Hate Him Like You Mean It

Written by Adam Gorzelsky
May 29, 2003

For so many months now, I and countless other wrestling fans scouring the Internet have been bombarded with columns or message board postings about the same damn topic. Yes, the net has been saturated with constant debate about, "The HHH Effect," as many have called it.

You've heard all the talk, from irate Booker T. fans bitching about the fact that HHH won at Wrestlemania, to columnists such as myself attempting to justify his unending reign at the top. Fans aren't pleased with his year-long run and nobody has been shy about making that opinion apparent. It's politics we all claim. He's banging the boss's daughter and sits in on every staff meeting!! Surely that must be the reason why he's the focal point of every Raw; I mean, it sure as hell isn't his wrestling ability anymore.

This description of why an undeserving HHH is on top of the Raw roster seems to be very fitting. In fact, it is indeed a partial description of the problem and the only description that I would have accepted up until this week. You see, last week's Raw, or more importantly, the fallout from it has allowed me to see the big picture. If you haven't taken a look at the ratings breakdown from Raw, I will describe it to you. The ratings for the show started out extremely low at the beginning of the night, slowly rose, and reached a peak during the main event; that of course being Ric Flair vs. HHH. If you can't see what I'm getting at, let me put this in other words. Half of the problem with the "HHH Effect" is politics; the other half is us .

For such a large population of people who express such a deep displeasure in this man, we sure have a weird way of showing it. That Raw was simply just another example of how we are bringing "the HHH effect" upon ourselves. Vince McMahon already has a big reason to allow HHH to remain champion, I mean he is his soon to be son in law, but we are constantly giving him another reason to continue this abomination. The highest rated segment of the night was HHH's match; this of course giving Vinnie Mac a viable excuse for his decision. On top of that, the television ratings only scratch surface of the problem that we are bringing upon ourselves.

Do you ever notice what happens when HHH's music hits the speakers, or what happens when he spits his water? The fans in the arena go crazy. Does this sound like a way to treat a guy who everybody claims to hate? Dead silence would provide irrefutable evidence that HHH is a fraud, but this crowd reaction is doing nothing more than inciting the continued onslaught of the talent killing machine that we call HHH.

So, what's the solution? Simple, if you hate HHH and want the focus taken off of him, change the channel when one of his matches is on. If you are in attendance at any sort of an event, don't cheer or even boo the guy; just sit there quietly and encourage others around you to do the same. If this doesn't apply to you, keep doing what you are doing. The fact is that, just as the old saying goes, "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." In other words, if you want HHH gone, you first need to jump off his band wagon and pull a few others with you. Until next time, this is The Anti-Antagonist, signing off.

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