Built around a tournament for an interim WWE Championship, the post-Money in the Bank RAW was surprisingly heavy on wrestling and light on angles. That is, until the final segment took place.
Hyped throughout the episode, the segment was supposed to feature Vince McMahon taking “severe” action against John Cena for losing the WWE Championship to CM Punk. The segment was hinting at an announcement from McMahon that Cena was “fired,” and Cena even “promised” to take his talents to another wrestling company, “brother.”
Interestingly, that was supposed to be the stipulation all along, but McMahon had, in storyline, backed down from that stance, only promising the “severe” consequences and explaining “may God have mercy on John Cena’s soul.”
Just as McMahon built towards his infamous “You’re Fired,” out came Triple H, in a business suit. He explained, all in storyline, that an emergency board meeting was called to discuss McMahon’s recent erratic behavior. An injunction was filed against the WWE Chairman, and in another bit of action, the WWE board decided to “relieve” McMahon of his duties and appoint them to Triple H.
Triple H, and especially Vince McMahon, shed tears over the news. HHH expressed his regret, and offered an, “I love you, Pop.” The show ended with McMahon, crying, in the center of the ring. As the show went off the air, the crowd had turned back in Vince’s favor and chanted, “Thank you, Vince.”
The storyline certainly alludes to the real-life backstage scenario, which has seen Triple H gaining more power within WWE as he prepares to eventually run the business alongside wife Stephanie. But the extreme of McMahon being “relieved of his duties” remains a storyline at this point–McMahon is still the Chairman and CEO of WWE, the company.
