Since his WWE debut in 1995, Triple H has built a Hall of Fame career. He created magic moments with so many legends and became one in the process, from Blueblood to Degenerate, all the way to the “Cerebral Assassin” and “King of Kings”. Now, Triple H finds himself in one of his most important roles, as Chief Content Officer for WWE, providing the booking and creative direction for the company.
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10 Best WWE PPV Endings Under Triple H That We Loved
Paul “Triple H” Levesque has done a great job as WWE’s Head of Creative. The following are the best PPV/PLE endings of The Game’s regime.
Triple H has had many legendary moments, facing off with historic rivals, winning multiple world titles, and being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. But what moments of Triple H’s career top the pile?
10
Winning The Royal Rumble
Triumphant Victory In 2002
- Entered Number 23
- Eliminated Kurt Angle to Win the Royal Rumble
- Main Evented WrestleMania 18 Vs. Chris Jericho
After tearing his quad on a May 2001 episode of RAW, Triple H made his big return, and his first match back was the 2002 Royal Rumble match. The Game entered number 22 and lasted just over 23 minutes on the path to securing a spot in the main event of WrestleMania 18.
Triple H would headline Wrestlemania with Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho, where he would win the championship. This was Triple H’s first of two rumble wins, as he would go on to win the WWE Championship in 2016, dethroning Roman Reigns.
9
Winning King Of The Ring
1997 King of the Ring Winner
- Was Supposed to win King of the Ring 1996
- Punished for ‘The Curtain Call’
- Beat Ahmed Johnson in the final of the tournament
The King Of The Ring event was first created in 1993 as a way to let the WWE fans who would be the next to break the glass ceiling. Triple H was originally scheduled to win the King of The Ring tournament in 1996, but the curtain call occurred in Madison Square Garden where
The Kliq
(Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and 123 Kid) broke kayfabe in front of the audience. As punishment, the crown in ’96 was given to Stone Cold Steve Austin, which could be seen as a blessing in disguise, as Austin was the catalyst to push WWE through the
Monday Night wars
against WCW.
Triple H would eventually win the following year in 1997, beating Mankind in the final to become King of the Ring and stake claim to being a main eventer for the future. Later, in 1997, Triple H would go on to form
D-Generation X
with Shawn Michaels.
8
End of an Era
Hell in a Cell vs Undertaker (WrestleMania 28)
- Faced off in No Holds Barred Match at WrestleMania 27
- First Hell in a Cell Match between the Undertaker & Triple H
- The Undertaker (14) & Triple H (8) have been in a combined 22 Hell in a Cell Matches
Undertaker vs Triple H
had been rivals throughout their careers, but nothing had been able to match the emotion and stature of their bout inside Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania 28. These two had a barbaric match at WrestleMania 27 the year prior, and the story of that match fed into their brutal match here. Undertaker didn’t walk out of WrestleMania 27, and this ate away at the Deadman, who went on to convince The Game into a match at WrestleMania 28.
Shawn Michaels was added as Special Guest referee to add to the drama of this match, as it was branded End of an Era. The match had one of the closest moments to breaking the streak ever, after a Sweet Chin Music to The Undertaker led to a Pedigree from Triple H into a near fall had the fans on the edge of their seat. The final moments of seeing all three men on the stage after this encounter was emotional, truly the End of an Era.
7
Creating Modern NXT
Founding of NXT As We Know It
- Rebranded Florida Championship Wrestling
- Driving force behind NXT creative decisions and booking
- Defined the future of the WWE with NXT
NXT started out as WWE’s next version of Tough Enough, a game show where rookies would be coached by their pros to not get voted out each week. Simultaneously, Florida Championship Wrestling was running as WWE’s developmental brand, showcasing tomorrow’s main eventers such as Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Roman Reigns.
In 2012, FCW was rebranded to NXT where it became a showcase and developmental brand running out of Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida. Since the rebrand, NXT has produced some of the greatest talent to grace the WWE and some of the best matches the WWE has ever put on.
If Triple H hadn’t had the idea for NXT, there might not have been a Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, or Sami Zayn. And with the new NXT producing stars such as Oba Femi, Trick Williams, and Bron Breakker, the future of WWE looks to be in good hands.
6
Debut of Evolution
Elevating the New Generation
- Triple H picked Randy Orton & Batista from their time in Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Batista was almost replaced by Mark Jindrak
- Evolution have a combined 50 World Titles between them
Triple H already had the reputation of being in one of the greatest factions of all time, DX. But embarking on a new heel run in 2002, Triple H felt he needed a new group not only for storyline to protect his World Heavyweight Championship reign, but to raise the profiles of two of WWE’s hottest prospects in Randy Orton and Batista.
Evolution
was born with Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista, and a newly revitalized Ric Flair joining forces to dominate Monday Night Raw from 2004 until the group split in 2005. Not only did Triple H create so many moments with Evolution, but raised two future World Champions who went on to become future WWE Hall of Famers.
5
Winning WrestleMania 2000 Main Event
First Ever Heel To Do So
- First Heel to Win the Main Event of WrestleMania
- Entered the event defending the WWE Championship
- First World Title Match at WrestleMania
Wrestlemania 2000
is remembered for a few reasons. One for being a pretty underwhelming WrestleMania with not one singles match on the card, and missing stars such as Undertaker and Steve Austin. The second is for Triple H walking into the main event and being the first heel in history to walk out victorious in a WrestleMania Main Event.
Triple H successfully defended his WWE Championship in a Fatal-4-Way against The Rock, Big Show, and Mick Foley. The stipulation for the match was that there was a McMahon in every corner. Triple H walked out victorious after Vince McMahon turned on The Rock, but it was the People’s Champion who got the final say, beating down the McMahons and sending the crowd home happy.
4
Formation of D-Generation X
The Start of the Attitude Era
- Formed from friendship between Triple H & Shawn Michaels
- WWE’s answer to the NWO
- DX have 18 total World Championship wins between them
In 1997, Triple H and Shawn Michaels were running WWE. HBK was the WWE Champion, and Triple H was coming off his win in the King of the Ring tournament. It was here that they formed D-Generation X, which was arguably the start of the Attitude Era, which went on to be a defining era for WWE and crucial to defeating WCW. This was WWE’s alternative to the
NWO
.
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10 Best DX Matches Ever, Ranked
D-Generation-X was one of the prominent wrestling groups of the Attitude Era. Here are the best matches involving DX.
Edgy television was marketed to the WWE’s main audience at the time, the 18-25 demographic. DX worked for the time and will go down as one of the greatest factions of all time. What started with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Chyna then grew to include more members, adding The New Age Outlaws and X-Pac once HBK was forced to retire after his back injuries. DX helped to carry WWE forward into a new era, sparking a lot of controversy and elevating Triple H to main-event status.
3
First WWE Championship Win
Raw – August 23, 1999
- Bolstered into the Main Event Scene
- The Leader of D-Generation X at the time
- First of 14 World Title Wins in his career
Since his win at the 1997 King of the Ring, Triple H has had success with mid-card championships, but he was yet to win the top prize of WWE. This was until 1999, when Triple H had a good year in the main event scene, consistently facing top stars such as Undertaker, The Rock, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
.
Triple H would go on to win his first WWE Championship on the August 23rd edition of Monday Night Raw, defeating Mankind with Shane McMahon as special guest referee. This was the first of 14 World Championship wins that would define The Game’s legacy.
2
Street Fight vs Cactus Jack
Royal Rumble 2000
- Foley forced to retire by Triple H
- Returned as Cactus Jack to face Triple H at Royal Rumble 2000
- Feud of the Year vs Mick Foley in 2000 (Wrestling Observer)
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5 Triple H Matches That Cemented His Legacy (& 5 That Hurt It)
While Triple H ruled the ring as The Cerebral Assassin, he also had his fair share of duds.
At the point of
Royal Rumble 2000
, Triple H was in his second reign as WWE Champion after beating Big Show on the January 3rd edition of Raw. Fans still really didn’t think Triple H could hang with the best and debated whether he belonged in the main event scene.
This was until Royal Rumble 2000, when he met Cactus Jack in a Street Fight, which was brutal and barbaric in every sense of the word. They used all the weapons in the ring, which culminated with a Pedigree to Cactus Jack on a bed of thumb tacks, which is a highlight which will play in WWE video libraries for decades.
Triple H exited this match looking like a star, ready to carry the torch for WWE through 2000, being their MVP through that year.
1
Return at Madison Square Garden
Raw – January 7th 2002
- Injured defending Tag Team Titles with Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Was Intercontinental Champion before injury
- Hit a Pedigree on Kurt Angle
May 2001 saw the darkest patch for Triple H, suffering a torn quad in a tag team match on RAW. It was unknown when Triple H would return until WWE started teasing his recovery.
The bass of his theme ‘The Game’ hit, and Madison Square Garden erupted; the roof blew off the building with the excitement for the return of Triple H. This is one of those returns that always featured in compilations of the loudest crowd reactions or biggest pops because the reaction is that loud.
At this point, Triple H was a star, and the fans were happy to see him and ready for him to get back to his main event spot. Retrospectively, fans may think his return should have been saved as a surprise for the 2002 Royal Rumble, but this return in Madison Square Garden seemed perfect.