thrilled fans.

HHH has always been known as a political machine, but is perhaps better known as the Cerebral Assassin. And this is one situation where he's going to have to use all his wits to force Laurenitis out of power. He's made one alliance with Punk. It seems likely ones with Sheamus and Cena could occur as well. And while he hasn't yet stepped back into the ring in an official capacity, that just might be what it takes to put Laurinitis and his supporters in their place.