10 WWE Stars Who Have Benefited the Most from Triple H's Reign as Head of Creative
August 13, 202310 WWE Stars Who Have Benefited the Most from Triple H's Reign as Head of Creative
Prior to Vince McMahon's abrupt removal as WWE's Head of Creative in July 2022, the product had been at one of its lowest points in decades, if not ever.
Triple H taking the reins in light of McMahon's "retirement" led to renewed interest in the weekly shows and proved to be the best possible replacement in the role. Several once-misused Superstars were brought back, others were repackaged, and the booking of Raw and SmackDown improved immensely.
WWE has been far from flawless with The Game at the helm, but the overall experience has undoubtedly been a positive one.
Of course, news of McMahon's return to the company at the onset of 2023 caused many to worry that the product would return to its old ways. He later revealed in an interview with CNBC that he'd be involved with Creative "at a higher level" but no longer "in the weeds."
The extent of his current input is unknown as it seems to be constantly changing.
Despite that, many have gotten a new lease on life with Triple H as WWE's Head of Creative, with the following 10 wrestlers being the biggest beneficiaries this past year.
Gunther
To his credit, Gunther was well-protected by Vince McMahon in the first few months of the former's main roster run.
He was immediately booked to be dominant and seize the Intercontinental Championship from Ricochet. However, it wasn't until Triple H took over WWE that both Gunther and the title were taken to the next level.
For the first time in many years, the prestigious prize was treated with importance. Gunther defended the gold against elite competition, both on premium live events and in the main event of SmackDown routinely.
Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus, Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, Braun Strowman, Madcap Moss, Xavier Woods, Drew McIntyre, Mustafa Ali and Matt Riddle have stepped up to The Ring General and all have fallen. Now, he finds himself on the verge of breaking The Honky Tonky Man's 454-day record as the longest-reigning champ in the history of the title.
And to think McMahon had reportedly soured on Gunther and had intentions of burying him mere weeks before his departure, per WWE insider WrestleVotes in an interview with GiveMeSport.
Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn would have continued to enjoy midcard success for the remainder of his run with WWE, and that would have been a perfectly fine spot for him to be in.
A three-time Intercontinental champion, he was booked as a pest heel under McMahon and, at one point, as a manager for Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. He was never going to get beyond a certain level, though.
That was until Triple H ramped up Zayn's involvement in the Bloodline angle by making him more of a prominent member and having him interact with The Usos and Roman Reigns in weekly SmackDown segments. They eventually became the best part of the blue brand.
The storytelling with The Honorary Uce was exceptional, specifically when it came to the friendship he forged with The Usos and his history with Kevin Owens. The eventual angle with him betraying Reigns and returning to his roots as a babyface for the first time in nearly six years was must-see television.
He was at the peak of his popularity heading into his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship main event with Reigns in his hometown of Montréal at Elimination Chamber back at February, but he's been on an amazing run since then in the tag team ranks alongside Owens as one-half of the Undisputed WWE Tag Team champions.
Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens has become a bigger piece of the product with Triple H running WWE in the same way Zayn has this past year.
In all fairness, he had a decorated stint under McMahon, but his booking was inconsistent. He'd be in the main event scene for a few months before becoming directionless, not to mention that the grand follow-up to his WrestleMania main event against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was a feud with a comedy character, Elias' alter-ego Ezekiel.
The aforementioned angle with The Bloodline and Zayn gave him purpose, however, and saw him bring back his prizefighter persona from NXT (presentation and all). He has headlined multiple pay-per-views this past year, including WrestleMania 39 where he and Zayn ended The Usos' historic reign as Undisputed WWE Tag Team champions.
As noted, he and Zayn have been firing on all cylinders as partners. They've been a recurring Raw highlight and have managed to maintain the momentum the twin titles had when they were in possession of The Usos for almost two years.
It's clear the longtime friends are enjoying themselves and that's perhaps the most important part.
Iyo Sky
Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Andrew Ravens of WrestlingNews.co), Io Shirai was believed to be "pretty much gone" from WWE in mid-July 2022. She hadn't wrestled for NXT in months and there didn't appear to be any imminent plans for her to be called up to the main roster.
That changed within days of Triple H taking the creative reins of WWE when she, the returning Dakota Kai and the previously-injured Bayley debuted as Damage CTRL at SummerSlam and set their sights on then-Raw Women's champion Bianca Belair.
Although the group never reached their full potential due to never winning when it mattered most, the rechristened Iyo Sky enjoyed two runs as WWE Women's Tag Team champion and received far more television time than she likely would have had McMahon still been in charge.
At May's Backlash event, she had a standout performance against Belair for the Raw Women's Championship, which led to her winning the women's Money in the Bank Ladder match two months later. Last Saturday at SummerSlam, Sky successfully cashed in to become WWE Women's champion.
Having barely scratched the surface of what she's capable of, sky's the limit for this world-class competitor.
Chad Gable
Although Chad Gable has a higher ceiling than the tag team division, he's done a tremendous job in Alpha Academy alongside Otis and has made the most the most of every opportunity he's been afforded.
They've been among the few Superstars to be featured consistently during both the McMahon and Triple H regimes. Their work with RK-Bro and The Street Profits in the first half of 2022 was top-notch, and they've remained Raw regulars with Triple H at the helm as well.
Alpha Academy hasn't contended for the tag titles since WrestleMania 38, and yet they've gotten over in a big way as babyfaces these past few months. Adding Maxxine Dupri to the act proved to be a smart move and their recent rivalry with The Viking Raiders gave them much-needed direction.
On the July 31 edition of Raw, he took Gunther to the limit in a thrilling bout, and one week later, he became the number one contender to the Intercontinental Championship in his hometown of Minneapolis.
It's unlikely he'll be the one to ultimately dethrone The Ring General as champ, but it's a significant step forward for him that he's in that spot to begin with. It means that officials are coming around to how talented he truly is and are open to pushing him as a singles star, if only temporarily.
Ricochet
It shouldn't have been difficult for WWE to book Ricochet when he was first called up to Raw in early 2019, but McMahon somehow found a way to make him mean as little as possible.
No one will argue that talking is his strong suit, or that he was a sure-fire future WWE world champion, but to not spotlight someone as athletically gifted as Ricochet is egregious. Beyond a brief stint as United States champion in the summer of 2019, he was largely relegated to the undercard throughout 2020 and 2021, if he managed to make WWE TV at all.
That changed when Triple H became the Head of Creative in July 2022. He started winning more matches, getting more chances to showcase his skills, and building real momentum for the first time in ages.
Ricochet won both the Intercontinental Championship World Cup and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament. He had entertaining outings with Gunther and The Usos and formed a fun tandem with Braun Strowman.
Strowman going down with an injury didn't halt his push, either. His recent rivalry with Logan Paul saw him receive more mic time than ever before in his WWE career, culminating in an enjoyable opener between the two at SummerSlam.
WWE has finally figured out how to utilize Ricochet properly as an attraction, and it's been spectacular to see.
Dominik Mysterio
Tension had been teased between Rey and Dominik Mysterio for nearly a year before Dominik finally betrayed his father at Clash at the Castle 2022, and even with Triple H in charge of Creative, fans were skeptical that heel Dominik would pan out.
The Judgment Day as a whole struggled to find their footing for the first six months of their run together, regardless of whether it was Edge or Finn Bálor as the leader. Thankfully, Triple H gave the group a total overhaul and made them more of a priority on Raw.
That included ensuring Dominik gelled with the rest of Judgment Day upon joining and booking them as an unstoppable force.
The second-generation star started hitting his stride after being "jailed" for invading his parents' home and bragging about spending time behind bars. His commitment to the character was commendable, and it's resulted in some of the most entertaining television segments all year.
His feud with Rey was among the highlights of the road to WrestleMania and the match itself was a show-stealer on Night 1. He's maintained his heel heat in the months since thanks to how he's been handled and his organic relationship with Rhea Ripley.
Dirty Dom's recent NXT North American Championship victory was the perfect way to commemorate his one-year anniversary as a member of Judgment Day.
Shayna Baszler
By the summer of 2022, a majority of WWE fans had written off Shayna Baszler and understandably so.
She arrived on the main roster in early 2020 with plenty of fanfare following her successful stint in NXT, only to fall flat due to abysmal booking. She spent more time in the tag team ranks than she needed to and was never portrayed as a serious threat on her own.
One of Triple H's first orders of business upon taking the reins of WWE last year was to build Baszler back up. She had an enjoyable mini-feud with then-SmackDown Women's champion Liv Morgan heading into Clash at the Castle and embarked on a path of destruction before reuniting with Ronda Rousey.
Alongside her real-life best friend, Baszler was on WWE TV more than ever before. They dominated the women's scene on SmackDown, won the first-ever women's WrestleMania Showcase, and quickly captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on Raw.
Baszler shocked the world when she severed ties with Rousey at Money in the Bank, leading to Rousey suffering her first decisive loss at the hands of The Queen of Spades at SummerSlam. How WWE chooses to follow up with Baszler remains to be seen, but what we've seen so far is at least an encouraging sign of what's to come.
Solo Sikoa
WWE has a checkered history when it comes to NXT call-ups on the main roster, but Solo Sikoa has far and away been the best booked one in years.
Not many can say they debuted in the main event of a pay-per-view. Sikoa made an immediate impact by aiding Roman Reigns to victory at the conclusion of Clash at the Castle and ensuring the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship stayed within the possession of The Bloodline.
As the enforcer of the family faction, he's been nothing but dominant. He's amassed victories over Sheamus, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Matt Riddle and a number of other notable names while also competing in countless main events on Raw and SmackDown.
It's unknown how he would have been introduced if McMahon were around at the time and if he would have been brought into The Bloodline at all (he noticeably had no connection with his brothers/cousin in NXT, hence the ring name).
His limited losses came in high-profile situations and he's played in his role in the Bloodline saga remarkably well. His betrayal of Reigns (or vice versa) feels inevitable, and when that day comes, the real work will begin in making him a breakout singles star.
LA Knight
There is a strong possibility that LA Knight would have been unceremoniously fired had McMahon not removed himself from Creative or had he announced his faux retirement a week or two later than he did.
In a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, he recalled believing he was on the verge of being let go before cooler heads prevailed and he was brought back.
It was mind-boggling that Knight was called up from NXT to SmackDown in the spring of 2022 as a manager for Maximum Male Models instead of as a Superstar. He was given a new name of Max Dupri and there was no indication he'd be wrestling in the role.
McMahon's departure opened the door for Knight to be repackaged as the persona that made him a fan favorite in NXT, and from there it was off to the races. Despite losing in mere minutes to Bray Wyatt at the Royal Rumble, he managed to benefit from the feud and get fans familiar with him.
Fast forward to August and he's one of WWE's hottest prospects. The Slim Jim Battle Royal win at SummerSlam gave him his first major milestone and one can only assume it's onward and upward for him from here.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.