Wade Keller's Reaction to Bret Hart's Crticism of the Triple H/Shawn Michaels/Undertaker Promo on Raw

On Wednesday, Bret Hart posted a blog ripping on the hype for WrestleMania 27 this year. The full recap is here. I disagreed with almost everything he wrote.

The main disagreement is his assessment that the Triple H and Undertaker segment was just three egos "blowing smoke up each other's rectums" and that they were just grunting and staring. Man, do I disagree.

That segment was one of the most nuanced, humble performances I've seen from Triple H. It was the lack of overacting and histrionics that made it work. It was disciplined and subtle in ways that wrestling promos rarely are.

Triple H was humble in ways I didn't think I'd ever see on a WWE TV show. His comment to Shawn Michaels that, unlike the "Showstopper" and "Mr. WrestleMania" who can stay popular with fans because of how exciting and charismatic he is, he has to actually win to be who he is. That was a remarkable line.

It was a line that had two levels to it - the one the average fan hears and then the subtext for others, which is basically Paul Levesque admitting that he isn't the performer Michaels is, that he's not as popular or charismatic or exciting, so he has to book himself as an unbeatable dominant force. If he had Michaels's win-loss record, in other words, people wouldn't take him seriously. Michaels was just so good he could get away with losing. That was a tip of the hat to Michaels and an admission at a late stage of his career that apparently went right over Bret's head.

The grunting and staredown, as Bret put it, set up just perfectly that oh-so-rare smile from Undertaker. That was just a chilling moment as a WWE viewer, like the first time the eyes move on the art on the wall in "Black Swan" where you wonder if you really saw what you think you just saw. Undertaker doesn't show that kind of emotion. It was Taker basically telling Triple H, "I got in your head, I'm going to keep my streak alive on Sunday. Have a good week."

The other highpoint of that segment for me was the understated, but piercing statement from Undertaker when he told Triple H he respects him enough that he'd want him to be the person to tell him when his time is up, but that time is not now. Those words were memorable and haunting. They were the pivotal point in the dynamic between Triple H and Michaels.

It was that confidence that Undertaker exuded that shook Shawn's confidence in Triple H beating Taker. Triple H was also shaken by Taker's confidence, which is why he sounded almost deperate when he asked Shawn to tell Taker that his streak ends on Sunday. Shawn's silence at that moment said more than a five minute speech from Bret Hart or any other wrestler. It told the fans that not even Triple H's best friend and biggest booster over the years is confident anymore that Triple H can beat him. It was also the first time Triple H's confidence looked shaken.

I thought that segment was among the more compelling, more layered pro wrestling segments in WWE television history. For Bret to call it "plan, flat, and totally predictable" just blows my mind.

source: pwtorch.com