5 WWE Superstars who were definitely not Triple H guys

As the founder and brains behind the NXT system, Triple H has emerged as one of WWE’s top decision-makers over the last decade.

During that time, several Superstars have been referred to as “Triple H guys”, from Finn Balor and Seth Rollins to Adam Cole and the rest of The Undisputed Era.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE had more Superstars on its roster than ever before. That, of course, means that Triple H and his fellow WWE officials cannot always keep everybody happy, especially when it comes to booking decisions.

We have already counted down a selection of WWE Superstars who are Triple H guys, so let’s take an alternative view at the veteran’s relationship with some of his co-workers by looking at five Superstars who are definitely not Triple H guys.

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#5 Matt Cardona was not a Triple H guy

Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) discussed Triple H, Vince McMahon and all things WWE during an appearance on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast in 2020.

One of the most interesting stories came when Cardona revealed what happened backstage after he received a huge babyface reaction from the Madison Square Garden crowd following his attack on Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series 2011.

“I go out there and the place is going nuts. I get to the curtain and Triple H is like, ‘Come here.’ I’m thinking like, ‘Finally, he’s gonna say good job, kid.’ This is what I’ve been waiting for, how can you deny this? It’s Madison Square Garden.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

Unfortunately, Triple H did not comment on the noise of the crowd when Cardona’s music hit. Instead, he pulled him up on his new hairstyle.

“He [Triple H] pulled me aside and I just like got fresh frosted tips in my hair that week. So he asked me like, ‘Why did you dye your hair?’ I’m like, ‘MSG is chanting my name and you’re asking me why I dyed my hair?!’”

Brian Myers (fka Curt Hawkins) added that WWE’s higher-ups used to hold a backstage meeting after WrestleMania every year to encourage Superstars to “grab the brass ring”.

However, Myers said they stopped holding those meetings after Cardona became popular with fans through his own YouTube series.

#4 CM Punk was not a Triple H guy

One of the most successful Paul Heyman guys of all time, it is safe to say that CM Punk is definitely not a Triple H guy.

On-screen, the two men became involved in a heated rivalry after Punk’s infamous ‘Pipebomb’ promo in the summer of 2011. Despite The Best In The World’s overwhelming popularity at the time, he was booked to lose against Triple H at Night of Champions following interference from Kevin Nash.

Two-and-a-half years later, the rivalry was set to be revisited at WrestleMania 30, but Punk said he did not need to face Triple H again and he decided to walk out on WWE just over two months before the event.

In January 2020, Triple H told talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy that he is open to welcoming Punk, as well as his wife AJ Lee, back to WWE if they ever want to return.

“I think what Steph [Stephanie McMahon] was saying is that in the right circumstances, if it’s good for fans and it’s something that would be good for everybody, then absolutely. They were both phenomenal performers, incredible performers. If it was right for them, for the company, for everyone involved, then absolutely.”

Punk joined FS1 show WWE Backstage as an analyst in November 2019, but he did not speak to Triple H on any of the episodes that he appeared on.

#3 Fred Rosser was not a Triple H guy

Fred Rosser (fka Darren Young) revealed in an interview with Chris Van Vliet in 2019 that Triple H made him cry backstage after it emerged that his Crossface Chicken Wing finisher was taken off him because it was being saved for Asuka.

“I was told I couldn't use the Crossface Chicken Wing because it was a dangerous hold. Legit. I said I know what I'm doing, I'm not going to kill anyone.”

Rosser cried in the locker room after The Miz pointed out that Asuka started using the move, prompting Triple H to ask him what was wrong.

“It broke my heart. I've got pictures of him [Triple H] on my wall in my childhood room. It broke my heart. I cried like a baby backstage and he came over and was like, 'Darren, why are you crying?'”

Speaking in another interview in 2020 with Lewis Nicholls, Rosser said he was “a Vince McMahon guy” and not “a Triple H guy” during his seven-year run on WWE’s main roster.

#2 Scott Steiner was not a Triple H guy

Triple H’s rivalry with Scott Steiner in early 2003 is widely viewed as one of the worst of his WWE career.

WWE director Bruce Prichard said on his 'Something to Wrestle With' podcast (02:03:30 mark of the video above) that Triple H was among those who raised concerns about Steiner’s lack of in-ring conditioning, and both men were glad that they no longer had to work with each other following their matches at the Royal Rumble and No Way Out.

“Hunter was glad to be done with it. I think that he thought he could’ve gotten a lot more out of it, and he was disappointed, and I think Scott just felt that he couldn’t work with Triple H, and it was oil and water.”

Speaking on David Penzer’s Sitting Ringside podcast in 2020, Steiner explained that he did not get along with Triple H because he felt that the NXT founder wanted to beat anyone who had an association with WCW.

“Same thing that went wrong with everybody else that went there from WCW. Look at what everybody did. Triple H beat everybody. Kevin Nash went in and he did a DQ and then he got beat. Sting got treated worse, he had one match with them and he was done.” [H/T Wrestling News Co]

Steiner went on to call Triple H a “mark” and said he has no interest in being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

#1 Alberto Del Rio was not a Triple H guy

Anybody who follows behind-the-scenes WWE news will probably be aware of the real-life heat between Alberto Del Rio and Triple H in recent years.

In 2014, Del Rio was under the impression that he was going to keep his job in WWE following an altercation with a WWE employee in the backstage area. However, after being told over the phone by Triple H that he was being released, the Mexican hung up on the 14-time World Champion and he did not return to the company for over a year.

After leaving WWE again in 2016, Del Rio referred to Triple H as “one of the bosses in WWE with the big f***ing nose” during a drunken rant on Periscope.

The former World Heavyweight Champion explained in an interview on Contralona TV in 2019 that his issues with Triple H dated back to his 2014 release from WWE.

“Now everything is normal with them, I apologized and shook hands, even with Mr. Levesque [Triple H], with whom I do not agree on many things, especially how things ended and how they were done [when he was fired in 2014], but I should never have crossed the line and disrespect him.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

Del Rio and Triple H’s only one-on-one match against each other came at a WWE live event in Hartford, Connecticut in October 2010, with Triple H picking up the victory.