Chad Gable’s baffling booking highlights major issues in the Triple H era of WWE

Two years ago, Vince McMahon ‘retired’ from WWE and handed over the booking reins to his son-in-law, Triple H. As expected, fans were delighted. Obviously, many had grown frustrated with McMahon’s version of wrestling. However, the WWE Universe witnessed the potential Hunter had due to his run as the head of NXT. 

Although it has been mostly positive, there have been a few baffling decisions and storyline twists that have frustrated fans. The most notable example is that of Chad Gable. First of all, the Alpha Academy leader is in a much better place on the roster than he was before. There’s no denying that. Having said that, his recent story of his obsession with the Intercontinental Championship and fallout with his students hasn’t quite hit the mark.

At Clash at the Castle, Gable was earmarked by most fans to emerge victorious and capture the title. Despite that, he lost, the reason being the same distraction that had cost him the championship previously.

As mentioned above, Triple H has considerably done an admirable job of bringing back WWE to its best in terms of interest and in-ring storytelling. However, there have been a few flaws in his method. Taking that into account, here are three major issues that can be highlighted:

Not pulling the trigger on hot commodities in WWE at the right time 

Without doubt, Gable has been doing the best work of his career. While many were aware of his in-ring skills, he showed that he is better at portraying his character. Since he turned heel, the end goal, in many fans’ eyes, has been to crown the former Olympian the Intercontinental Champion. Therefore, when he lost at Clash at the Castle, there was a lot of discourse online.

The majority of the WWE Universe was in agreement: Gable should’ve walked out with the title. The next night on Raw, he demanded another shot but was denied the opportunity by Adam Pearce. Later, he was squashed by Braun Strowman, and his family ended up leaving him. The night turned bad to worse as the debuting Uncle Howdy-led faction ‘murdered’ the former Tag Team Champion. 

And, yes, this could lead to something bigger for Gable. However, this would mean testing fans’ patience for a wrestler they have been behind since last September. Other stars who have suffered a similar fate during the Triple H era are the likes of Finn Balor and LA Knight.

Unnecessarily lengthy WWE championship reigns

Another major complaint of the current regime is the number of lengthy title runs on the main roster. Although the reigns of Gunther and Rhea Ripley helped establish both stars as major players, most of the other long championship stints have been stretched way too long. With all due respect to Roman Reigns, his win at WrestleMania 39 led to him unnecessarily keeping the title for another year. In that year, he only defended the belt THREE times!

Similarly, Logan Paul has reigned as United States Champion for more than 200 days, only defending it twice. This shouldn’t be something that becomes the norm or is treated as such by fans. And how is this related to Chad Gable? One might argue that perhaps WWE wanted to keep the Intercontinental Championship on Sami Zayn for much longer. Nevertheless, this is certainly an issue that needs working on.

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