Through The Ropes

Triple H got to Fort Lauderdale for the 1/10 RAW, once again holding the World Heavyweight Title, and uttered the word that was on everyone else’s mind: politics. His 10th reign as cham-pion, like many of the others, will spur charges of nepotism, as he is Vince McMahon’s son-in-law.

I have been one of the worst critics, and I’m sure not abandoning that position. But on the opening segment of the show, out came two shining examples of exactly why Triple H works: Batista and Randy Orton. Folks, who in the world thought a couple of years ago that either of these guys would hold top spots in the company?

Batista was settled in as a more compact version of Viscera, a less hairy version of A-Train. In other words, a big guy who would never learn to talk and would end up playing Goliath when it was time to give David a push. But a funny thing happened on the way to mediocrity. Triple H starts a program with Ba-tista, and all of a sudden we find out that the kid has a sense of humor and some charisma underneath all those screaming veins.

Orton initially was as marketable as used dishwater. He was ego without accomplishment, and his early run in the company had betting men saying that he would be more likely to headline Sunday Night Heat. But due to his bloodlines, Orton got a chance to work with H, and before long, Orton was a superstar.

Let’s go one step further and mention Shelton Benjamin. The former college grappler hasn’t quite reached the top, but he went from tag-team specialist to top mid-card attraction because he grabbed some upset wins over H.

See a pattern here? Work with H equals success. As H bragged in the ring about getting the belt back, Ric Flair stood behind him with his normal glib and smug expression. Flair wasn’t just working for the cameras. He was sincerely happy because H, who has al-ways said he wanted to be measured by Flair, was accomplishing that goal. Not double-digit title reigns, but the ability to further the business by making other people stars.

And the parallels are almost scary. Flair helped push a lot of careers, but as time went by, he was accused of using his backstage clout when he shouldn’t have. Often, those accusations come from frustrated wrestlers on the bottom of the totem pole who most of the time just aren’t good enough to rise any higher.

I haven’t changed my tune about H completely. He still holds the belt way too long, and him winning at Elim-ination Chamber was a lousy idea, for it was time for a new champion. But I would only ask frustrated fans to be patient, because the current storyline seems to be a platform to take Batista even further.

WWE is thinking about putting the belt on the monster but just isn’t quite convinced enough to pull the trigger. The company needs the big man to get just a little more pop before he is crowned “the man.” And nobody can take him there like Triple H, no matter who his father-in-law is.

You can contact Josh Stewart at throughtheropes1@cs.com.

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