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?


Perhaps more importantly, what was WWE thinking?

Somehow, WWE walked away virtually unscathed (give or take a fan or two) after stepping directly into the public relations minefield that surrounds Floyd Mayweather.

There was next to nothing for WWE to gain from trying to hitch a ride on "Money's" coattails. The richest athlete on the planet is also its most toxic. There isn't a single company on the planet willing to pay him to endorse its product. Not one!

That doesn't mean there aren't companies willing to profit from Mayweather, and those who are so desperate to see him humbled. But that is an animal that's tough to tame. ESPN learned that. HBO and Showtime learned that. You want to put your satellite in orbit around Mayweather? You'd better be ready for the worst.

That is the storm WWE tried to insert itself into the middle of. In the week leading up to the fight, WWE Network was promoting "The Money vs. The Giant", a retrospective on Mayweather's WrestleMania XXIV match against the Big Show.

I understand WWE's desire to draw people to its network with fresh content, but what did WWE really have to gain from putting on such a special? Not much compared to how much WWE had to lose.

Is all publicity good publicity? WWE may have thought that in the past, and it may have been true back then. But WWE is a publicly traded company today, and it must answer to its shareholders. I wonder how those shareholders feel when they see what the possible heir to the throne tweeted just after Mayweather's victory over the weekend.

.@FloydMayweather WOW..... Just WOW. Masterful !!!!! #TMT #TBE #48and0 Congratulations

— Triple H (@TripleH) May 3, 2015

Triple H's public endorsement of Floyd Mayweather didn't sit well with some. Most notably...

I've loved @WWE for a long time. But @TripleH and his love for a serial abuser is too much. I'm turning in my fan card. #WasFunWhileItLasted

— Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) May 3, 2015

Triple H and Mayweather go way back. It started with the big match at WrestleMania XXIV in 2008. Back then, Mayweather had only been convicted and sentenced in three domestic violence cases involving violence against woman. Oh, and another battery case involving a bouncer. Oh, and he also had a reputation for making racist and homophobic comments. It was a simpler time.

It's not like WWE and Triple H were the only ones interested in doing business with Mayweather around this time. "Money" was a big deal after banking the biggest pay-per-view in history for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007. A few months later, ABC came calling and brought Mayweather in as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.

A few months after WrestleMania XXIV, Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing, but it didn't last. When Mayweather made his comeback against Juan Maneul Marquez, Triple H was there, publicly supporting Floyd in a number of roles. This was around the same time when the last of Mayweather's endorsement deals evaporated. And the worst for Floyd was yet to come.

The big one came a couple years later. I'm talking about court cases. Mayweather was convicted of battery for attacking the mother of two of his sons. He spent two months in jail. Public opinion turned for good against Mayweather, but Triple H remained steadfast.

The following year, "The Game" once again accompanied Floyd to the ring (a posse that also included Justin Beiber and 50 Cent) for his fight against Miguel Cotto. You remember this one, it came shortly after a storyline on Raw where Brock Lesnar had broken Triple H's arm with the kimura lock. "The Game" showed no ill effects as he followed Floyd to the ring.

The point of all this is to expand on the fact that Triple H and Floyd Mayweather go way back, and I'm not here to tell anyone who they should count among their friends. But if I could offer a piece of advice to Triple H, it would be to keep this relationship private.

What's best for business is keeping your support of Mayweather to yourself, keeping WWE's video of Mayweather locked up in the vault. There's nothing to be gained by stepping into the middle of a controversy that doesn't concern you. This time Triple H and WWE got away with it for the most part. Will they be as a lucky next time?