On behalf of WWE and Raw fans everywhere, let me just say that we have had enough. Enough of Triple H's reign of terror. Enough of watching week after week as he continues to reign supreme as World Heavyweight Champion. That championship, created specifically for Raw, has been in existence for only 11 months, yet Triple H has held it with an iron grip for 10 of those. Ironically, you have to go back to 1995 to find a champion as dominant - Diesel (a.k.a Kevin Nash), who held the WWE title for a full year. And Triple H just got through with him.
Week after week, viewers have had to endure Triple H talking about how he's "that damn good." There's got to be someone who can prove him wrong. The Raw roster is stacked with some of the most formidable competitors ever to slap on a pair of kneepads.
Ric Flair. You're the "Nature Boy," for cryin' out loud. The 16-time World Champion. Do you know what that means? It means you won the World title a record-setting number of times, in three of the biggest promotions in the business. Since when do you give up after one shot? Back in May, for a couple of hours, you turned back into the Slick Ric of old. But once the referee made that three-count and lifted Triple H's hand, you went right back to being his best pal. Why? Walk that aisle one more time, Naitch. We all know there's a few dirty tricks up your sleeve that you've refused to share-it's time to use them!
Goldberg. You want to be considered "Da Man" here in WWE? Well, this ain't WCW. No one's gonna line up a string of jabronis for you to run through. You've got to grab the bull by the horns. And that bull's name is Triple H. He's the champ. He's not gonna come to you; you've got to go after him. The fans are dying for it. So jackhammer the clown and get it over with.
The list goes on and on...
Booker T, he ran you down and defeated you at the biggest show of the year. Surely a Superstar of your caliber isn't willing to leave it at that. Chris Jericho, we've all heard a million times how you were the first Undisputed WWE Champion, and how Triple H screwed you over. The time for talk is through. Give us something worthy of your next Highlight Reel. Christian, you recently took that step to the next level by capturing the newly reinstated Intercontinental Championship. You're now among the top threats to Triple H's title. Go after him!
Scott Steiner, Kane, Rob Van Dam-the three of you may have been beaten in the past by "The Game," but you can easily work your way back into contention. None of you have ever been pushovers. Steiner, you're a former WCW World Champion and one of the finest tag-team wrestlers of all time. Kane, you beat Stone Cold Steve Austin for the W WE Championship. And RVD, you held the ECW Television Championship for almost two years, defending it against some of the most hardcore lunatics who ever lived.
Is it going to take another comeback from The Rock to finally send "The Game" to the showers? The "Great One" divested Triple H of two World Championships back in 2000, so he's definitely high on the list of people who can stop him today. In his last match, he came within a hair of beating Goldberg, so we know he's capable of shaking off ring rust pretty quickly. So, where have you gone, People's Champion?
Even beyond the obvious candidates, this roster is studded with the Superstars of tomorrow, just waiting for their time. Well, boys, stop waiting and seize the moment, because beating Triple H is your ticket to glory.
Randy Orton, it's time to step out of the shadows and make your own "Evolution." Why are you listening to "The Game" in the first place? Because you think he can help you get to the top? There's only one way he can help you rise-by looking up at the lights for a count of three while you hold his shoulders to the mat.
The Hurricane. We all read your comments in the July issue of Magazine about not receiving a shot at Triple H's title. You do have a point: You beat The Rock and Ric Flair, yet no title shot came your way. But let's not forget that you lost a non-title match against "The Game" not long after those two big wins. That might have had a lot to do with it. But you can still earn that shot. The fans saw your fire when you took it to the Brahma Bull and the "Nature Boy." Beating Triple H is not out of the realm of possibility. Would your idol Green Lantern give up as soon as Sinestro broke out the yellow power ring?
Rodney Mack, you and your manager Theodore R. Long talk a lot of smack about being held down by "the man." Here's a tip: Quit talking and go after the one "white boy" who really matters. With your brute strength and unbridled aggression, surely you can give the "Cerebral Assassin" something to think about.
You get the point. There's enough talent among you to ensure that Triple H's days are numbered, so that we no longer have to endure him strutting around in his designer suits and blow-dried hair with the title belt slung over his shoulder. Despite the "Cerebral Assassin's" claims to the contrary, he does have weaknesses. If Triple H is good at exploiting yours, it's time for you to return the favor. "The Game" made a spectacular recovery from his torn quadriceps injury. But is he the same man he was before it? The pain of finishing his match with Jericho; the physical trauma of major surgery; the agony of rehab; the mental anguish of not knowing if he'd ever return to the ring; and the subconscious fear of re-injury-all these have no doubt played havoc on his psyche. Exploit that weakness. Target that leg for all you're worth.
So far, the one who has given Triple H the most trouble during the past 11 months has been Shawn Michaels. Shawn, you actually had him figured out for a while, and kept the World Heavyweight Championship from him for one glorious month last fall. Since you were the man who took "The Game" under your wing years ago and helped groom him into a main-event Superstar, it came as no surprise that you were the one to interrupt his hold on the title. But very quickly you, too, fell victim to the wiles of the "Cerebral Assassin," and it was back to business as usual.
Am I asking too much? After all, there was once a time when the average World Championship reign lasted a couple of years. Maybe what we're seeing here is a return to the era when champs like Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan stood atop the WWE ladder year after year. Maybe Triple H really is that damn good. He's fast approaching Superstar Billy Graham's benchmark 10-month stretch as titleholder, the longest reign of any ring villain.
Maybe Triple H is really in it for the long haul. But I don't think so. I think there are enough wor-thy challengers on the roster to give him headaches for months to come. And one of these days, one of those challengers will give him the biggest headache of all, after he's separated from his beloved World Heavyweight Championship. No champion, no matter how talented, can survive this onslaught of quality opposition for much longer. I'm just waiting for the man who's finally going to save us once and for all.