Triple H Blasted as 'Idiotic' by Wrestling Veteran Over Creative
At the tail end of Vince McMahon's tenure as the head of creative, WWE was a broken product. The creativity and energy that the programming was able to capture in the "Attitude" and "Ruthless Aggression" eras were long gone, replaced by a string of convoluted and out-of-touch angles that made fans tune out in droves.
With Triple H at the reins, the company has garnered far more positive feedback. Crowds around the globe are white-hot across all shows, and the business is starting to gain more mainstream appeal. That's not to say the 55-year-old is without his critics, as one wrestling veteran is incensed about the promotion's current direction.
Triple HGetty Images
On a recent episode of one of his "Raw" reviews, former head WWE writer Vince Russo blasted Triple H over his current booking philosophy.
Advertisement
"Triple H is an idiot," Russo said. "Looking at some of the moves that he's making or has made, bro, I think it's clear this dude needs the adulation from the marks. He needs the adulation from the people who are watching that show and constantly praising it. He is feeding them."
Russo cited Joe Hendry's involvement at WrestleMania and Jeff Cobb's recent debut as examples of Triple H bending the knee to the internet fans. The take on Hendry is tone-deaf, who got a massive pop at Allegiant Stadium and was one of the top merch sellers of the weekend. The Cobb point has a little more validity, as he is already 42 and never got over on American television, yet 37-year-old Dakota Kai, who the audience routinely responded to, was released due to age.
Triple H has plenty of faults and needs to mix in more engaging short-term angles, but he's still relatively new at the job. He deserves some time to grow into the position, but he should show some better results with such a stacked roster at his disposal.
Related: Cody Rhodes Return Update: Is a WWE Comeback Imminent?
Related: Former WWE Champion Calls Out the Company for Blatant Sexism
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
New '1984' foreword includes warning about ‘problematic' characters
The 75th anniversary edition of George Orwell's novel 1984, which coined the term 'thoughtcrime' to describe the act of having thoughts that question the ruling party's ideology, has become an ironic lightning rod in debates over alleged trigger warnings and the role of historical context in classic literature. The introduction to the new edition, endorsed by Orwell's estate and written by the American author Dolen Perkins-Valdezm, is at the center of the storm, drawing fire from conservative commentators as well as public intellectuals, and prompting a wide spectrum of reaction from academics who study Orwell's work. Perkins-Valdez opens the introduction with a self-reflective exercise: imagining what it would be like to read 1984 for the first time today. She writes that 'a sliver of connection can be difficult for someone like me to find in a novel that does not speak much to race and ethnicity,' noting the complete absence of Black characters. She also describes her pause at the protagonist Winston Smith's 'despicable' misogyny, but ultimately chooses to continue reading, writing: 'I know the difference between a flawed character and a flawed story.' 'I'm enjoying the novel on its own terms, not as a classic but as a good story; that is, until Winston reveals himself to be a problematic character,' she writes. 'For example, we learn of him: 'He disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones.' Whoa, wait a minute, Orwell.' That framing was enough to provoke sharp critique from novelist and essayist Walter Kirn on the podcast America This Week, co-hosted with journalist Matt Taibbi. Kirn characterized the foreword as a kind of ideological overreach. 'Thank you for your trigger warning for 1984,' he said. 'It is the most 1984ish thing I've ever f***ing read.' Later in the episode, which debuted on June 1, Kirn blasted what he saw as an imposed 'permission structure' by publishers and academic elites. 'It's a sort of Ministry of Truthism,' he said, referring to the Ministry of Truth that features prominently in the dystopian novel. 'They're giving you a little guidebook to say, 'Here's how you're supposed to feel when you read this.'' Conservative commentator such as Ed Morrissey described the foreword as part of 'an attempt to rob [Orwell's work] of meaning by denigrating it as 'problematic.'' Morrissey argued that trigger warnings on literary classics serve to 'distract readers at the start from its purpose with red herrings over issues of taste.' But not all responses aligned with that view. Academic rebuttal Peter Brian Rose-Barry, a philosophy professor at Saginaw Valley State University and author of George Orwell: The Ethics of Equality, disputed the entire premise. 'There just isn't [a trigger warning],' he told Newsweek in an email after examining the edition. 'She never accuses Orwell of thoughtcrime. She never calls for censorship or cancelling Orwell.' In Rose-Barry's view, the foreword is neither invasive nor ideological, but reflective. 'Perkins-Valdez suggests in her introduction that 'love and artistic beauty can act as healing forces in a totalitarian state,'' he noted. 'Now, I find that deeply suspect... but I'd use this introduction to generate a discussion in my class.' Taibbi and Kirn, by contrast, took issue with that exact line during the podcast. 'Love heals? In 1984?' Taibbi asked. 'The whole thing ends with Winston broken, saying he loves Big Brother,' the symbol of the totalitarian state at the heart of the book. Kirn laughed and added, 'It's the kind of revisionist uplift you get from a book club discussion after someone just watched The Handmaid's Tale.' Perkins-Valdez, a Black writer, Harvard graduate and professor of literature at American University, also noted the novel's lack of racial representation: 'That sliver of connection can be difficult for someone like me to find in a novel that does not speak much to race and ethnicity at all.' Kirn responded to that sentiment on the show by pointing out that Orwell was writing about midcentury Britain: 'When Orwell wrote the book, Black people made up maybe one percent of the population. It's like expecting white characters in every Nigerian novel.' Richard Keeble, former chair of the Orwell Society, argued that critiques of Orwell's treatment of race and gender have long been part of academic discourse. 'Questioning Orwell's representation of Blacks in 1984 can usefully lead us to consider the evolution of his ideas on race generally,' he told Newsweek. 'Yet Orwell struggled throughout his life, and not with complete success, to exorcise what Edward Said called 'Orientalism.'' Keeble added, 'Trigger warnings and interpretative forewords... join the rich firmament of Orwellian scholarship-being themselves open to critique and analysis.' Cultural overreach While critics like Kirn view Perkins-Valdez's new foreword as a symptom of virtue signaling run amok, others see it as part of a long-standing literary dialogue. Laura Beers, a historian at American University and author of Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century, acknowledged that such reactions reflect deeper political divides. But she defended the legitimacy of approaching Orwell through modern ethical and social lenses. 'What makes 1984 such a great novel is that it was written to transcend a specific historical context,' she told Newsweek. 'Although it has frequently been appropriated by the right as a critique of 'socialism,' it was never meant to be solely a critique of Stalin's Russia.' 'Rather,' she added, 'it was a commentary on how absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the risk to all societies, including democracies like Britain and the United States, of the unchecked concentration of power.' Beers also addressed the role of interpretive material in shaping the reading experience. 'Obviously, yes, in that 'interpretive forewords' give a reader an initial context in which to situate the texts that they are reading,' she said. 'That said, such forewords are more often a reflection on the attitudes and biases of their own time.' While the foreword has prompted the familiar battle lines playing out across the Trump-era culture wars, Beers sees the conversation itself as in keeping with Orwell's legacy. 'By attempting to place Orwell's work in conversation with changing values and historical understandings in the decades since he was writing,' she said, 'scholars like Perkins-Valdez are exercising the very freedom to express uncomfortable and difficult opinions that Orwell explicitly championed.' Related Articles Gabbard Links 'Ministry of Truth' to Obama Speech, Calls Biden 'Front Man'Tulsi Gabbard Compares Biden Admin to Dictatorship Over 'Ministry of Truth'Joe Biden's Disinformation Board Likened to Orwell's 'Ministry of Truth'Memory Holes, Mobs and Speaker Pelosi | Opinion 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
R-Truth Shocks Fans With WWE Return at 'Money in the Bank 2025'
R-Truth Shocks Fans With WWE Return at 'Money in the Bank 2025' originally appeared on Athlon Sports. R-Truth stunned WWE fans at the conclusion of "Money in the Bank 2025." In the main event of WWE's latest PLE, Cody Rhodes teamed with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso to take on Undisputed WWE Champion John Cena and Logan Paul. Advertisement Cena was on the verge of cheating to defeat Rhodes and Uso. The champion nailed Rhodes with his championship when the referee was checking on Uso and Paul following a table spot. A man in a hoodie tackled Cena and rained down punches. The mystery man turned out to be R-Truth. He then blasted Cena with the title, allowing "The American Nightmare" to hit Cross Rhodes for the win. R-Truth recently announced on social media that WWE chose not to renew his contract. The news was met with overwhelming negativity from fans and even members of the roster. Following the news, fans chanted for R-Truth during several WWE shows, including MITB and "Worlds Collide." The longtime veteran even received chants during the "TNA Against All Odds" show. Advertisement Several reporters, such as Cory Hays of PW Nexus, have taken to social media to reiterate that WWE's decision to not renew R-Truth's deal wasn't a swerve. That would indicate that WWE realized that R-Truth is still valuable to the product and the two sides were able to reach some sort of understanding. It was reported that TNA had interest in signing R-Truth prior to MITB. While R-Truth might appear in TNA again given the partnership with WWE, it would seem that he is back under contract with WWE. Related: WWE Announces New Location for 'WrestleMania 42' This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Adam ‘Pacman' Jones Reacts To R-Truth's WWE Release
Former TNA Tag Team Champion and NFL player Adam 'Pacman' Jones isn't thrilled about WWE releasing his former tag team partner, R-Truth. Back in 2007, Pacman teamed with R-Truth in TNA Wrestling. The duo captured the TNA Tag Team Titles on their first night as a team when Jones pinned Sting at No Surrender to win the titles for his team. Advertisement On the latest episode of Politely Raw: Pacman Jones Show, the former NFL star made his feelings regarding R-Truth's WWE release abundantly clear. 'This is bullshit,' Adam Jones said. 'A friend of mine, R-Truth being released by WWE. He's one of the fans' favorites. I wrestled with him in TNA, and this guy is a true professional and the best teammate that I've ever had on Sunday. We won the Tag Team Championships together. People are pissed about this, my boy.' When his co-host asked him if WWE should have been better to R-Truth, Pacman believes they should have. 'Hell yeah, f*cking right,' Adam Jones said. 'He's a true professional. I've never seen him get out of character of what he's doing. And this was his main drive. It's over with, and you don't even give the fans the last time to see him? They dropped the ball 100%.' Advertisement Jones also shouted out Truth on social media, posting the following message to his former tag team partner, tweeting out: 'Tag team partners 4 life!!! Wish @ronkillings1 got to go out on his own terms but always a legend to me! *Four flexing emojis* *Four salute emojis* #pacmanjonesshow #schmellme #nocap #wwe #rtruth @evrosenblum @betonline_ag,' Jones said in a post. READ MORE: WWE Superstar Calls R-Truth's WWE Release 'Total Nonsense' If you use any of these quotes, please credit Politely Raw with a link to this article for the transcription. The post Adam 'Pacman' Jones Reacts To R-Truth's WWE Release appeared first on Wrestlezone.
