Tuesday's SmackDown tapings could be an indication that the road to WrestleMania is lacking some serious buzz.
The WWE made the polarizing decision to book Triple H to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the Royal Rumble Match on Sunday, in a move that received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike.
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On just the first edition of SmackDown after that controversial move, the attendance was lackluster. Fans who showed up at the Amalie Arena for the tapings, which are set to air Thursday, tweeted out how barren the venue was for the show.
To be fair, SmackDown is always seen as the company's secondary show, but after getting the RAW rating back to over four million on Monday, with a big boost from The Rock's appearance, the momentum didn't carry over.
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While Triple H being the champion at this stage in his career despite there being plenty of young and hungry Superstars who could have been afforded the role understandably upsets some fans, the WWE can save the buildup to WrestleMania. The company needs to have "The Game" play a more active role in the build.
Keeping the belt sidelined while Triple H comes out with a suit on does nothing for the title itself, him as a champion, or the buildup to WrestleMania. When Brock Lesnar is an absent champion in the fall months, it's not that big of a deal, but when "The Game" doesn't wrestle as champion during the most important time of the year, it's a huge misstep in the WWE's direction.
Triple H has only held the belt since Sunday, so the WWE may have big plans for him to be an active competitor in the buildup to WrestleMania. The company needs to realize that constant promos aren't the way to go, as not seeing Triple H wrestle as champion could drain the momentum heading into the "Show of Shows."
Even with AJ Styles making his SmackDown debut (he wrestled Curtis Axel, yawn), the WWE couldn't come close to filling the house on Tuesday.
With Stephanie McMahon announcing the Fastlane main event to determine who will face her husband at WrestleMania, it could be a good sign that the WWE is having her play the authoritative figure along with Vince McMahon.
That leaves Triple H plenty of room to focus on being an active competitor to build toward his match with either Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania.
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