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Triple H taking over WWE Creative will undoubtedly bring about many changes, big and small. One of the biggest adjustments is that, for the first time ever, the WWE roster will be under the influence of someone who started his career as a wrestler, rather than a promoter.
NXT was considerably different from the main roster when Triple H was in charge. Now that he's steering the ship, we can expect to see some of those booking philosophies carry over, as well as more favoritism toward some of Triple H's previous signings and students.
A new vision brings about a new way to look at the wrestlers—particularly those who have been struggling but have shown that they are better than their place on the hierarchy.
With that in mind, let's look at some WWE Superstars who might be in line for an upgrade.
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The biggest boon to the women's division came under Triple H with Paige, The Four Horsewomen and a laundry list of NXT Superstars who changed the game.
Many, like Asuka, were treated like queens on that brand only to struggle on the main roster. The Empress of Tomorrow went from undefeated to someone who would get a belt and be pushed aside.
Shayna Baszler is another. She was a monster in NXT and could have had multiple Raw and SmackDown Women's Championship runs by now, but she was fed to Becky Lynch and never recovered, more often just performing as part of a tag team act than the unstoppable force she once was.
As evidenced by the opener of SummerSlam, wherein not only did Bayley return but Iyo Sky was called up to the main roster and Dakota Kai re-signed after her release in April, this is a good indicator things will get back on track.
Look out for Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair and many others to be treated like even bigger stars. Sasha Banks and Naomi may be better persuaded to return with the Women's Tag Team Championship given more attention now that Vince McMahon—who has historically never been high on tag teams in the first place—has no say.
Across the entire women's division, there will be more instances of Bayley vs. Banks from TakeOver: Brooklyn and Superstars getting more than just a few minutes in the ring.
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Though they had earned their stripes far before joining NXT, two of the biggest "Triple H kids" are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
From the get-go, they were both put in prominent spots on that roster. Owens, in particular, debuted with an immediate thrust into the main event and quickly defeated Zayn for the title.
It was Triple H's endorsement that awarded Owens the Universal Championship run. Owens sees Triple H as a mentor and has even said to talkSPORT he wouldn't be in WWE without him, as no one has done more for him in his career than Hunter.
Zayn's go-to word association for Triple H was also "mentor" on his Broken Skull Sessions appearance. Whether it's allowing him to explore his creativity with his character or just knowing he'll put on a fantastic in-ring performance, Triple H knows Zayn is someone worth putting the spotlight on after doing so in NXT.
Since he and Owens are two peas in a pod and Triple H must have been fond of their work to sign them in the first place, let alone working with them all these years, the sky's the limit for them now.
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Ciampa wasn't meant to be The Miz's lackey. That role doesn't suit him whatsoever. He can certainly pull off a sadistic heel role, but to be partnered with the braggart A-Lister? That's about as synergistic a pair as Reggie joining The Viking Raiders.
He isn't a rookie still learning the ropes while shadowing The Miz, like Alex Riley so many years ago. Ciampa is a veteran who knows what he's doing and has carved out a niche with monikers such as The Blackheart, The Psycho Killer and The Sicilian Psychopath. None of that speaks to neon green standing with Maryse.
In the coming months, Ciampa should receive a steady incline, going from a random midcarder who doesn't wrestle every week and had no direction until just recently to someone who can easily be seen at least holding the United States Championship, if not working his way up to the main event scene like he commanded in NXT.
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One of the most underrated and overlooked talents in WWE these days is T-Bar, to a point where many fans probably don't even remember he's on the roster.
Being brought up to Raw as part of the terrible Retribution angle, rechristened the awful name T-Bar and eventually relegated to just wrestling on Main Event—a show WWE doesn't even acknowledge the existence of—Dominik Dijakovic is far better than this.
He's had amazing matches in NXT, particularly with Keith Lee, who is another talent that would have been treated better if he hadn't already left for All Elite Wrestling.
Triple H has to know how ridiculous the T-Bar name is, and he will likely be much more open to hearing out those complaints from talent, having wrestled under the name Terra Ryzing in his own career.
Watch out for a return to Dijakovic, who will be able to showcase his skills on more than the pre-taped Hulu programming.
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Rhea Ripley was already mentioned in the women's division, but she's not the only member of The Judgment Day who had previously been treated like a much bigger star when Triple H was in charge.
Finn Balor was twice the top dog in NXT. He came in like a star and was immediately positioned as a major player.
Damian Priest didn't win the NXT Championship, but he quickly rose the ranks to become North American champion and was also never sidelined with nothing to do. Some might say he was even fast-tracked to the main roster because of how good things were going for him in NXT.
The Judgment Day had a lot of potential as a faction, but this trio has struggled under McMahon's direction. Whether they stick together and ride it out or split and take on new assignments, it is highly unlikely Triple H will view them as failures and cast them aside like what frequently has happened with others in the past.
He knows how talented they are and that sometimes creative just doesn't do the right thing for the right people. If this isn't the star-making platform for them, they'll go back to the drawing board and figure it out without losing too much momentum.
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One of the recurring problems under McMahon's rule was a steady bias against wrestlers who weren't native English speakers. While they did receive success from time to time, so much attention has always been put on promos that opportunities naturally didn't come their way as often by proxy.
Shinsuke Nakamura has been one of those talents over the years. He went from a megastar in NXT and one of the first two-time champions to someone who failed his WrestleMania title shot after winning the Royal Rumble and followed it up with "no speak English" promos.
Every so often, Nakamura would win a midcard title only for him and that belt to disappear entirely. He would barely ever defend the championship, and the feuds were often just about someone challenging him rather than providing any meaningful story.
Triple H has always shown more favoritism toward the in-ring skills than McMahon. He knows what Nakamura is capable of despite the language barrier. Don't be surprised if The King of Strong Style starts scoring some bigger wins to the point where he can fight someone like Roman Reigns without it looking like there's a significant level gap between them.
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Robert Roode has been one of the biggest busts of this era. He was a huge deal heading into NXT, but his main roster run has been less than desirable.
For the bulk of it, Roode has been placed in random tag teams that often aren't even making regular appearances, let alone the focal points of the division. He's had some title wins, but they've all felt hollow compared to when he was NXT champion.
The clock is ticking on Roode. At 46, he's not someone who can sit around for 10 years waiting to get a better spot, which won't come with a more humorous character who loses most of his matches.
Since he hasn't been seen in a little while, now is the time to refresh his character and either return back to his "glorious" gimmick that was super over or try something new. But make him a more prominent veteran and multi-time world champion from elsewhere, rather than just another guy who can put over everyone else.
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A few months back, Ricochet was the de facto No. 2 babyface on SmackDown. Even with the Intercontinental Championship around his waist, you wouldn't have thought so, based on how little WWE seemed to care about actually showcasing him.
This has always been the case with Ricochet. He went from being a hot-ticket item in NXT who would have a great match any time he stepped in the ring to a guy on the main roster who hit a ceiling in the midcard since promos weren't his speciality.
Recently, when Seth Rollins tweeted about being disappointed he wasn't booked for SummerSlam, Ricochet responded with "Yeah me too lol"
He and everyone watching knows he's been wasted the past few years. But since Triple H treated him well in NXT with the North American Championship, now could be when things turn around and he starts picking up more steam.
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Rounding out this list are some Superstars who are already in rather prominent roles but could still get a bump up, and some others who could be in a better position than they've been but aren't necessarily guarantees.
Ludwig Kaiser and Gunther are already holding down the fort with the Intercontinental Championship, but since Gunther was given the NXT UK Championship for a record-setting length at 870 days, it is safe to say Triple H is a major fan.
Butch has had a rough go on SmackDown, but Pete Dunne was also responsible for commanding the NXT UK brand, holding the title for a whopping 685 days. With McMahon in charge, he would probably always be viewed as "too small" for a big push, but Triple H has shown less of a tendency toward that ideology.
The Max Dupri gimmick may not work out, but LA Knight could make his return in spirit. While he didn't have as much of a run in NXT with Triple H in charge as some others, he was still brought in likely because of Hunter's call. Maybe that's what will save him when this angle flops.
Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander were both fixtures of the cruiserweight division that Triple H created, controlled and tried to maintain for years. On Raw, they've been struggling to find a purpose and settled into a tag team just to make appearances on Main Event. Now, whether as a pair or going their separate ways, there's a good chance Triple H lets them show off their skills so fans can get more invested in them.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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