WWE Stars Who Would Be Released If Triple H Was In Charge

There will come a day when Triple H is responsible for shaping the creative direction of WWE. Stephanie and Shane might technically have a better claim to “the throne” and might be better able to handle the business side of WWE, but Triple H has proven that he is willing and able to determine what kind of product WWE puts on television. We’re not saying you should expect Raw and SmackDown to start looking like NXT, but Triple H has used that program and other opportunities to demonstrate his vision for the company once Vince is no longer in charge.

That being the case, we have a pretty good idea of the performers who will probably be out of a job when Triple H comes into power. While we’re not entirely clear on what a “Triple H” guy looks like - he likes a variety of wrestlers - we’ve got a pretty good idea of the type of performers he looks for. Most importantly, we know the kind of wrestlers that Vince McMahon really liked that don’t necessarily seem to match the preferences of Triple H. Either way, these are the 15 WWE wrestlers who would be released if Triple H was in charge.

15 Brock Lesnar

This one might happen anyway, but the point still stands. Plus the possibility of Lesnar leaving is more of a case of Lesnar choosing not to re-sign, rather than WWE electing to let him go. Brock Lesnar is a lot of things. He’s an intimidating figure, he’s a - mostly - proven draw, and he’s a guy that can produce a great match if he’s put in the right situation.

There are many things that Brock Lesnar isn’t, though, which Triple H might not be a fan of.

First off, Lesnar is not a team player. That is to say that he doesn’t really give a damn about creativity and tends to do his own thing. NXT proves that Triple H likes talent that is able to work within the storyline they are assigned, while Brock tends to be out for himself. Most importantly, Brock just doesn’t seem like a “Triple H guy.”

14 Jeff Hardy

If this entry serves as your daily reminder that Jeff Hardy is indeed an active member of the WWE roster, then you can probably guess why he’s on this list. There’s no reason to believe that Triple H doesn’t like Jeff Hardy - the two worked very well together when they were on the roster - but Jeff Hardy is an aging performer who is taking up a roster spot. Actually, that’s a theme with a lot of the guys on this list. While Matt Hardy is actually doing something of his own, Jeff is just a fading attraction who probably demands a fairly sizeable contract and doesn’t have much of a long-term future. Throw in his recent DWI arrest, and Triple H would have even more of a reason to let him go. You could easily see him getting dropped in favor of an NXT guy.

13 Dolph Ziggler

This might come as kind of a surprise. After all, Ziggler is still a relatively young guy with a lot of in-ring talent. He also just signed a fairly lucrative contract extension. However, Ziggler is also part of that awkward era for WWE when the company was just kind of spinning its wheels waiting for Vince to create new superstars.

Ziggler certainly rose above his humble origins, but he never hit that undisputed superstar level.

It also must be said that Ziggler’s a guy you keep on the roster to have great matches...but he hasn’t had many great matches in a long time. This is another instance of a roster spot that could be occupied but by a much more exciting, younger, and cheaper piece of talent.

12 Curtis Axel

Curtis Axel is another one of those guys who came up during the “We’re really desperate for good young talent” era. Axel was pushed to the moon as the son of Curt Hennig and a burgeoning young star in his own right. The only problem was that nobody bought into it.

Axel lacked his father’s in-ring talent, never developed a character of his own, and was downright awful on the microphone.

He was the kind of guy that WWE trotted out whenever they needed someone the fans were familiar with to lose to a better wrestler. The thing is that there are a ton of guys on the roster who can fill that spot better than Axel. He’s a remnant of the past Triple H wants to change.

11 Bo Dallas

Bo Dallas was actually a great character in NXT. He won the belt at a time when there were several established pieces of talent making a name for themselves in the company. The joke was that everyone knew Bo Dallas wasn’t “worthy” of the belt, but he kept finding ways to win and seemed to be oblivious to his awfulness. It was a fine gimmick, but Dallas’ value ended the moment that he lost the NXT Championship. Since then, he’s been treading water as a comedy character who wasn’t even good enough to earn a filler spot in the Royal Rumble. Triple H may love his NXT guys, but he also recognizes that there’s a difference between success in NXT and success on the main roster.

10 Big Cass

It’s difficult to remember now, but there was a time when Enzo and Big Cass were the hottest tag team in WWE. NXT fans were desperate to see them win the belts, but that never happened. Still, everyone assumed they were on their way to becoming the main roster’s biggest tag team attraction. At that time, Triple H told the guys that they were separating Carmella from them in order to take advantage of their talents. Many thought that meant the end for Carmella, but it seems Triple H knew that Enzo and Cass were the dead weight. The pair never made the appeal of their gimmick last on the main roster, and their split pretty much signaled the end of both of them. Big Cass is not an NXT kid Triple H will keep around.

9 Jinder Mahal

We have no doubt that Triple H has a good mind for the business of WWE. He has been in the company as a performer and executive for years.

Triple H understands that WWE isn’t a company he can run like his own personal old-school wrestling promotion.

At the same time, Triple H is a guy who seems to appreciate that a good product will draw all kinds of people in over a long enough period of time. As such, a guy like Jinder Mahal’s whose roster spot seems to come from Vince’s interest in expanding into India isn’t necessarily someone that Triple H would be as excited to keep around when he comes into power. Even if WWE wants an Indian star on the roster for that region, there are better options out there.

8 Alicia Fox

Alicia Fox isn’t nearly as bad of a wrestler as her most vocal detractors would have you think she is. She’s actually had some pretty good matches when she’s put in the ring with another wrestler that can lead her just a bit. The problem is - and this is a theme with the wrestlers that Triple H will want gone - Alicia Fox is piece of talent from a forgettable era of WWE whose salary could be going to multiple better wrestlers. While the NXT women’s roster isn’t nearly as deep as it once was, there’s going to come a day when call-ups will be made. If Triple H happens to have any creative control at that point, it seems reasonable that he’ll prefer to have one of the NXT ladies on the roster over someone like Fox.

7 Goldust

WWE is starting to figure out that while you need veteran wrestlers to make appearances in order to appeal to a certain section of the fanbase, you don’t necessarily need them to be full-time members of the roster. For instance, a guy like Randy Orton will probably never win the title again, but if a young wrestler beats him, it still feels like a big deal. He’s a great veteran to keep around.

A guy like Goldust, though, who is reliable enough and nostalgic for some but fails to generate a reaction beyond his entrance...well, that’s not someone you necessarily need on the roster all of the time.

Triple H will always be able to give his old-school boys a payday, but guys like Goldust probably won’t stick around much longer.

6 Tamina Snuka

Remember when we said that Alicia Fox isn’t nearly as bad of a wrestler as some people say she is? Well, we can’t really say the same about Tamina Snuka. Snuka has failed to impress since the day she entered WWE. As a manager, she was just kind of there. As a bodyguard for AJ Lee, she was completely unnecessary.

As a wrestler, there have been times when she has been awful to the point of being dangerous.

Tamina would have never been in the company were it not for McMahon’s strange soft spot for her father (who he allegedly helped protect during a murder investigation). Well, Triple H’s loyalties aren’t Vince McMahon’s loyalties. It’s hard to picture how Tamina fits into Triple H’s vision of WWE’s future.

5 Viktor/Connor

As easy as it is to suggest that Triple H will prefer his NXT crew over those who entered the company through other means, that’s not exactly true. There’s no reason to suspect that Triple H holds some kind of grudge against the non-NXT performers. In fact, there are probably some guys that came up through NXT that have failed on the main roster that he’d like to not be reminded about. Konnor and Viktor could have been a big deal on the main roster as a kind of modern day Legion of Doom, but they were never once treated like performers worth caring about. There is absolutely no salvaging either man, and there’s a good chance they stand as a reminder that some NXT call-ups outright fail.

4 Rhyno

Another veteran who arguably shouldn’t be on the roster, but this one has an interesting twist. See, Rhyno was actually utilized quite well in NXT. He was then used even better during the first year of SmackDown’s brand split when some of the NXT creative crew were evidently heading up the show. Rhyno is a guy who probably still has some kind of value in Triple H’s eyes. But, and this is the important part, not everyone who is liked and contributes something at work gets to keep their job for as long as they want. Rhyno isn’t a bad performer, but Triple H’s reign is going to have to involve some tough cuts if he’s going to be able to shape the roster to his preference.

3 Lana

Triple H has spent the past few years building an image to what a modern-day female WWE Superstar is, and Lana just doesn't check all the boxes. Yes, she is absolutely gorgeous and is talented on the mic, but her ring work hasn't shown promising signs of improvement as the WWE has tried to have her transition into being an in-ring performer rather than just a mouthpiece. Triple H would obviously rather see that ring time go to wrestlers he groomed down in NXT. Hunter would possibly keep Lana around if she was merely a mouthpiece to Rusev like before, but it's unlikely Triple H would have her holding a roster spot, while more talented wrestlers sit on the sidelines.

2 Mike Kanellis

You may be wondering, “Wait, weren’t Mike and Maria Kanellis in WWE for about a month?” They were. As it turns out, Maria Kanellis got pregnant not too long after the pair joined the company, and Mike Kanellis was sent off to rehab in order to deal with some personal issues. None of that is the reason that Triple H might want them gone, though. No, that has to do with how Kanellis entered the company.

There have been far, far better wrestlers who have had to go through NXT before entering WWE.

Kanellis is certainly no A.J. Styles. Instead, it’s easy to believe that Mike got fast tracked to the main roster just to get Maria on the main roster or because Triple H didn’t really have a purpose for him in NXT.

1 Hideo Itami

At a time before NXT was known as the place that some of the best indie talents in the world go when they’re ready to make the jump to WWE, there was Hideo Itami. In Japan and on the American indie scene, Itami was known as Kenta; a nearly unstoppable fighter who many bookers in the world treated like the absolute best.

WWE signing him to a developmental contract was a huge deal that seemingly signaled they were ready to stop ignoring great “non-WWE” kinds of talent.

That era came, but Itami was not the star of it. Instead, he suffered injury after injury and setback after setback. WWE has tried to shift him around the roster to keep him relevant, but nothing is working. If he’s not gone before then, he will be by the time that Triple H is in charge.