WWE made a mistake with Triple H and Randy Orton storyline, legend says

Triple H famously kicked Randy Orton out of the Evolution faction in 2004. Jim Ross, a WWE commentator and talent relations executive at the time, recently explained why he had an issue with the story.

At age 24, Orton defeated Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004 to become the youngest world champion in WWE history. The following night, The Viper retained the title against Benoit on RAW before being raised high on the shoulders of Evolution stablemate Batista. Triple H then gave Orton a thumbs-up before signaling a thumbs-down, at which point Evolution attacked the new champion.

Ross reviewed SummerSlam 2004 with host, Conrad Thompson, on his Grilling JR podcast. Discussing the iconic thumbs-down moment, the WWE Hall of Famer said Evolution's break-up felt rushed:

"I wish we could have had something in between and not going right to Randy and Triple H," Ross stated. "Not that I didn't like the match. I just thought there was more green grass that we hadn't explored with those guys. We got there quick and I thought that was a mistake." [1:32:37 – 1:32:57]

The storyline led to a match a month later at Unforgiven 2004, where Triple H defeated Randy Orton to capture the World Heavyweight Championship.

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Why Randy Orton vs. Triple H was brought forward

Before Randy Orton's win over Chris Benoit, Triple H beat Eugene in a match that failed to gain the desired response from fans. Nick Dinsmore's, Eugene persona, was supposed to elicit sympathetic reactions due to the character having learning difficulties. However, the SummerSlam crowd booed Eugene throughout the match even though Triple H was the bad guy.

While Jim Ross did not dislike the bout as much as some people, he understands why the Eugene persona divided opinion:

"I didn't hate that match, and I know the traditionalists are not gonna like it because of the presence of Eugene. He was a gimmick, he was a gimmick. He was an attraction guy. He was a frigging gimmick. I had a lot of time for him. He was one of the stalwarts down in OVW [Ohio Valley Wrestling developmental system], Nick Dinsmore. He paid his dues. Very solid fundamentally but the gimmick just never resonated with the masses," said Ross. [1:09:29 – 1:10:03]

Eugene's negative crowd reactions forced WWE to drastically alter the Unforgiven card. Triple H was originally supposed to continue feuding with Nick Dinsmore's character at the event, but those plans were nixed after SummerSlam.

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If you use quotes from this article, please credit Grilling JR and embed the video, with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.