Something concerning HHH's 2002-2004 reign of terror.....

[radiantsilvergun]

I know it gets alot of flak, but what do you think are the chances are that the plan for the reign of terror from whenever it started was to reach the endgame of Chris Benoit getting his moment? Do you think this take on it rationalizes the snubbing of a prime Booker, RVD, Kane? 

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Slim to nil, like a lot of the WWE's booking it seemed more like something booked feud to feud with hunter saying 'I think it would be better for the WWE if I went over at the end of this one' halfway through each feud. It never was, but no-one argued otherwise, aside from the paying fans who drifted away from the product. It was a repeat performance of the old kliq trick, where the next guy is always going to be the one that he puts over, as this one doesn't have it.

Even if getting Benoit over was the end game from the very beginning, you would have to be some kind of demented workrate snob not to see that the people who were thrown under the bus were far more marketable long term prospects than Benoit was at that point.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

I think you could argue that HHH knew that eventually he could put someone over huge by being the dominant heel champion for such a long time. After all, that's basic heel wrestling 101 right there.

Now, the notion that he knew back then that the rub would come two years later and that Benoit would be the guy is absolutely ludicrous. Besides, I don't think he would give the guy that rub, and then proceed to main event Raw with Shawn Michaels anyway while Benoit dicked around with Kane and La Resistance. If anything, he would foresee the rub that Batista ended up getting a year later.

[DjZonk]

WWE are incapable of planning that long term...

[walterharrow]

I actually liked 'the reign of terror'. I love it when a heel manages to be on top for so long (i like it even more when a group like Evolution dominates the whole company). I loved Cm Punk's reign more when he turned heel. Bobby Roode was my favourite TNA champion. i just prefer it when a heel is the top champion

I was hoping that Brock Lesnar would be the same but he just doesnt appear enough so i would like to see Seth Rollins become world champion and have his own 'reign of terror'

[Starshine]

0%.

Firstly, they would never book over two years in advance. Also why would they have bothered with the Goldberg and HBK reigns if their end goal was to have Benoit be the one to overthrow him. Also if they did plan that, why did they book things so Triple H continued to overshadow Benoit while the latter was champion? Finally Benoit was on SmackDown at the time, being built up as a challenger for Lesnar before they pushed for the Goldberg match instead. It's far more likely they changed their minds leading into 2004 and moved Benoit to RAW so he could take the belt from the other top heel at Mania instead.

I don't buy it, there's too many points saying otherwise.

[Mid-Carder]

In Triple H's defence, and I hated the Reign of Terror as much as anyone, there's nobody I feasibly wanted as World champion. RVD was never really going to be, Booker and Kane at a push...

[Slingshot Suplay]

I forgot if it was Court Baurer or Greenberg or another former writer who said that Rvd was booked to win the world title when they were deciding to bring the whc back, but triple h got in vince's ear and convinced him that he could " make this guy" in a feud if he got the title first.

Kane was also slated to win the whc and unify it with the ic title, but triple h worked his backstage magic again and got the win again.

[mizerable]

But Benoit wasn't the endgame. He may have been the champ, but the focus was still on Hunter finding a means to get his title back. Benoit just wrestled without much development.

And don't forget that Trips still found a means to eventually beat Benoit at the end of 2004 when it came time to get a title shot. So in the end, he still found a means to beat the guy he couldn't beat.

It's one of the reasons I don't want to see Trips face Batista again, in the off chance that he beats him. He doesn't deserve that feather in his cap. He has enough feathers..

[Magnus the Magnificent]

If theendgame was to put someone over, it was either Orton or Batista, not Chris Benoit, and ultimately, it was Batista who got the honours.

[Madagascar Fred]

Goldberg and Orton were supposed to be the "endgame", the guys that should have profited most from beating HHH for the title...instead Benoit & Batista got the honors for various reasons...Goldberg was more of a transitional short-term champ, Orton didn't get his comeuppance against HHH in 2004/05

[Deleted]

Not at all. Chris Benoit wasn't presented as being anywhere near the RAW title in his booking during much of HHH's run. If they were planning it that far in advance, he wouldn't have done so much jobbing. People who WWE had plans for were moved over to RAW during the brand split pretty consistently.

Now obviously, he did end up over on RAW when he switched after winning the Rumble, but that's much shorter term.

[mizerable]

Nov 30, 2014 11:24:38 GMT -5 Madagascar Fred said:

Goldberg and Orton were supposed to be the "endgame", the guys that should have profited most from beating HHH for the title...instead Benoit & Batista got the honors for various reasons...Goldberg was more of a transitional short-term champ, Orton didn't get his comeuppance against HHH in 2004/05

Honestly, I can't believe they gave Goldberg the title to begin with if they ever decided to keep the belt on him. I'd think they would want a contract extension otherwise why bother?