WWE reacts after #FireTripleH: urgent changes on SmackDown

Weekly shows from WWE have been the subject of criticism in recent months. Fans have expressed their discontent, especially with the Friday program, SmackDown, indicating that its quality has plummeted in recent weeks. Fans believe the show has experienced a decline in the quality of promos and segments, as well as a constant lack of pace. All of this led a sector of fans to bring visibility to the hashtag #FireTripleH, which has garnered a lot of attention in recent days.

The company has taken note of the fans' discontent and has started to make moves. This was explained by the media outlet Bodyslam.net, which in a recent report revealed that WWE is making internal changes to improve the quality of the blue brand show. According to the report, it is expected that Road Dogg will continue as head writer, but new members will be added to the writing team to find ways to enhance the product and make it more entertaining for the fans.

These changes are taking place at the most delicate moment of the Triple H era. The honeymoon period with the fans seems to have ended. Gone are the early days of excitement and anticipation for an era free from Vince McMahon and his repetitive shows. The new era promised new faces, new stories, long-term plans, scripts written in advance (and not last minute), something that seems to have changed over time.

Without returning to the chaotic way of the previous regime, the truth is that the weekly shows are starting to suffer from repetitiveness, with rivalries that fail to progress and talents that disappear or are underutilized. This has also been reflected in the viewership ratings, especially on SmackDown, with numbers closer to one million viewers than the one and a half million it averaged less than a year ago.

In addition to all this, there are certain highly criticized decisions, such as the exorbitant ticket prices, the celebration of WrestleMania 42 again in Las Vegas (with the cost to the fans' wallets that entails), and WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia, or the transition of Peacock's PLE to ESPN (with the consequent price increase that fans must bear). All of these are unpopular decisions for which the company and Triple H have been harshly criticized.

Vince Russo, former WWE writer, commented on this negative fan reaction, pointing out that fans have finally grown tired of the company's policies and Triple H himself. "I think we're really going to see the fan base start to turn against Triple H", he said on Writing with Russo. "If you add that to the fact that the guy gets involved in everything, I tell you, I think people are going to start turning their backs on him by 2026".

For the company to take steps to satisfy the fans is a first step in its goal of regaining lost trust. However, changing the creative direction will not be a definitive solution to quell the anger of a fan base disillusioned with the company's direction under the Endeavor umbrella. For now, we can only wait until next Friday to see if SmackDown (which will be broadcast from Australia) shows signs of recovery.