5 little-known WWE booking decisions that almost happened

King Triple H in 1996

Triple H had some less than memorable gimmicks before he landed in D-Generation X.

By now, every wrestling fan has heard about the "Curtain Call” incident at Madison Square Garden, when Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Diesel gathered in the ring for a celebratory hug following a live event match involving Michaels and Diesel in May 1996. That broke kayfabe, since the men were on opposite sides of the face-heel booking.

Since Diesel and Ramon were headed to WCW and Michaels was the WWF Champion at the time, all the punishment fell on Triple H. WWE brass elected not to follow their plan of booking him as the King of the Ring winner the next month, an honor that instead went to Stone Cold Steve Austin. After defeating Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the finals, Austin debuted his “Austin 3:16” catchphrase, and his career took off from there.

But what would’ve happened if Triple H hadn’t been a part of the notorious “Curtain Call”?