What a surprise...Triple H keeps the belt at a PPV

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

One match that I was eagerly looking forward to at last night's No Mercy pay-per-view (event poster above) was the WWE Championship match between Jeff Hardy and Triple H, a match that I thought was going to elevate Jeff to that upper echelon but rather, the opposite happened and Triple H remained champion. What a surprise.

I'll admit, I didn't think Jeff was going to win but I kept a slimmer of hope that he would and that was only magnified towards the end of the match only to be let down like Cubs fans were when the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs by the Dodgers Saturday night.

For those who missed it, the end of the match went like this: Jeff went for the Swanton Bomb and missed. Triple H went for the Pedigree as Jeff got back to his feet but Jeff countered and hit the Twist-of-Fate out of nowhere. Immediately, Jeff went back to the top rope and this time, hit the Swanton Bomb. Jeff leaned back to cover Triple H and as the referee counted two, Triple H rolled Jeff over and got a three-count, much to the dismay of the live crowd.

I wouldn't have had as much as a problem with the finish had time elapsed between the Twist-of-Fate, the Swanton and the pin attempt, which would be reasonable. However, that was not the case and I personally feel this made Jeff look weak in the process as Triple H had enough where-abouts to roll Jeff over for the win after taking the Twist-of-Fate and Swanton Bomb in a five second window? Give me a break!

I don't know what its going to take for Vince and Co. to put the title of Jeff. I mean, he is by far the most over and popular wrestler in the entire company; he sells tons of merchandise and is liked by both women and men. He puts on entertaining matches and has a unique look about him. What else do they want?

If they are hesitant because of Jeff's behavioral issues, that is a crock and everyone knows it, especially when one considers that Randy Orton had way more baggage and behavioral problems than Jeff and yet, was rewarded with a six-seven month title run with the WWE Championship from Oct. 2007-April 2008.

Double standard? You bet.