WWE history: Triple H gets buried by Hall of Famer in WrestleMania debut

The backstory

Back in May 1996, The Kliq embraced in the middle of the ring in front of a confused Madison Square Garden crowd, breaking kayfabe and angering Vince McMahon. The incident resulted in Triple H getting his supposed push canceled, which led to Stone Cold Steve Austin winning the King of the Ring tournament and going on to become arguably the greatest Superstar in WWE history.

The burial

Around a month before the infamous incident, Triple H suffered possibly the most embarrassing loss of his storied career. Known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley at the time, The Game wrestled the returning Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 12. It had been around 4 years since Warrior left WWE on bad terms. Vince McMahon decided to turn this return into a big affair by letting Warrior squash Triple H in a matter of seconds.

Ultimate Warrior no sells Triple H’s Pedigree at Wrestlemania XII pic.twitter.com/49jnLT7CVY

— 90s WWE (@90sWWE) July 25, 2019

Being the dastardly heel, Triple H attacked Warrior as he was removing his flashy jacket. A backdrop attempt by Warrior was reversed by Triple H into a Pedigree. To a loud cheer, Warrior didn't sell the finisher and got up immediately after Triple H connected the move.

A few seconds later, Warrior hit the splash on Hunter and pinned him to bag the victory at 1:40!

The aftermath

Warrior's 3rd WWE run didn't last long. He feuded with the likes of Jerry Lawler and Goldust before his departure due to not committing to his dates. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.

Triple H went on to feud with Marc Mero and soon bounced back to become one of the biggest Superstars in WWE history. Currently, Triple H is the Executive Vice President of WWE and is all set to take the reins from Vince McMahon sometime in the near future.