The most difficult aspect of being a WWE Superstar is trying to please everyone important to get a push. There are many different people making big decisions from producers to writers to wrestlers with influence. Vince McMahon and Triple H remain the two most important figures in the company. McMahon is the one in charge of the product and will make the call to either push someone to the top of the card or decide they don’t deserve such an opportunity. Triple H is the next in line and has a great track record. Huge free agent signings, the success of NXT, and the vision for great stories have many fans believing WWE will be better off whenever he finally takes over McMahon.

Both men clearly have a great business and personal relationship, but there are huge differences between their philosophies. Triple H is considered to want more reality from his performers and stories. McMahon opts for the larger than life characters and monsters. This has led to a difference in opinion regarding many Superstars currently on the WWE roster. Vince ultimately wins out given his higher status making the decisions for the company. However, the support of Triple H may be more important in the long-term picture. We will look at some of the current instances of disagreements backstage in WWE. These are 20 wrestlers that Vince McMahon and Triple H don’t agree on.

20 Shinsuke Nakamura

The year 2018 has seen the career of Shinsuke Nakamura take quite a few turns. Nakamura was considered one of the biggest international signings in WWE history when Triple H signed him away from New Japan. A huge moment came when Nakamura won the Royal Rumble match to earn a title shot against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34.

Triple H clearly viewed Nakamura as a potential top star due to his rock star charisma. Vince McMahon did not feel the same as Nakamura lost his title shot and turned heel. After some initial promise as a villain, Nakamura has become a relatively generic heel character in the mid-card picture and barely defends his United States Championship. Vince does not believe a wrestler who doesn't speak English as a first language can be a World Champion in most cases.

19 Braun Strowman

 

The push of Braun Strowman has proved the theory that Vince McMahon loved him from day one. Mark Henry reportedly told Vince about Strowman before he officially joined the promotion. Triple H didn’t even bother using Strowman in NXT knowing McMahon wanted him on the main roster after enough training.

Strowman has received one of the biggest pushes in WWE history due to Vince viewing him as above every wrestler on the roster aside from Roman Reigns. Triple H seems to be keen on Strowman as well but at the level where he’s willing to sacrifice others for Braun’s push. It will be interesting to see how Strowman is booked if Triple H fully takes over.

18 SAnitY

The SAnitY faction debuted on the WWE roster this year following a long run in NXT. Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe were all called up together to join the SmackDown brand without Nikki Cross. The act was not the same and they received minimal opportunities to develop any momentum.

Sanity lost their first major feud on the main roster to The New Day as the latter moved on to become SmackDown Tag Team Champions. The trio of Wolfe, Young and Dain were pushed in NXT due to Triple H believing in all of them. Vince clearly doesn’t see anything special in Sanity, which is why they’re struggling to get television time these days.

17 Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss is a surprising story of a wrestler finding way more success on the main roster than in NXT. No one expected Bliss to break out on Raw or SmackDown due to the lack of in-ring moments during her NXT run. Triple H never felt she was ready for a match on any of the TakeOver specials.

Bliss was called up for the brand split draft and joined the SmackDown side. It only took a few months before Vince McMahon fell in love with her character work and made her champion. Alexa has spent most of her main roster career in the title picture on both Raw and SmackDown. McMahon views her as a significantly bigger star than Triple H did.

16 Sami Zayn

NXT is meant to prepare the Superstars for their time on the main roster. Wrestlers learn all the trades of in-ring tips, camera work, and many other contributing factors to get ready for Raw or SmackDown. However, the art of winning over Vince McMahon is an important thing that can’t be taught with ease.

Sami Zayn shows that more than anyone. The success of Zayn put NXT on the map and made him the underdog hero. McMahon didn’t like the character and it led to Sami struggling to find momentum after getting called up. Zayn revealed on Chris Jericho’s podcast that Vince once even reacted with disgust when Sami wished him a happy birthday backstage.

15 Chad Gable

The in-ring skills of Chad Gable make him a special talent when able to perform without restrictions. Gable showed the best of his ability when working with Jason Jordan as American Alpha in NXT. Both men complimented each other well and were given the ball to run with it by Triple H.

Vince McMahon was not a fan of the tag team due to viewing Jordan as a bigger star than Gable. The split featured Jordan moving to Raw in a storyline with Kurt Angle while Gable has done nothing of note since then. Gable is now stuck in a tag team with Bobby Roode struggling to get television time.

14 Bobby Lashley

Bobby Lashley returning to WWE was a huge move for the company. Vince McMahon viewed Lashley like John Cena and Batista when attempting to build him up in similar fashion in the 2000s. Lashley could never get to the next level and left the company.

His improvement in Impact Wrestling led to WWE bringing him back. McMahon is once again enthralled by Lashley and has tried to make him a World title contender. Triple H reportedly is not as high on Lashley as the upper-level talents he helped become stars in NXT. Lashley is one of the current wrestlers with more appreciation from Vince than Triple H.

13 Bayley

Bayley was one of the first major characters Triple H helped develop in NXT. The character was a major experiment as it took some time to connect in the way it needed to. Bayley started to become a top star for the Women’s division in storylines with Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks.

Bayley's call-up to the main roster came after she left a legacy as a great NXT Women’s Champion. It meant almost nothing on Raw, as Vince McMahon lost confidence in her right after her Raw Women’s Championship reign. The booking of Bayley has been a disaster and McMahon has her positioned as a secondary wrestler in the women’s division.

12 The Revival

Tag team wrestling is one aspect of the show that Vince McMahon does not care about as much. It takes a lot of time and success to truly earn McMahon’s success as a tag team. The New Day and The Usos have been the ones to do it, and it didn’t come easy.

Triple H had high hopes for The Revival to do the same following an amazing run in NXT. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder delivered incredible performances during their NXT run, but that has not happened in WWE. They don’t get nearly enough time to show that success on Raw. McMahon isn’t buying The Revival as a noteworthy act and refuses to push them.

11 Elias

Most instances of Vince McMahon and Triple H disagreeing about a talent from NXT features Triple H viewing the performer as a bigger star. One exception to this rule is Elias. Triple H booked Elias as a comedic enhancement talent that rarely received television time in NXT.

The plan was for that to continue on the main roster until McMahon fell in love with the character work of Elias. It led to him receiving wins over major names and having long promo segments every week. Elias has become one of Vince’s favorites. A recent face turn will give him a chance to move up the card.

10 Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt's run has seen many ups and downs in just a few years. Wyatt was one of the first major projects from Triple H to get a chance on the main roster. The time back down in NXT allowed him to change his character from the failing Husky Harris to the mysterious Wyatt.

WWE did go all the way with Bray by having him win the WWE Championship heading into WrestleMania 33. Vince McMahon lost faith in Wyatt during his title reign and had him lose it after a month. Wyatt then moved to Raw and has done nothing of note, except a brief Tag Team Championship reign with Matt Hardy. He is currently off television with no long-term plan set.

9 Asuka

Asuka is one of the highest profile instances of Triple H and Vince McMahon disagreeing about a talent. Triple H believed Asuka was a top star the second she walked into NXT. A long winning streak started right away and ended with Asuka remaining undefeated throughout her entire NXT stint.

Vince McMahon was talked into having Asuka win the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match to sell the streak vs title gimmick at WrestleMania 34. McMahon opted to end Asuka’s streak, believing Charlotte Flair deserved the WM win. This turned into losing all faith of Asuka, as she lost multiple times to Carmella. Asuka is now struggling to regain momentum in WWE.

8 Apollo Crews

It is easy to forget that Apollo Crews was once a huge signing for WWE after getting him from the independent circuit. The potential of Crews made him a relevant NXT player right away. Vince McMahon was impressed with his look and the move was made to call him up.

There were reports that Triple H wanted Crews to stick around in NXT longer to ensure he was ready for the main roster. These fears proved to be true as McMahon lost confidence in Crews within months. Following a short-lived push, Crews has done nothing of note and is trying to stay afloat on the Raw roster.

7 Bobby Roode

Bobby Roode spent many years working his way up in the wrestling world before joining WWE. Most fans followed his career as a top star for Impact Wrestling. Roode joined NXT late in the game and instantly became a favorite of Triple H. It only took a few months before he won the NXT Championship.

The older age of Roode and the instant success allowed him to join the main roster faster than most. Vince McMahon never took to Roode and he has done very little on SmackDown and Raw. Roode is currently part of a tag team with Chad Gable that does not have much long-term planning involved.

6 Lana

The Women’s division finding importance in recent years is one of the biggest success stories for Triple H. NXT was where it started, and Triple H’s vision became a huge part of the main roster. Vince McMahon, however, is still the one to dictate which ladies get pushes and which stay in the background.

One female talent with less in-ring skills than the rest is Lana. The strengths of Lana come in the form of her character work and stunning look. McMahon has been high on Lana since she joined the main roster as Rusev’s manager. Lana’s improvements in the ring from horrible to decent could see Vince push her to the moon. Triple H prefers the more credible wrestlers and likely will not be thrilled.

5 Shane McMahon

The return of Shane McMahon in 2016 has seen him stick around as the Commissioner of SmackDown. Shane is currently on board as a talent, but the chances of him having a bigger role backstage are always possible. There have been reports for many years that Shane and Triple H have personal issues. Shane even looked upset when Mick Foley asked him about it on a WWE Network podcast.

Triple H clearly would not want Shane around as a threat to his position as the person running the company when Vince gives up the spot. However, Vince clearly loves his son and wants Shane back for the long haul after a long absence. We may see a clashing in opinions when it comes to Shane’s WWE future.

4 Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens has had a tremendous run in NXT and WWE since accepting Triple H’s contract offer. It only took a few months for Owens to win the NXT Championship and under a year to get called up to the main roster. Owens has won many titles and has been involved in major storylines.

Triple H is considered one of Kevin’s biggest supporters as seen in the WWE Network documentary about his career. Vince McMahon believes in him as well to deliver such opportunities, but he has a ceiling on Owens’ career. McMahon is likely the reason KO was buried by Braun Strowman and moved lower down the card before taking time off to rehab an injury.

3 Sasha Banks

Sasha Banks' rise in NXT made her the face of the Women’s movement. Banks was the NXT Women’s Champion as the momentum grew enough for her, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch to get called up. Classic matches with Bayley and Becky Lynch made Sasha the favorite of the bunch, thanks to Triple H’s vision.

There were even segments of Triple H tearing up backstage after the classic TakeOver match between Banks and Bayley. Vince McMahon clearly does not have the same relationship with Banks. Her standing in the company has dropped dramatically after reports of McMahon not viewing her as being on the level of Charlotte, Alexa Bliss, and others. Sasha may not get another chance at a major role unless Triple H takes over.

2 Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is a controversial figure in wrestling, partially due to Vince McMahon letting him call all the shots. Lesnar's contract setup allowed him to make the most money while working the least amount of dates for the company. Lesnar also dominated the Universal Championship picture, often destroying his opponents.

McMahon believes Brock is on a different level from the rest of the roster and deserves to have the show booked around him. Triple H reportedly feels the opposite, as he wants WWE to part ways with Lesnar. Vince is already considering offering Lesnar a new contract to fill the gap during Roman Reigns’ absence, but there could be a loud voice of dissent coming from Triple H.

1 Finn Balor

The biggest instance of Vince McMahon and Triple H having differing views on a wrestler is Finn Balor. Triple H developed a strong confidence in Balor during his reign as NXT Champion. Finn helped NXT reach a new level as the face of the promotion. Triple H fought for Balor to be the first Universal Champion and receive a massive push when called up.

Balor had the worst luck possible by geoing down with an injury and having to give up the title the next night. Vince McMahon lost all faith in Finn since then. His return from injury has seen Balor treading water for about a year and a half now. McMahon views Finn as being too small. Triple H thinks he can be the face of the company. No one is rooting for Triple H to take over more than Balor.