Triple HI was young when I first came across this guy that looked ripped and had long hair. No, I didn’t see him in person, I saw him in a wrestling playing card. But what made me notice him was his ranking. He was ranked first from the lot and since I did not know much about wrestling back then, he ended up being just another random guy in the card.That random guy in the card celebrates his birthday today. He proved to be one of the greatest WWE superstars ever and was part of some memorable segments and matches throughout his illustrious career. He is now all set to take over from Vince McMahon as well, but before that, let’s take some time out and look back at those memorable moments from his career.
#12 Honorable Mention: Thumbs down
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The way in which Hunter turned on Randy Orton is still iconic in the wrestling community and it is only fitting to give it a spot in the list.
#11 Honorable Mention: First WWE Title
Triple H won his first WWE championship in 1999. Hunter and Mankind challenged the then champion Steve Austin for Triple Threat match at SummerSlam. Mankind won the title that night, however, just a day later, Triple H defeated Mankind to get his first WWE title reign.
#10 Numerous WrestleMania Entrances
First impression is the best impression and Triple H knows this pretty well. Over the years, Triple H has given us some memorable WrestleMania entrances. All of them are great that it is impossible to pick one and include in the list. He recently came out as Terminator at WrestleMania 31 and the year before, he was the king of skulls.
WrestleMania 22 saw another classic entrance from the game and it has turned into a mainstay for the granddaddy of them all. So if you are a professional wrestler and wants to know how to make an impact with your entrance, you know where to go now, don’t you?
#9 Walls of Jericho on torn Quads (2001)
2001 was a big year for Triple H. He had some solid matches and storyline during the year but at the same time, it was the year when his career almost ended. Hunter and Austin were the reigning Tag Team champions back then and during a title defense against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, Hunter tore his quad.
His muscle completely came off the bone and he was not able to place any weight on his leg. Despite the injury, Hunter went on to complete the match and he even allowed Jericho to lock the Walls of Jericho. Jericho afterwards spoke about the same in his book and told about the amount of respect that Hunter earned that night.
#8 Return from Injury (2002)
The injury that he picked up during the tag team match kept Triple H out of action for almost eight months. It also marked the end of McMahon – Helmsley era which was going successfully. Hunter had to go through some rigorous rehabilitation to recover from the injury and unfortunately for him, it kept him completely away from the Invasion angle as well.
In 2002, Hunter made his return to WWE television. He was treated as a baby face by the fans immediately and WWE booked him to win the Royal Rumble that year. Hunter then went on to win the WWE Championship from Chris Jericho at WrestleMania.
#7 Marrying Stephanie McMahon (1999)
No, I’m not talking about the real life marriage of Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, I’m talking about the kayfabe marriage they had, way before they tied the knot in real life. Vince McMahon was going to let Test (remember him?) marry his daughter on live television but Hunter had other ideas. He kidnapped Stephanie before she could marry Test and drugged her.
Hunter then married Stephanie in the driveway without her will. It was classic Attitude Era stuff and it proved to be an advancement in the feud that Hunter had with Vince. Stephanie later turned on her father and kickstarted the McMahon – Helmsley Era.
#6 DX Reunion (2006)
The conclusion of the Attitude Era pretty much shelved DX. Despite the huge potential that the faction had, WWE waited till 2006 for a reunion. They dropped several hints at the same when Triple H and Shawn Michaels started performing crotch chops in their singles matches. The fans gave them a great reaction for the same and Vince smelled money in the reunion.
On the June 12 edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE made DX Reunite. Triple H was having a gauntlet match against the Spirit Squad that night and Michaels came down for help. Both superstars laid out the spirit squad and performed their trademark DX chops. It was a nostalgic moment for the old fans and for the new fans, it was a new chapter.
#5 Invading WCW (1998)
Attitude Era was host to some cult segments. And when D generation X decided to invade WCW, it ended up being no different. There was some full blown friction between WCW and WWE at that time, and someone came up with the idea of pulling off an actual legitimate invasion. On April 27, 1998, both Raw and Nitro was held at Virginia. DX travelled all the way to the place where Nitro was held and started shouting insults at the company.
They even tried entering the arena with their army jeep but were fended off by security. This was one of the moments that defined DX and current fans would probably die to see a moment like this again.
#4 Legends embrace (2012)
Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H are legends that come once in a generation. So when Triple H faced off Undertaker at WrestleMania 28 with Shawn Michaels at the special guest referee, fans knew that it was going to be awesome. And so it was.
Undertaker and Triple H went through a great 30-minute match inside the Hell in a Cell and the presence of Michaels added the dramatic twist. Undertaker managed to keep his streak alive by winning the match, but the fans had even bigger goosebumps later on. All three legends stood there together embracing and it was a moment to cherish forever.
#3 Street Fight with Cactus Jack (2000)
The early months of 2000 saw an epic feud between Mick Foley and Triple H. Both superstars were involved in brutal matches during the same. At Royal Rumble, Hunter and Foley faced off in a street fight. Hunter’s WWE Championship was on the line and since it had Foley in it, the fans were expecting a violent affair.
The match exceeded expectations. There were interferences, blood, thumbtacks, steel chairs, tables, and everything else that fans would ask from a street fight. At the end of the day, Triple H delivered a memorable pedigree to Foley onto the thumbtacks and retained the WWE championship in style.
#2 WrestleMania 20 Main Event (2004)
The 20th edition of WrestleMania saw a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship as its main event. Shawn Michaels and Triple H came into the match after some brutal encounters while Chris Benoit was added to the mix after he won the Royal Rumble. Everyone expected either Michaels or Triple H to walk out as the winner, but after some excellent action, Benoit emerged as the underdog champion.
All three wrestlers delivered a class performance on the day and it is clearly one of Hunter’s best matches. It is a shame that this match does not technically exist in WWE’s archives because it was and still is the benchmark for triple threat bouts.
#1 MSG curtain call (1996)
This moment had a lot of impact on the entire professional wrestling business.
Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were friends in real life. Nash and Hall accepted an offer from WCW in 1996 and they had their final WWE show at the Madison Square Garden. Once the match ended, the fans witnessed a shocking moment. Triple H, Michaels, Nash and Hall hugged in the ring. Vince McMahon was furious about the same as heels and baby faces hugging clearly broke kayfabe.
Hunter was set to win the King of the Ring tournament that year, but since he did such an outrageous thing, Vince punished him and chose Austin as a replacement. Austin delivered his famous 3:16 speech after the tournament and it kick started the whole Stone Cold Steve Austin character.
