Triple H gets how to book the WWE’s Maximum Male Models

When news broke via a SmackDown vignette that Max Dupri wasn’t being replaced by his sister in the Maximum Male Models, it left many a conflicted fan in the WWE Universe.

On one hand, folks were happy to see the man formerly known as LA Knight still being employed by the WWE Universe, as keeping a steady paycheck in these trying times is nothing to sneeze at, but at the same time, the way his new character, Dupri, was being booked was woefully unpopular with fans both online and in arenas. Factor in that Knight reportedly voiced his displeasure with his booking to the WWE creative department, which used to be a death knell for a performer, and it looked like a split between the two parties was likely.

And yet, when Vince McMahon retired from his role both in charge of the business and creative side of the WWE Universe, something funny happened; Dupri returned on the go-home edition of SmackDown at the end of a Maximum Male Models video segment alongside his sister Maxxine Dupri, and he was back again at SummerSlam in a segment that was presumably fully produced under the creative control of Triple H.

That… was actually really good; funny, awkward, self-aware, that marks 2-2 segments where Durpi didn’t come off as creepy and instead almost embraced the weirdness of his role, in the same vein as a Tim and Eric sketch.

Does Triple H get how to make the Maximum Male Models and use them as more of a post-modern critique on the hyper-masculine nature of the wrestling world than a simple comedy act where the joke is that they wear cut-off shirts? If it’s the former, then count me in.