Quick recap of what this series is about: military and political strategies from Ancient China show up in spades in the storylines of the WWE. The WWE is at its most interesting when its characters employ these strategies, and the most successful superstars tend to be the ones who use these strategies most often and most successfully.

STRATEGY #3

JIE DAO SHA REN – Borrow the Sword to Kill the Man

Sun Tzu advised that if you’re limited in strength, then borrow the strength of your enemy. If you can’t neutralize an enemy, then borrow an enemy’s knife to do so. Whenever possible, conserve your resources and have others spend theirs to help you accomplish your own goals and defeat your own enemies.

Currently, this strategy is being used in one of the primary storylines of the WWE. John Laurinaitis, the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, seems to be engaged in a plan to unseat Triple H as C.O.O. of the WWE. Laurinaitis is a former wrestler but is no longer a physical match for Triple H. In title and position within the WWE, Laurinaitis is also Triple H’s subordinate. Thus, Laurinaitis is physically and politically outmatched by Triple H. There is no way for Laurinaitis to defeat Triple H…unless he uses others to help get the job done.

Laurinaitis is “borrowing the sword to kill the man.” Laurinaitis’ first two attempts at using this strategy did not succeed, but neither did they reveal him as the definite enemy of Triple H. Laurinaitis first tried to use Kevin Nash to undermine Triple H’s position by having him interfere in the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and John Cena at SummerSlam. This attempt ultimately failed when Triple H fired Kevin Nash because Nash got caught lying to him. Laurinaitis’ second attempt was to use The Miz and R-Truth, who had been vocal in their opposition of Triple H as the COO. For seemingly no reason at all, The Miz and R-Truth intervened in Triple H and CM Punk’s match at Night of Champions in order to try to get CM Punk to win the match. The Miz and R-Truth, had they been successful, would have succeeded in ousting Triple H as the COO, as that had been the stipulation of the match. Laurinaitis also got his own hands dirty for the first time on this occasion, as he tried to force the referee to make a three-count on Triple H after interference. Laurinaitis exposed himself as a potential enemy to Triple H after this took place.

After this failure by Laurinaitis to oust Triple H, Laurinaitis’ plans were once again thwarted when Triple H fired The Miz and R-Truth. Laurinaitis was then left to find another manner of acting against Triple H. Laurinaitis was soon presented with another opportunity, when Harvard Law School-trained David Otunga complained to Laurinaitis that he was being under-utilized. Laurinaitis buttered-up Otunga to use the skills that set him apart, i.e. his law school training. Later on in the show, Otunga was seen backstage with Laurinaitis and top heels Christian, Vickie Guerrero, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, and Alberto Del Rio, who had complained to Triple H earlier in the night that the WWE was no longer a safe place to work. The four men were seeking legal advice about their legal options, and they were advised by Otunga that they do have a legal case. The four men, encouraged by Laurinaitis’ prodding, agreed that they would stand together in solidarity if a lawsuit was to be brought.

At Hell in a Cell, The Miz and R-Truth brutally attacked referees, cameramen, and all three wrestlers from the WWE Championship match. The cage had been opened so that Miz and Truth could get enter, but then the cage was lowered so that no one else could get in and no one could get out. Triple H tried frantically to find someone to get the cage opened, but this seemingly easy task proved impossible for him until it was too late. The only other person who has the access and position to lock down the cage would have been Laurinaitis, who also would have been the only person able to sneak the Miz and R-Truth into the arena and into close proximity to the cage.

On RAW after Hell in a Cell, Triple H told Laurinaitis point-blank that it seemed like the person closest to him was going out of his way to undermine everything that Triple H did. Laurinaitis then told Triple H that he was doing a bad job as COO and that the WWE was out of control since he took charge. Triple H countered that he didn’t seek the position; it was thrust upon him. Laurinaitis then advised that everyone was against him and that he should call all of the WWE superstars into the ring at once and have a Vote of Confidence, which Laurinaitis was certain that Triple H would lose. The state of affairs had deteriorated so much in the WWE that even superstars that were not part of Laurinaitis’ master plan were drawn into the criticism of Triple H. The Vote of Confidence happened. The wrestlers voted no confidence. Mike Chioda, back from his suspension, spoke for the referees and voted no confidence. The honorable Jerry Lawler, face to face with Triple H, agreed that Triple H himself was not the cause of all of the recent events but that someone out there wants Triple H to fail, and the fact that this is the case makes Triple H a danger to everyone else around him. Lawler then voted no confidence and walked out on Triple H. The locker room followed suit. Even Jim Ross, who seemed at first like he might be the only one to support Triple H, walked out on him. Once the Vote of Confidence reached its conclusion and everybody had abandoned Triple H, Laurinaitis stood at the top of the entrance ramp and glared at Triple H, as if to say that he told him so.

So that is where things stand with the Laurinaitis – Triple H situation. Laurinaitis has relentlessly plotted against Triple H and is starting to see success in his efforts. Laurinaitis hadn’t revealed himself as the enemy of Triple H until his success was reasonably assured. Of course, there is also the possibility that Mr. McMahon is the one who is ultimately using Laurinaitis to get to Triple H while he has been prevented by the Board of Directors from actively managing day to day affairs of the business. If this ends up being the case, then McMahon will have successfully employed the strategy of borrowing the sword to kill the man to an even greater extent because he will have been a level even more removed from the situation.

Triple H is no stranger to using this strategy. He used it numerous times throughout his career. For example, on the March 19, 2001 edition of RAW, HHH had wanted to get the Undertaker out of the way. Triple H took advantage of The Big Show, who had been upset at Kane, to get revenge on Kane by attacking the Undertaker. This plan might have worked in theory, but it failed for Triple H on this occasion because the Undertaker saw it coming and managed to get Triple H alone before the Big Show came out.

Kurt Angle as a heel was also effective at using this strategy. In addition to convincing Eddie Guerrero to challenge Triple H on August 28, 2000 RAW, Angle also convinced Val Venis to challenge The Rock on the October 12, 2000 Smackdown on the same day that Angle tried to put the Rock in Stone Cold’s cross-hairs by suggesting that the Rock was involved in running over Stone Cold. The Rock defeated Venis, but Angle came down to the ring and delivered two Olympic Slams to the Rock after he had won.

People often “borrowed” Kane to take out an enemy. On the November 28, 2000 RAW, Angle did not want to defend his Championship against the Undertaker. To keep the Undertaker occupied, Angle went to Kane, talked to Kane about family, and convinced Kane to attack the Undertaker. Undertaker then demanded a match against Kane, and this bought Kurt Angle time from defending the title against him. The next summer, Kurt Angle was a crowd favorite and was involved in a war with Shane-O-Mac. On June 11, 2001, Shane told Kane that Kurt Angle might be the one who was stalking The Undertaker’s wife. This information must have been reported to The Undertaker, because later that night, The Undertaker came out and delivered the Last Ride to Angle. Shane-O-Mac then came in and delivered a cheap-shot Olympic Slam.

So, in conclusion, using other individuals to do your dirty work, soften an opponent, or dispatch an enemy is a tried-and-true strategy used by WWE Superstars.

Source: wrestlingtruth.com