10 WWE superstars who had disappointing WrestleMania debuts

5. Triple H

Triple H and WrestleMania are almost synonymous terms at this point

Triple H is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished wrestlers in WWE history. He has won a significant number of championships and accolades in WWE and has main-evented several major shows throughout the years.

His WrestleMania record also speaks for itself, as he has main-evented WWE’s flagship show six times since 2000. He has also been in high-profile matches for twenty years, thus further cementing his spot as a critical player in WWE.

However, it wasn’t always this way. In fact, his WrestleMania debut was actually one of the worst matches in his career. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, as he was called at the time, was the only wrestler to receive significant punishment for his role in the Madison Square Garden incident. His proposed main-event push was stalled significantly, and he was booked to suffer considerable embarrassment on a regular basis.

This included a major loss to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII. Hunter was chosen to be destroyed by a returning Ultimate Warrior and suffered a catastrophic loss in a match that went less than two minutes. Included in that squash match was a spot that saw Warrior kicking out of HHH’s feared Pedigree after a one-count, which devalued that move significantly.

So if you’ve ever wondered why the Pedigree has been booked as such a devastating move in WWE, it’s because Triple H has been trying to make everyone forget how badly he lost to Warrior in 1996.