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Even with WWE WrestleMania 38 fast approaching and more matches being made official this week, Triple H officially announcing his retirement from the ring eclipsed it all.
The Game had been absent for many months after suffering a cardiac event in September. In an exclusive interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Friday, he revealed the circumstances surrounding the situation were much more serious than fans were originally led to believe, resulting in him having to close the door on ever stepping back into the squared circle.
He won't be the only notable name not appearing at WrestleMania this year, as both of WWE's midcard champions have been relegated to the SmackDown preceding The Show of Shows this year. Ricochet, Finn Balor and their respective titles deserve better than how they have been booked as of late.
Meanwhile, All Elite Wrestling continues to stockpile its roster with talent. Another new women is set to debut Wednesday on Dynamite in an Owen Hart Cup qualifier against The Bunny, and all signs point to the latest acquisition being one Toni Storm.
This installment of Quick Takes will tackle the trajectory of the 2018 Mae Young Classic winner in AEW, Bobby Lashley reportedly returning sooner than expected, FTR's upside as babyfaces and more.
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The biggest takeaway from Triple H's candid sit-down interview with Stephen A. Smith is that he is on the mend. His retirement, which was only academic given what was already known about what happened, is obviously secondary.
That said, it is sad to know there will never be a proper sendoff match for The Game after the iconic career he had in WWE dating back to 1995. His last televised match came against Randy Orton at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia in June 2019, and although it was a solid affair, he deserved a better curtain call.
Other than that, there weren't many, if any, matches left for Triple H to have, not to mention that he had nothing left to prove or accomplish prior to hanging up his boots.
He's been a part-time competitor for the past decade, largely only wrestling a match or two a year, including at WrestleMania. Unfortunately, aside from the occasional gems with Daniel Bryan and the duo of Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey, the majority of his 'Mania matches in recent years have been underwhelming.
He had a chance to tie up every loose end, whether it was finally avenging his WrestleMania loss to Batista or helping elevate the likes of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. The Rock was the only possible opponent who alluded him after what was teased in 2014 and 2015, but otherwise Triple H matches were becoming less and less of a necessity.
Seeing The Cerebral Assassin make one final entrance on The Grandest Stage of Them All would have been ideal, but all of his accolades along with everything he's contributed to the company both in the ring and out of it have earned him the right to a relaxing retirement.
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Omos' aggressive push on Raw recently hasn't been well received by fans, if only because it's clear he isn't ready for the singles spotlight WWE is giving him.
To his credit, he's made the most of each opportunity and WWE has been wise to book him in short-and-sweet squashes. Following his dominant victory over Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez on Monday night, he demanded a mic and claimed that no one could measure up to his dominance.
Of course, the tease of a match with the injured Bobby Lashley was intentional, with Fightful Select reporting he could be back ahead of schedule and Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio backing up those rumors.
If The All Mighty is cleared to compete, he should be in action at WrestleMania after the exceptional year he's had, and Omos is the perfect opponent for him. That isn't to say it would be a 5-star mat classic, but the crowd would come alive for these two titans squaring off.
Lashley being the one to hand Omos his first singles loss would be believable, and it would make for a memorable 'Mania moment. Better yet, it would immediately get Lashley back on track after losing the WWE Championship in the fashion he did at Elimination Chamber.
It's unknown who else would step up to face Omos if Lashley isn't ready, but the two-time WWE champion answering the call and slaying the irresistable force would be best case scenario.
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From Athena (f.k.a. Ember Moon) to Mia Yim to Nixon Newell (f.k.a. Tegan Nox), there are several top talents WWE released last year who can and will be valuable assets to any company smart enough to sign them.
Any one of them could be The Bunny's mystery opponent and AEW's newest acquisition Wednesday on Dynamite, but no one makes more sense than Toni Storm.
The 2018 Mae Young Classic winner abruptly exited WWE late last year for reasons that are still unknown. Regardless, it was clear toward the end of her tenure there that she wasn't being booked as the star she is, and WWE's loss will wind up being AEW's gain if that is where she's headed.
The question is whether she will immediately take off and find success or fade into obscurity and settle into a regular role on the Dark shows like Ruby Soho has in recent months.
AEW would be foolish to pass on Storm, but how it handles her is key. WWE couldn't quite figure it out, even though it shouldn't be difficult seeing as how she has every tool necessary to be a big deal. But it's not as if there aren't women AEW is underutilizing at the moment.
The promotion's best bet would be to bring her win and have her build momentum with a string of wins before having her be the one to dethrone Jade Cargill or Thunder Rosa. Anything less than that would be perceived as a disappointment.
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Wardlow may not be the only member of The Pinnacle breaking out as a babyface if recent events are any indication.
FTR look set to be the next AEW stars to embrace the audience and embark on a face run. The seeds were planted when they fired Tully Blanchard as their manager earlier in March, and it became more evident following Dax Harwood's standout singles showing against CM Punk on Wednesday's Dynamite.
Similar to Santana and Ortiz during their time in Inner Circle, FTR have been in the background of The Pinnacle for the better part of the past year with it feeling like they lose on TV more often than they win. Given how tremendous of a tag team they are, that needs to change.
The former Revival are natural heels but can absolutely play convincing babyfaces that the crowd gets behind. The goal should be for them to regain the AEW World Tag Team Championship and have a longer reign than they did back in 2020.
In the meantime, they can remain relevant by holding the AAA World Tag Team Championship and possibly winning the ROH World Tag Team Championship at Supercard of Honor over WrestleMania weekend. That would increase their exposure.
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The main purpose behind making WrestleMania a two-night event was to cut down on the overall length of the show since the company's approach has always been to include as many stars on the card as possible.
As of this writing, five matches are slated for Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 (along with The KO Show starring "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Kevin Owens) and six are scheduled for Night 2. It's possible more will be added to each night, but WWE has already announced the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and an Intercontinental Championship match for Friday's SmackDown instead.
Two Superstars set to compete in the Battle Royal are Damian Priest and United States champion Finn Balor, who have been embroiled in a rivalry over the star-spangled prize for weeks. Meanwhile, Ricochet will be defending the intercontinental title against Angel and Humberto in a Triple Threat, and as exciting as that should be, to not even feature it on the 'Mania pre-show at the very least is comical.
Worse yet, both bouts speak volumes about how WWE views its midcard titles, which is to say not very highly at all. The United States Championship has taken a backseat to the Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee feud, and the Intercontinental Championship hasn't been defended on pay-per-view since last year's WrestleMania.
It's no wonder no fans can't take these titles seriously when the company itself couldn't care less. There's no excuse for Ricochet and Balor being left off WrestleMania when the card could still use another attraction or two on each night.
Both belts have sadly never meant less.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.
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