When I started watching the WWF back in the late 90’s, Triple H always stood out for me. He was aligned with Shawn Michaels and Chyna as D-Generation X, and they were a force to be reckoned with. The original incarnation of D-X was extremely popular. HBK and Triple H were the last remaining members of “The Kliq” after Hall and Nash left,
so they formed the alliance. There was reluctance from WWF management
putting them together, but it proved to be the right thing to do. By the
time D-X formed, Triple H had already won the WWF Intercontinental
Championship, and the 1997 King of the Ring.
D-X was a franchise, and it wasn’t all Shawn Michaels’ doing, Triple H gave his fair share as well. You can experience a small portion of his work in the video below.
In 1998, as a member of D-X, Triple (as a babyface) defeated The Rock for the Intercontinental title at Summerslam.in a ladder match. After a knee injury sidelined him, he returned and feuded with The Rock over the WWF Championship. In a few short years, he had gone from “The Connecticut Blueblood”, to a regular contender for the WWF Championship.
He won the WWF title on Raw, August 23rd 1999 from Mankind, and again at Unforgiven. And then it got interesting. Test and Stephanie was supposed to marry in kayfabe. As Triple H and Vince were feuding, he married an unconscious Stephanie in Las Vegas.
Now there was no doubt that Triple H had reached the top. His alliance with Stephanie as kayfabe husband and wife brought him the longest reign as WWF Champion in 2000 (153 days, The Rock was 2nd with 140 days) as “The Game”.
Did you know? Triple H adopted “The Game” nickname in Owen Hart’s honor, as it was originally intended for him.
So why do fans claim that Triple H married his way to the top? When he was already at the top before getting married to Stephanie in real life? Maybe it’s because some fans truly believe kayfabe. Maybe they heard wrestlers use the “you married Stephanie to get ahead” insult one too many times and actually believed it. I don’t know … can anyone explain that one?
To further this argument on whether nepotism has given Triple H an unfair advantage; he did not win the WWF Championship until 2002 after losing it to The Rock in 2000. He became the Undisputed Champion, but he lost it only 35 days later to the 48 year old Hulk Hogan.
He didn’t fall of the radar completely, as he was handed the new World Heavyweight Championship in late 2002, and served as the champion of Raw. From December 2002, Triple H held the title for a mighty 280 days until he was defeated by Goldberg. He married Stephanie McMahon for real a month later.
Did you know? Triple H and Stephanie married on October 25th 2003, almost four years after the Las Vegas wedding.
So what has he done since then? Did marrying the bosses daughter really bring him so much success? Not really. He did hold the WWE Championship in 2008 for 210 days, and he won other WWE and World Championships here and there, but the other reigns didn’t last very long. I don’t know about you, but I think his career declined after 2003.
- Heated feuds with Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Vince & Shane McMahon, Rated RKO, and Randy Orton.
- Formed Evolution with Flair, Batista and Orton, ultimately leading to Batista and Orton turning on Triple H and becoming main event wrestlers.
- D-X reunion gave some comic relief, but the feud between them and The McMahon’s/Spirit Squad was rather cringe-worthy at the best of times.
- He ended his full-time career with HBK in the final (and most PG) incarnation of D-X. They feuded with The Legacy, and Hornswoggle became their mascot. They did manage to become Tag Team Champions after defeating Jeri-Show, but they lost the titles to ShoMiz shortly after.
As you can see, Triple H was featured prominently , but his most success came about before he knew Stephanie McMahon personally. I am not the biggest fan of Triple H, that’s a fact. I’ve never liked him that much, but that was probably because of his amazing heel work. He always made me hate him, and even when he turned babyface, I found it difficult to cheer for him. Over the years I have appreciated his work more and more. I realize that my hatred for him was only because I was sucked into kayfabe. Triple H has never been a ring general. He will never amaze you with five star matches. He will never chain wrestle, or do high risk moves that get the crowds chanting “holy $%^!”. His best work is getting the fans to hate him, and they hate him so much they will find any and every reason to bash him.
I decided to do this article after reading an opinion on Triple H. The opinion stated: If Triple H had not married Stephanie, he would have been a mid-carder, and nothing more.
I don’t believe that for one second. He was already successful before getting to know Stephanie McMahon personally, and he didn’t take the main event scene for himself after they married. Nobody handed anything to Triple H, he worked hard for it. He had a passion to succeed. I’m sure he didn’t look at Stephanie and
think “oh yeah, if I marry her I can get to the top!”. When you love
someone, you ain’t thinking about whether marrying them is going to help you
succeed at work. It’s the same for
Stephanie. She fell in love with Triple H … so it wasn’t like it was his
choice and his choice alone, it takes two to tango.
There is nepotism in WWE, but it doesn’t come from Triple H. It only comes from one man, Vince McMahon. Vince has had Linda, Shane and Stephanie in key roles, and now Triple H is involved as well. I’m quite sure Triple H didn’t marry Stephanie to get a desk job. Obviously, being a member of Vince McMahon’s family means he’s going to look out for you and give you opportunities. He is doing that with Hunter seeing as he’s family and not actively wrestling anymore. In the long run, Triple H has gained something out of marrying Stephanie and getting close to Vince; he’s managed to secure a job outside of the wrestling ring. That’s not too bad right? As wrestling fans, can we live that? I know I can.
When the Triple H induction into the WWE Hall of Fame arrives, will you respect it? Or will you call him overrated? Will you say “he can’t wrestle”? Will you accuse him of nepotism? I hope not. Triple H deserves a bit more respect than that. Do you think it’s time for people to realize that Triple H isn’t really a bad guy? He is just a person like the rest of us. He lives his life for his family, and he loves professional wrestling.
I’m going to wrap this up. I want to thank everyone who reads my stuff. I do try to bring quality, but I’m no journalist. I try to improve my English everyday, and I am always thinking about the next article or list. I am always trying to keep things fresh and entertaining. Some of you will agree with my opinions, some of you won’t … but so long as people enjoy what I write, then I will keep writing. It’s not easy to write regularly and keep the same level of passion. This is something I continue to learn..
I will leave you with a parting gift. The demonic face of Stephanie McMahon after HHH pushed her to the floor in disgust. Have a nice day!
