Whether the boss wants to accept it or not, Triple H will soon be taking over the WWE. Hunter has been entrusted with more and more responsibility to oversee operations in the company, with NXT being his most prominent delegation of control. With that role, he’s proved he owns a great mind for the business, just like Vince used to.
Hunter has been given more control over the company as Vince prepares for inevitable life post-WWE. The 72-year-old has begun to sell more shares and follow ventures outside of wrestling like XFL.
Its clear Hunter is being groomed to be the head of the business and with that calling, Hunter will have to undo some of the bad the boss has done, especially in relation to ex-wrestlers.
Over the years, McMahon has had many run-ins with wrestlers, ultimately causing them to be put on his imaginary ‘blacklist’. Hunter’s job now will be to decide which of those blacklisted superstars deserves a recall and which aren’t even worth his time. If Hunter could convince those blacklisted wrestlers to come back, we’d be in for one of the most exciting eras in wrestling history.
Here are 10 wrestlers Triple H would take off Vince McMahon’s blacklist and 7 he wouldn’t.
17 Wouldn’t: Zahra Schreiber
Zahra Schreiber first tried her luck with the WWE in 2014, where she was enrolled in try-outs. However, it was her second try-out that landed her a developmental contract. In her time in NXT, Schreiber would be a ring announcer and manager of Sami Callihan.
Unfortunately for her, the same night she debuted as a manager was the night that photos of her Nazi memorabilia surfaced online. She was sacked in an instance. Even before that, she was involved in a nude scandal involving current intercontinental champion Seth Rollins.
To be honest, Schreiber’s package comes with more baggage than it does benefits and that’s why she’ll never be taken off Vince McMahon’s blacklist.
The boss has never liked having to deal with personal drama at the workplace, he finds running a billion-dollar company stressful enough.
16 Would: Colt Cabana
It almost seems as though Colt Cabana’s blacklisting has come through being guilty by association. He is one of CM Punk’s best friends in the wrestling industry and it was on his public podcast that the former WWE Champion aired his shocking grievances about the company.
The podcast gained much traffic from that moment on and the WWE in effect barred Cabana’s name from the building. He was reportedly in line to become an announcer in NXT, but that podcast altered the course of his career.
In fact, Cabana was already amid try-outs at the company when he was told that there was no longer an interest in his services. Regardless of ties, Triple H has always been one to look out for the best talent to establish NXT as the dominant brand.
15 Wouldn’t: Justin Roberts
For Justin Roberts, he was reportedly terminated as the company wanted to go in a ‘different’ direction. That sacking didn’t sit well with Roberts and he’s been bitter ever since. Since leaving the company, Roberts has expressed his displeasure at the company through various mediums including a new book.
The disgruntled employee spilt the beans about how he witnessed several cases of bullying during his time by several members of staff. He’s specifically highlighted former commentator JBL as one of the biggest perpetrators.
Of course, everyone deserves a second chance, but the WWE only applies that logic to talented wrestlers, not ring announcers. The company sees announcers as expendable at best so there’s no way they’d ever re-consider hiring back Justin Roberts.
14 Would: Justin Gabriel
In his time in the WWE, Justin Gabriel has dazzled and entertained the WWE universe on many an occasion. However, when he began to play the role of the bunny in Adam Rose’s crew, he knew his time in this era was coming to an end. He wanted to be a wrestler, not a comedy act. This frustration forced him to quit the company unexpectedly, much to the surprise of both Vince McMahon and Triple H.
His resignation was so unexpected that Hunter reacted badly to it, telling the South African he’d have a long time to wait before being accepted back.
But knowing how eager Hunter is to improve his NXT brand, it won’t be too long before he’s ringing up the former Nexus member’s phone.
13 Wouldn’t: Dulce Rivas
While Sexy Star has never been in WWE, she is an established name in the Latin American market, a market that WWE has been trying to tap into. The company has made an effort to introduce more Latin stars recently, but have yet to find superstars among the likes of Rey Mysterio and the late Eddie Guerrero. Sexy Star may well have been on WWE's radar at one point, as they continue their women's evolution, but recent incidents involving Sexy Star have made her persona non grata to many promoters. There was of course her incident with Rosemary in which she legitimately broke her arm, and there has been other occasions where she's hurt her opponents for real.
Road Dogg, who runs SmackDown Live, tweeted following the incident, calling for Sexy Star to be blacklisted from promotions everywhere: "If it's a work [scripted], y'all got us! If not, you'll never step foot on SDLive [Smackdown Live]. We're a team, a family, and you don't get away with this!"
It's likely WWE feels the same way, and Triple H obviously wouldn't put any of his women's stars in harm's way.
12 Would: Teddy Hart
For someone so talented, it’s a shame that Teddy Hart has had such public attitude problems. During his career, his in-ring talents have always been overshadowed by his actions outside of it, thus branding him an unreliable asset.
Hart is notoriously known for going off script during matches and adding death-defying stunts without notice. In 1998, Hart was the youngest ever person to be signed to a WWF contract but was released four years later due to what we’ve already said attitude problems.
If the talented wrestler has calmed down and learnt how to heed instructions, then he would be the perfect acquisition for NXT. As we speak, the 38-year-old is running the ropes in AAA, but he could easily be persuaded to re-enter the big leagues of the WWE.
11 Wouldn’t: Alberto Del Rio
You can’t say the WWE didn’t give Alberto Del Rio as many opportunities as possible. Not only did they give him opportunities, they gave him high profile chances. But with great opportunity comes great responsibility, responsibility Del Rio couldn’t handle.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Del Rio’s antics in his last run, where he had several run-ins with backstage staff. Add to that his lackadaisical attitude towards media runs and it’s not hard to see why the WWE hasn’t invited him back recently.
Although his name may still hold weight, Del Rio is gradually severing ties with Indy promotions as his braggadocios ego makes him miss appearances. Alberto Del Rio’s time in the WWE is over and even Triple H wouldn’t be able to repackage him as useable talent in today’s era.
10 Would: Gail Kim
Released from the WWE back in 2011, Gail Kim has gone on to raise her profile since then. However, initially, when she was released, she was held back from working anywhere until her contract was up. This spiteful act forced the female wrestler to have only bad words to say about the company in interviews. Regardless, she then went on to become a star in TNA as a knockout.
At the age of 41, Gail Kim still has a lot to offer the WWE.
Such is her knowledge of the business, Kim currently works as a producer for Impact Wrestling. So, for the WWE, Hunter could use her in such a role down in NXT or he could bring her in as a full-time talent to help steady the women’s evolution.
9 Wouldn’t: Mr Kennedy
Injuring golden chip projects in John Cena and Randy Orton didn’t aid Mr Kennedy one bit in his quest to become great in the WWE. It’s unfortunate he had these run-ins as the fans seemed to take a liking to him during his final gimmick. However, when he made the transition to TNA, all that loving fanfare became a distant memory as he allowed the fame to get to his head. With that, his popularity dwindled and even TNA had to send him his marching papers.
From then on, Kennedy has been bitter to both companies, especially the former. So, he’s deemed an unsafe worker and he’s said derogatory things about the company, there’s no way he’s ever being taken off the blacklist. Hunter likes business, but Kennedy doesn’t have the star power to warrant such effort.
8 Would: Cody Rhodes
From the very first time we saw him, we all knew Cody Rhodes was incredibly talented. There was a certain charisma about the wrestler, a charisma that could only be likened to that of his late father, the American Dream.
Whatever WWE management threw at him, the young man took onboard and turned into a success.
Even with the rip-off Stardust gimmick, Cody put his heart and soul into getting it over with the fans. Even though he and the fans knew this wasn’t the best use of his talent, he never complained neither did he show descent.
However, in 2016 he couldn’t take it any more and asked for his release from the company. Since then he’s gone onto to re-invent himself at Ring of Honor, turning into a huge star in the indies. Now he’s proved what he’s capable of, this is the best time for Hunter to channel that star power into a repackaged WWE performer.
7 Wouldn’t: Scott Steiner
It’s well documented that Scott Steiner ruffled as many feathers as possible during his WWE run. The muscle man was a star in WCW but when he came to the WWE, his star power quickly diminished. Steiner seemingly picked a fight with everyone in the company, during his main event run.
Things got so heated that when he had a prime-time program with Triple H, he purposely wrestled stiff to bring shame upon the entire industry.
Even in his prime, Steiner was never a wrestler who could tell a proficient story in the ring, so there’s not much he could offer at the steep age of 55.
From a personal point of view, I’m not sure Hunter will ever forgive Steiner for how he publicly embarrassed him in those main event matches.
6 Would: AJ Lee
Some would say that the former Divas Champion was, in fact, the pioneer of the women’s revolution. She bucked the trend and showed the world that women could be just as big as the men. Her personality was infectious, her in-ring work was exceptional, and her storytelling regularly became the most entertaining component of WWE programming.
It’s believed that AJ is only blacklisted due to her close ties with CM Punk.
Of course being married to a man who has a deep hatred for the WWE was never going to work in her favor. But for the women’s evolution to come full circle, Triple H and the WWE need AJ Lee to validate their era-defining work. She’s one of the greatest of all time and her in-ring prowess is needed to put over today’s current stars.
5 Wouldn’t: Sunny
One thing the WWE has become increasingly conscious of in recent years is their public image. They believe talents and workers alike should conduct their selves in a befitting manner. Whenever a talent is deemed to even be near a scandal, they’re instantly given their marching papers, so the WWE doesn’t get associated with such bad press.
Since leaving the wrestling business, Sunny has been involved in drama after drama. She’s been charged multiply by the law, been involved in sex scandals and just to top it off, she’s showcased drug and alcohol abuse. With a women’s evolution currently ongoing, the WWE and Vince McMahon would never hire back Sunny as 1) she comes with a lot of baggage and 2) she can’t wrestle like the women of today.
4 Would: Jim Cornette
Controversial, outspoken and a wrestling guru, there are not many men out there who have a more astute knowledge of the business than Jim Cornette. Despite leaving the WWE in controversial fashion, after an altercation with Santino, Cornette’s presence is still sorely missed in the company today.
As a talker there aren’t many better than Jim Cornette; perhaps only Paul Heyman could rival him for that throne.
So, there’s no reason why Triple H wouldn’t let bygones be bygones and consider hiring back the straight talker.
Cornette could come back and excel in a number of roles, such as; on-screen talent manager, part of the creative team, or a host on a WWE Network exclusive show. Regardless of the route, there’s a way for Cornette to be a part of the WWE family in 2018.
3 Would: Hulk Hogan
The most famous name in wrestling history has notably had his ups and downs with the wrestling business. Many say he was the one that introduced the profession to the mainstream media thus transforming it from a niche market into a worldwide phenomenon.
Now that same iconic figure is on his creator’s blacklist. The truth is, as famous as Hulk Hogan is, his leaked racist comments were enough for the WWE to cut ties with him and justifiably so.
However, Hogan’s exploits are better under WWE management than without. At the age of 64, there’s not much purpose Hogan could serve the WWE in the ring. But as a general manager or worldwide ambassador, he’d come in very handy. Triple H has already reportedly got the process rolling.
2 Would: CM Punk
Although they had their own little run in, Hunter is a savage businessman that’s always willing to put aside personal differences for the greater good of the company. CM Punk is an asset/brand that cannot be overlooked in today’s market.
There’s a reason why at one point Punk was outselling the golden boy John Cena in merchandise sales. He was the hardcore fans’ alternative face of the company and they backed him ferociously throughout the country.
Since leaving the WWE, Punk has had one UFC bout, contributed to the production of several Marvel comics and has rinsed his celebrity status to the max. As of now, the 39-year-old’s star power is starting to dwindle and the only way he can break back into the mainstream is through the WWE. Vince won’t re-sign Punk because of pride, but Hunter sees beyond that.
1 Would: Batista
I’m not sure what Batista did to Vince, but it seems as if the two are not on talking terms. Since leaving the WWE, Dave Bautista has gone on to become one of the biggest stars in all of Hollywood. Countless appearances in blockbuster films have raised his profile, thus making him a huge commodity.
Usually, the WWE would be jumping at the chance to work with someone of such pedigree, but the WWE seemingly are not asking for the former WWE champion to come back.
Batista himself has stated on many an occasions that he’d love to come back and put over young talents.
Regardless of whether it’s an ego thing with Vince, Hunter has always been close with Batista. And it’s a guarantee that the Game is still in contact with Batista, possibly orchestrating one last main event run from the animal.