WWE's New Champs & Turnaround

Last night's Backlash saw something many fans have been waiting for. Not only a new US champion in Matt Hardy, but also a WWE title victory for Triple H. Triple H is now "12 times the King" as WWE states, and you might start to wonder if he'll achieve the same number of title reigns as recently-retired Ric Flair. That almost makes it look like Triple H should have been the man to defeat Flair, sending him to retirement and being handed the wrestling torch. Either way, this new HHH WWE title reign may create new interest in WWE and Raw ratings. Another thought that's occurred, is that the next heel to enter the title picture will be William Regal after John Cena, JBL and Orton's dust settles.

Regal makes sense in that he's not only King of the WWE, but also the GM for Raw. While he could be replaced as GM, I wouldn't be surprised to see a storyline where the reigning GM and King is making Triple H's life a living hell on Raw, leading up to a big title match. It's the same sort of thing that MIA Vince McMahon would be doing to Hunter. In a Regal vs. HHH match (King vs. King), quite possibly Regal uses foul play to eventually score the title from Triple H.

It's also great to see Matt Hardy as United States Champion. Hardy came back from a 5 month injury leave, including his bout with appendicitis surgery and related complications. He seems to be moving in an opposite direction from his brother Jeff as well, and Matt could very well add a big title to his resume within the next few years. To date Matt has now achieved both tag titles (WWE & WCW versions), the WWE Cruiserweight, European Championship, Hardcore Championship and now the US Championship. He's missing a major title as well as Intercontinental title, but if he achieved both he'd be considered an elite WWE wrestler and Triple Crown winner. He's definitely climbing the proverbial ladder in WWE right now.

Something else that Backlash and recent WWE TV shows have teased us with is CM Punk's Money in the Bank title shot. They've made it look at various times like Punk is interested in either the World Heavyweight title or WWE title. He's confronted both Edge and Orton over the respective titles, reminding everyone Punk has the opportunity. So when will he cash in? Unless he's going heel, I don't expect him to cash in like Edge has, waiting for the title holder to be already beaten up. But I think he may wait for Edge or William Regal if they become title holders on either show, since both men defeated him recently.

There's also a great NY Times article about how the WWE is enjoying a successful turnaround, despite all of 2007's controversy with the Benoit double-murder suicide. It discusses that WWE pulled off something CNN and other media shows haven't been able to; getting all 3 presidential candidates to appear on 1 show, albeit it by taped messages. Read the full NY Times article here.