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Triple H

3K views 23 replies 21 participants last post by  ErickRowan_Fan 
#1 ·
Does he get the credit he deserves for being a huge part of the attitude era? Or has it all gone down the toilet with his perceived; 'burials', sleeping to the top, and hogging the spotlight???

I was chatting to a friend the other day, and he pointed out (rightly so) that i was a Triple H mark before Triple H was cool.....He was (probably still could be..) an amazing worker....could turn any match, with just about anyone into a million bucks...His look, evolving persona, and especially his talent between the ropes were all top notch - but even a mark of his like me couldn't sit back and appreciate that it finally was 'his time'.....i had pretty well completely tuned out by the time he was dominating the main event scene - yet i don't feel it has any real correlation between him being on top and me losing interest (the product had gone 'round the bend well before that imo...) Sure, his promos were nowhere near the level of the Rock or Austin.....but entertaining enough (probably thanks to DX shenanigans..) to hold my interest until the bell rung.

To cut this short right here - What are your thoughts? Was he worthy of a main event spot? Should it have happened earlier than it did? (or not at all?) Would it have even mattered who he married? And what's your favourite (or least favourite) gimmick/'era' of his?


For mine, i loved his first DX run with HBK.....but even more than that, from when he was 'shooting' about the curtain call, into his first real heel run, i thought was absolute quality!

Bring it back!! (not that it makes sense now....:faint:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjxyIHAwBNQ (best theme by far btw)
 
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#5 ·
I'd say late '99, and then 2000 were his best years. He was comfortably in his prime during that stretch of time. His matches were pretty solid regardless of who he worked with. I think HHH is actually on the underrated side when it comes to his promos. His mic work gets overlooked because he isn't known for using funny catchphrases(jabroni, roodipoo) a million times in each promo, and getting cheap pops from each city. As a heel, he played his character to perfection when cutting a promo. Honestly he could be one of the best when it comes to cutting a heel promo.

I still cannot get over Triple H's character progression within a few years...

 
#12 ·
Between mid 1999 and mid 2001 when he got his first quad injury there was NO ONE as good as Triple H as an all round in ring performer and he's considered as only being behind Steve Austin and The Rock as the biggest star of the biggest era in wrestling history and without question the biggest and best in ring heel of that whole era.

From the minute he turned at WrestleMania 15 you could see the change in his character and post Backlash he was in uber heel mode although many don't consider him to have been "over" in 1999 although I disagree. From the feud with Mick Foley through to his injury I defy anyone to say anyone ever had a better period as a heel than Triple H did in that 16/17 months but maybe because of how great he was then he maybe believed he was entitled to go over everyone once Austin and Rock went.

Triple H worked very hard to get to the top and was a four time WWE champion BEFORE he even began dating Stephanie but it's pretty much common knowledge once he began a serious relationship with Stephanie and already had a strong friendship with Vince he used that power to his advantage. Between mid 2002 and mid 2005 he killed any momentum that Goldberg, Booker T, Randy Orton, RVD, Kane and Scott Steiner ever had and the only people who benefited was Shawn Michaels (his best friend), Batista (his friend and personal project) and Chris Benoit which was very brief.

From his return in 2007 through to mid 2009 we saw a similar thing which saw him stall the progress of both Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy, kill the momentum of Vladimir Kozlov although I hated him anyway and made Umaga his bitch. Personally as time has gone by I've cared less about the things Triple H has done in order to keep himself on top and now I look at it as he is one of the greatest heel characters of all time, at one time the best all round in ring performer around, a good all rounder at all times, has name value as worked with everyone but once he had serious backstage power he used it to stay on top.
 
#2 ·
He gets the credit he deserves. Most people recognise him as the MVP and wrestler of the year in 2000, and he's generally considered to be the third biggest name (you could argue Foley) from the Attitude Era, playing the Heel to Austin/Rock's Face whenever he was needed. The dude would have been on top at some point regardless of if he married Steph or not, although I'm sure that awful period during 2002/3 would have played out differently had he not been part of the family.
 
#3 ·
Triple H deserves credit because he had the talent in the ring and the mic skills to get him to the top. He played his role to perfection in 2000. The "working" heel much like Flair in the 80's did. Being with Stephaine gave him that extra edge though. But he did bury guys like Booker T, Rod Van Dam, and Kane during that 2002/3 period. But I guess he's no different than most guys who were on top. But he's a great talent though.

His best period I would say was 2000. His feuds with Foley and Rock were great, and later that year with Angle wasn't bad either. DX in 98 when he took over was great too. "Invading" WCW was funny.
 
#6 ·
Does HHH get the credit? I think he does.

HHH is the 3rd biggest name of the attitude era behind Austin/Rock.


Foley - was a babyface, so it's easy to think of him above HHH

Taker - much more impressive persona, longevity and overness make him very impressive, but still behind HHH

HBK - Could have been so good in attitude era, i honnestly see him rivaling austin/rock had he not been injured, but he was, and had to leave

Y2J - very cool guy that fans love, but HHH was definately the bigger star


Most people acknowledge HHH being an amazing heel. So I think he gets the credit he deserves for sure
 
#7 ·
A lot of people like to say Triple H sucks and only got where he did because he married Stephanie McMahon but he's obviously a very talented performer and really is good at everything from in ring to microphone work to look. He has the "it factor" and it's a shame he's not as respected as guys like Taker, HBK, Rock, Austin etc.
 
#8 ·
He'll always be polarizing. Some fans are always going to dislike him for marrying Stephanie and his run of doom in 2002-2003. Other fans will focus more on his DX run, epic 2000-2001 and Evolution. I'm a big HHH supporter myself but there are large numbers of HHHaters who are never going to give him the credit he deserves.

"To cut this short right here - What are your thoughts? Was he worthy of a main event spot? Should it have happened earlier than it did? (or not at all?) Would it have even mattered who he married? And what's your favourite (or least favourite) gimmick/'era' of his?"

He grew into his main event spot. I wasn't a DX fan and I thought he was really overrated in 1998-99. I used to laugh when JR pushed him as the best technical wrestler in WWF. Then 2000 happened. 2000 HHH is the best heel run ever imo. I became a believer with the Cactus match at Royal Rumble 2000 and never really looked back.

His main event push shouldn't have been earlier than it was.

Marrying into The Family probably did keep him on top longer than he should have been.

Favorite HHH era is "The Game" of 2000-2001.
 
#9 ·
2nd best heel of the Attitude Era. Behind Mr McMahon.
For me, HHH's work from 1998 to 2001 was incredible. He was superb on the mic, drew some real heat, had some amazing feuds and matches and he just looked like a badass heel. He was terrific.
I think it's his performances from 2002 onwards that have soured him with some people (myself included). Since then he has had some boring matches and promos, terrible feuds, he even looked terrible and almost out of shape in 2003 and he was part of some very questionable booking decisions.
But there is no denying, from 1998-2001 HHH was arguably the best wrestler in the world.
 
#13 ·
I really enjoy a bunch of his matches. However, back in the day when he proclaimed himself "The Game", I just snickered. I didn't buy into him being anywhere near HBK's league when he joined DX (and he wasn't and he grew into it) so I didn't enjoy DX all that much. I thought he was fodder to Austin/Rock* and didn't deserve to be in the ring with them. Even today, I just can't get into him. I don't think he's bad and none of this is opinion about how he "buried" people (esp as I wasn't watching in 02/03). Love his matches, his character...meh.

*to be completely fair, somebody had to be fodder to Austin/Rock because nobody was even close to their level. as a 17-20yo mark though, i thought he was completely ridiculous.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Well not to break up the lovefest but I really believe he is given way too much credit, mainly because he controls the spin. He controls how his legacy is promoted, spun and written.

I am going to play Devil's advocate here just to give the other side.

I think he's a legend but in no way was he in the same league as Rock/Austin but he would tell you otherwise. He was certainly smart by surrounding himself with people who made him look better, or gave him more power. HBK pretty much made him. HHH is like that kid in high school who hung around with the coolest guy, and by proxy he was cool too, but not because of anything he did. Of course he was a good foil for the faces when he finally learned to walk without HBK holding his hands, but to hear him talk; he's the creative genius. Heck Road Dogg was light years better on the mic.

Obviously he deserves to be called great, and was/is a force, if we rate wrestlers by their politics, well he's the GOAT. So props to him for that.

He will surpass Bruno, for wrestler who benefits the most from WWE revisionist history

Just my opinion.
 
#15 ·
Well not to break up the lovefest but I really believe he is given way too much credit, mainly because he controls the spin. He controls how his legacy is promoted, spun and written.

I think he's a legend but in no way was he in the same league as Rock/Austin/Taker.

Obviously he deserves to be called great, and was/is a force, if we rate wrestlers by their politics, well he's the GOAT. So props to him for that.

Just my opinion.
I'd say he isn't even the greatest backstage politician. That title belongs to Hulk Hogan. The shit he pulled in the 80's and 90's was on another level. But unlike HHH he was a legitimate draw so he had reason to be protective of his spot.

HHH was a great heel in the Attitude Era, but I wouldn't say he is a star on the level of Rock, Hogan and Austin. No way.
 
#16 ·
He's overrated if anything. Undertaker was damn sure ahead of him, I can't see how anyone who saw the era say different. And I'd say Foley as well. Dude Love, Cactus Jack, and Mankind contributed much more than Hunter did. The fact is he was always HBK's little partner, when he was around. And then he became the "Let's get ready to SUUUUUUUUUUUCK It" guy who feuded with the Rock. Then he got injured.....and the company didn't miss a beat....like at all. In fact it strived. Then he came back, and was jealous of how big the Rock was, and turned heel, which made NO FUCKING SENSE, at all. He pulled a Cena and tried to rub off the Rock's popularity by joining the Corporation. Again making no fucking sense. I remember a promo where his goofy ass came out with the Corporation and said something like "You guys are gonna see something you always wanted. The Rock, and Triple H together as a team" lol he was so full of himself. Nobody cared about his ass joining the Rock. It shows you how full of himself he was. It was plain dumb. Oh I found the video, you call this the greatest heel of all time? lol




Then Rock turned face, Undertaker left, and he saw the opportunity to be the big bad heel. And then went on to book himself like fucking King Kong beating everyone like he is current John Cena. Such heel. Incredible. He got heat alright, heat because he was not doing his job as a heel and putting faces over. He was putting himself over. And that's not a good heel IMO.
 
#17 ·
I always found Triple H hate to be ironic. This guy was hired by an ass hole, Vincent K. McMahon. He forms a clique with a few guys and on their last night of employment, he embraces them. His ass hole boss doesn't like it. He gets buried for a substantial amount of time. This smart mother fucker says "Fuck this, I'm working through it!" He comes back, starts gaining popularity, wins a world championship and eventually starts fucking his boss's daughter. He is the American Dream.
 
#18 ·
In terms of ring work, I think that HHH is easily one of the most underrated workers of all time and the undisputed king of gimmmick matches.

Post his quads he was never as good but than he was paired up with some bad to awful opponents such as Kane, Goldberg and the Big Poppa Pump version of Scott Steiner.

He was a real old school mic worker compared to many attitude guys who really relied on their catchphrases, he just ame out and told you [in the most long winded way ofc] what he would do to you. I personally eat up the 15 mins HHh promos and legit hated him when I was younger.

The character of The Game/ the Cerebral Assasin is great too, a gimmick but so realistic and it made the monster heel booking work.

Also, I think HHH vs Taker WM27 is probably the most underrated WM match ever.
 
#19 ·
Also, I think HHH vs Taker WM27 is probably the most underrated WM match ever.
Agreed I think it tells the story of undertakers streak better than anything else and yeah its just amazing

For me Triple H is one of the GOATS, I try not to even get into discussions about him on here as all the 'wah wah wah burial burial' stuff does my head in.
 
#20 ·
Does he get the credit he deserves for being a huge part of the attitude era? Or has it all gone down the toilet with his perceived; 'burials', sleeping to the top, and hogging the spotlight???
This^. Dude buried so many wrestlers careers he was often mistaken as the Undertaker when he walked down the hall.
 
#21 ·
I think him never having a proper one on one Wrestlemania match with Austin or The Rock may've hurt a little bit. The same way to me, I wish Cena would've had one one ones with Orton, Edge and Punk respectively. Still, HHH was at times either the number 3 face or heel at any moment of the era.

Family aside, I think he was needed in 2002/2003 anyway as Austin and Rock weren't full time and they needed someone to put the belt over. Getting HBK back was a blessing as well.
 
#22 ·
His title reign took wrestling from its biggest boom to a relative slump. Triple H should receive some criticism for being the reason that casuals stopped watching wrestling. He was a fairly boring, predictable champion who made certain that less "reliable" talents never got to his position.

His in-ring work relied mostly on gimmick matches, otherwise he wrestled a very rudimentary style which received very little response from the crowd, but he did have the ability to "hang" with more exciting performers.
 
#23 ·
Very rudimentary style? Do you mean brawling....

HHH could work the crowd with just punches just like the rock and austin did, he was a great brawler with a few very blunt looking moves which fit his gimmick well.
 
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