Welcome To The Club, Kevin Owens

A victory over John Cena? That’s rare.

A clean victory over John Cena? Even more rare.

A clean victory in a non-gimmick, one-on-one match on pay-per-view? Well, that's like the Halley's Comet of professional wrestling.

WWE Follows The "Money" At Its Own Peril

There is a lot to like about Triple H these days, and there are reasons to be excited about the outlook for WWE under his leadership behind the scenes. But amid the brilliant E:60 special and the buzz heading toward NXT Takeover: Unstoppable I have a question.

What was he thinking?

WrestleMania Predictions

WrestleMania is this Sunday. We shared our predictions on this week's Wrestling Mayhem Show. You can watch us make our picks here...

Or, you can just read our picks below.

Mayhem Mania - Round 4

Mayhem Mania - Round 3

Mayhem Mania - Round 2

Mayhem Mania - Round 1

Welcome to Mayhem Mania! Not quite a game. Not really a contest. More like a competitive thought experiment. The object is to create the best WrestleMania card possible - NOT necessarily to predict what WWE will do.

Seth Rollins Destroys The Shield, Twitter

Source: WWE.com

Welcome to the dark side @WWERollins,we got cookies!
— Christian (@SuperMastodon) June 3, 2014

After putting us to sleep with nearly 6 hours of forgettable programming, WWE snapped out of its post-WrestleMania funk last night with a stunning ending to Raw. Seth Rollins turned on Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, and joined Evolution. The Shield fangirls (and boys) did not handle this very well. Here's a sampling of the firestorm of inappropriateness on Twitter.

#FiftyMatches - The Rock Goes Hollywood

July 21, 2002

The Undertaker v. The Rock v. Kurt Angle

WWE Undisputed Championship

Vengeance 2002

"The most awesome triple threat match I've ever seen in my life!" -Jim Ross

On April 19, 2002 the first movie to feature The Rock in a starring role arrived in theaters.

And the people came.

Spare Thoughts: Are Fans Over The Game?

We've seen this scene play out before.

The victorious villain disappears backstage. His music stops. The arena is quiet for a moment. Finally, the hero, gallant in defeat, stands in the middle of the ring. The fans applaud. He soaks in this ultimate show of respect before walking down the aisle, casting a final glance to the crowd before heading back behind the curtain.

This is what was supposed to happen just before SummerSlam went off the air, but while the familiar actions were there, the emotion was not.

WWE wanted fans in attendance to feel sorry for Triple H after he tapped out to Brock Lesnar. They didn't. They rejected this play for their sympathy with boos and chants of "You tapped out!"

Triple H was supposed to appear valiant in defeat. Instead, he was humiliated.

What went wrong?

It was a little over four months ago when a sold-out Sun Life Stadium roared with approval and respect for Triple H, The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels after their epic Hell In A Cell match at WrestleMania 28. Fans seized the opportunity to show their appreciation for all three men. If you didn't get chills while watching, you probably aren't a fan. It's been a long time since Triple H was beloved among hardcore fans, but he was embraced by them on that night.

Make no mistake about it, WWE got the reaction it wanted at WrestleMania. So, what changed at SummerSlam?

My best guess is Paul Heyman. While the main event match at SummerSlam was Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar, the feud was Triple H vs. Heyman.

Heyman holds a high level of respect among fans, and for weeks he was badgered and bullied by Triple H. All that seemed to be fine until Raw 1,000, when Stephanie McMahon got involved. Her words were so mean-spirited and seemingly personal, you couldn't help but feel sorry for Heyman. Does anyone really think his children are ashamed of him?

Brock Lesnar was now in the position of avenging his friend in their fight against the authority figures he felt slighted by. It sounds noble, as long as you can look past Lesnar breaking an arm or two.

WWE overplayed its hand with Triple H, and made a mistake that's become all too common lately - forgetting what makes the good guys good and the bad guys bad.

#FiftyMatches: One Injury Changes Everything

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin & Triple H v.
Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit

WWF Tag Team Championship

Monday Night Raw
May 21, 2001

"The entire building is shaking! This is the greatest chance in the lives of Benoit and Jericho!" -Paul Heyman

At the time, no one could have imagined that the days of dominance for the World Wrestling Federation were coming to an end. The company was still settling into the comfortable new reality of having an industry all to itself. World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling went out of business within weeks of one another. It almost felt like the WWF had planned all along to celebrate its final victory by putting on one of the most successful and well-received pay per views in history. After WrestleMania X-7, the WWF gleefully chugged onward. Alone.

#FiftyMatches: "Stone Cold" Is Back

Triple H v. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

2 Out Of 3 Falls

No Way Out 2001
February 25, 2001

"These guys are literally going to destroy each other"  -Jerry "The King" Lawler

Writing about the World Wrestling Federation in the year 2000, one storyline keeps popping up over and over again - The rise of Triple H.

In January 2000, he was an unproven champion still searching for a signature win. As the months passed, he earned the respect of fans. He held his own against The Rock, and dominated Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. 2000 was the most successful year of Triple H's career, and he was in the perfect position for the biggest opportunity of his life inside the ring.

#FiftyMatches: Y2J And The Glass Ceiling

Chris Jericho vs. Triple H

Last Man Standing Match

Fully Loaded 2000
July 23, 2000

"...the end may be near for Chris Jericho." -Jim Ross.

There are few things that frustrate me in professional wrestling as much as the career of Chris Jericho.

#FiftyMatches: Reinventing The Iron Man Match

Triple H v. The Rock

WWF Championship

Iron Man Match

Judgement Day 2000
May 21, 2000

"The intimidating hour."

- Jim Ross

Just like The Rock throwing punches with his right hand, the World Wrestling Federation was sticking with what worked during the months following WrestleMania 2000. The company really had no choice. Mick Foley was now retired. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's return to in-ring action following neck surgery was months away. The Undertaker, as it would turn out, was close to returning from his own injury, but he was not back yet.

The WWF responded to this shortage of main event talent by hitching its wagon to its two hottest young stars. This was the third pay per view main event in a row featuring The Rock and Triple H, and in many ways it's the climax of their in-ring rivalry.

#FiftyMatches: ECW's Last Stand

Mike Awesome v. Tazz

ECW World Heavyweight Championship

ECW on TNN
April 14, 2000

"Tazz is here to stand up for ECW!”

- Joey Styles

It's sad that it came to this for Extreme Championship Wrestling. Hemorrhaging talent at an impossible rate, the company found itself in a terrible situation. Its champion, Mike Awesome, had signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling. His departure suddenly left ECW searching for a new champion, and Paul Heyman mustn't have liked the options he saw inside the company he'd built into the third largest professional wrestling promotion in the United States.

#FiftyMatches: Making "The Game"

Triple H v. Cactus Jack

WWF Royal Rumble 2000

WWF Championship

Street Fight
January 23, 2000

"How much more could either of these men given us tonight?"

- Jim Ross

The dawn of the 21st century brought with it the breakout performance for the man who would carry the WWF/WWE through the coming decade and beyond. Somewhere between being labeled an undeserving champion and becoming the scourge of the Internet Wrestling Community, Triple H was the most respected performer among professional wrestling's most dedicated and demanding fans. Before injury derailed the prime of his career, Triple H was almost universally praised as a technical marvel, with toughness to match. That reputation did not materialize overnight.