November is drawing to a close, and in the WWE year, that can only mean one thing- Triple H has come out of hibernation, blown the cobwebs off his sledgehammer and is about to insert himself into a top-level feud for Wrestlemania. Over the last few years it has been pretty obvious who Triple H’s opponent is going to be, especially in the case of Seth Rollins last year, and Sting two years prior to that. This year, however, things are looking a little different.
At the end of the Survivor Series main event, Triple H went crazy and made the whole thing about himself- attacking both Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle, and then getting beat up by Braun Strowman. While the ending was supposed to have made Braun look strong, Hunter isn’t fooling anybody and the internet reacted with its usual response to Triple H doing such things. The match did create a lot of speculation surrounding Triple H’s Mania opponent, though, and fans have since been discussing it ever since the show closed. While it seems likely it will be one of the men involved in the finish at Survivor Series, just which one it will be remains uncertain, and who knows, it could be someone different entirely. Let’s take a look at five potential Wrestlemania opponents for Triple H.
Braun Strowman
At the time of writing, Braun Strowman is definitely the front-runner to face Triple H at Wrestlemania. The two men had a square off at the end of Survivor Series and Braun followed that up by confronting The King of Kings on Raw the night after.
Triple H cowered away from Braun in their in-ring segment, something we have rarely seen The Game do in recent years, and there is every chance that sooner or later he will find some underhanded way to retaliate against the big man. WWE won’t be teasing a feud between the two for nothing either, and Triple H, for all his faults, has a habit of putting over younger stars on the grand-daddy of them all, Wrestlemania.
A match between Braun and Triple H, and a victory for the former Wyatt Family member would work wonders for his career, and with Brock Lesnar likely leaving the company after Wrestlemania, this would position Braun as the next unstoppable force in the WWE.
Kurt Angle
The rumour that Kurt Angle is set to face Triple H at Wrestlemania has been doing the rounds for months, and from a storyline perspective, it makes sense right now. Triple H screwed Kurt Angle at the end of Survivor Series and the Raw GM is likely going to be itching for revenge in the coming months. The Jason Jordan storyline, which currently feels like an annoying itch that just won’t go away, is probably going to come to a head towards the Rumble, and I’m betting on Kurt and Triple H doing battle there, freeing Kurt up for a mania match with his kayfabe son, and Hunter up for a match with Braun, at least, that’s how I would book things right now.
Two things you can’t rule out in wrestling, though, are nostalgia, and Triple H’s ego. If Triple H decides he wants a big nostalgia match at Mania, and that he is owed a win for putting over both Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins in the last 2 years, then don’t be surprised to see him having his hand raised against Kurt in New Orleans.
Shane McMahon
If there is one thing the McMahons love at Wrestlemania, it’s getting themselves involved. Triple H and Shane McMahon have both featured prominently at the last two Wrestlemanias and following the events of Survivor Series, I wouldn’t rule out Shane McMahon challenging his brother-in-law to a match in the coming months.
Shane Vs Triple H is pretty much a match that absolutely nobody, aside from the McMahon family want to see, but with the company’s insistence that Shane is a top-level star, one who can compete with the best the company has to offer, don’t be surprised to see this chucked onto the Wrestlemania card because let’s be honest here, this match is definitely going to happen at some point in the near future. In many ways, perhaps it’s best to just get it over and done with.
The Rock
Another match that has been rumoured for years. Mutterings of this bout taking place began at Wrestlemania 31 when The Rock and Ronda Rousey had an in-ring confrontation with Stephanie McMahon- leading many to think that it could lead to a mixed tag team match between the four at some point in the near future.
Those rumours never come to fruition, however, and talk of the two meeting in the ring one last time has died down ever since. This one does definitely seem to be the most unlikely to take place on this list, but it certainly seems likely that if The Great One decided to step back between the ropes, then Triple H would be first in the queue for a match with him, and what better place to have that than at Wrestlemania.
Jason Jordan
When the WWE is convinced someone is going to get over, they will try just about anything to make that happen. Jason Jordan has been one of the company’s pet projects for months now, and let’s be honest, the experiment is failing miserably. It’s not even that Jordan, a face, gets booed every week- he just receives zero reaction.
While it does seem likely that the company will pull the trigger and turn him heel in the coming weeks, don’t rule out them trying one last throw of the dice and have him heroically step in to save his father from big bad Hunter. A match against Triple H at Mania would be huge for Jordan and in the eyes of the creative department would 100% get him over with the fans. I wouldn’t rule out Jason and Angle teaming up against Trips and somebody else, either. While this match seems highly unlikely, don’t rule out the company going a little loco and trying one last time to get Jordan over.
