Triple H
| Paul Michael Levesque | |
|---|---|
| File:HunterHearstHelmsley.jpg | |
| Born | July 27 1969 Nashua, New Hampshire |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Terra Ryzin Jean-Paul Levesque Hunter Hearst Helmsley Triple H |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (189 cm) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (119 kg) |
| Billed from | Greenwich, Connecticut |
| Trained by | Killer Kowalski |
| Debut | March 1992 |
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27 1969 in Nashua, New Hampshire) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Triple H, an abbreviation for his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Triple H currently wrestles on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Early career
Triple H was trained to wrestle by legendary wrestler Killer Kowalski. He teamed with fellow Kowalski trainee, Perry Saturn, who would go on to form The Eliminators in ECW. In 1993, he joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), wrestling as a heel under the ring name Terra Ryzin. Later, Levesque created the persona Jean-Paul Levesque, a hastily constructed persona in reference to his surname's French origins, and was asked to speak with a French accent as he could not speak French. Under this persona, Levesque also briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal. He left in 1995 for the World Wrestling Federation.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Triple H started off his WWF career as the Connecticut Blueblood, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He appeared in taped vignettes talking about how to use proper etiquette up until his wrestling debut. Although he had an impressive streak during the first few months within his debut, his career stalled during 1996, starting off with being squashed by Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII. Up until that event, he appeared on television each week with a different female valet accompanying him. Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII, and after his loss to Ultimate Warrior, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero came to her rescue and this started a program between the two wrestlers.
Helmsley was best known backstage as one of the members of the Clique, a group of wrestlers including Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF Creative team. Because of his connections with the Clique, and because of the WWF's pressure to create new stars to compete with WCW, Helmsley was in line to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but was eventually suspended and buried after the MSG incident where the Clique broke character after a match between Shawn Michaels and Diesel match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall.
Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. He found a manager in Mr. Perfect and won his first Intercontinental Championship on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero. When Curt Hennig left the WWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Helmsley turning his back on his manager as soon as he won the Intercontinental Championship. He held the belt for nearly four months before losing it to a young Rocky Maivia on the February 13, 1997 edition of RAW. For an very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Curtis Hughes, who played the role of his bodyguard. After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13. During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard, assaulting Goldust's wife and valet Marlena.
Helmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the King of the Ring tournament on June 8, defeating Mankind in the finals. Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude (who left shortly after the group was formed) formed D-Generation X (DX). This group became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos, spawning the catchphrase "Suck It" along with a "crotch chop" hand motion, and sarcastically deriding Bret Hart and Canada. By now, Helmsley fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick and adopted the name of "Triple H", though some wrestlers still do refer to him as Hunter. For a time, Triple H took particular joy in riding on then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, often accusing him of impotence.
After WrestleMania XIV, Michaels was forced into retirement due to a back injury sustained at the 1998 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and Triple H took over the leadership position in DX. He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with the New Age Outlaws, the team of "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn and "Road Dogg" Jesse James. Triple H led the "DX Army" throughout 1998; this was the first time he had performed as a face in the WWF, and he quickly became one of its most popular wrestlers. It was also during this time that Triple H began feuding with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF heel, The Rock. This rivalry eventually led to a feud over The Rock's Intercontinental Championship. Triple H defeated The Rock in a ladder match at SummerSlam 1998 to capture the title. He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a knee injury. When The Rock won the WWF Championship at the Survivor Series 1998, the rivalry between the two continued, but became more of a gang war as DX fought Vince McMahon's Corporation stable, of which Rock was the main star.
Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25 1999 edition of RAW in an "I Quit" match against The Rock, but was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane. Chyna attacked Triple H after the match and joined the Corporation, betraying him. At WrestleMania XV Triple H wrestled as a face for what would be the last time in several months when he beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX. Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping heel Shane McMahon retain the European Championship, thus turning heel and taking Chyna with him. This decision earned him the hatred of many fans, and helped push Triple H further in the direction of the WWF Championship. Triple H then joined the Corporation, briefly placing him on the same side as The Rock. Unable to get along, The Rock turned on the Corporation and took Triple H's place as a face, quickly rising to further stardom.
After Triple H's heel turn in early 1999, he moved away from his "DX" look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks, and a shorter hairstyle. His image and his personality changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot. After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at SummerSlam 1999 in a triple threat match. In a contest which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee, Mankind won the match by pinning Austin, becoming a three-time WWF champion. The following night on RAW, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.
By January 2000, Triple H had dubbed himself "The Game", implying that he was at the top of the wrestling world, as well as "The Cerebral Assassin", implying that he was simply smarter than the other wrestlers. (He has claimed that "The Game" tag was initially conceived for Owen Hart.) He was already a three-time WWF Champion. His feud with Vince McMahon was not well-received, however, and even outraged fans after McMahon won the title from Triple H during an episode of SmackDown!. However, the short-lived feud started the Hunter Hearst Helmsley-Stephanie McMahon storyline that carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months, and this period was known as the "McMahon/Helmsley Era".
Triple H worked a program with Mick Foley in early 2000, which ended in a Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out 2000 that sent Foley into retirement. By the time Triple H shockingly pinned The Rock at WrestleMania 2000 (becoming the first heel to walk out of WrestleMania as champion), he was one of the hottest characters in the WWF, being able to generate enormous heat for his entrance and promos alone. He lost the title at Backlash to The Rock, but regained it in an Iron Man match at Judgment Day only to lose it back to The Rock at King of the Ring.
A later feud between Triple H and Steve Austin culminated in a Three Stages of Hell match in which Helmsley defeated Austin. In 2001, Triple H also feuded with Undertaker, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven. He later teamed with his former nemesis Austin to form The Two-Man Power Trip, capturing both the WWF Tag Team Titles and the Intercontinental Championship once again.
The most difficult moment of Triple H's career occurred during the May 21 2001 broadcast of RAW when he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury. In the night's main event, he and Stone Cold Steve Austin were defending the Tag Team titles against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in his Walls of Jericho submission hold. Triple H ran-in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle, causing it to come completely off the bone. Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match, something that his fans and fellow wrestlers saw as an admirable display of dedication to the business. He even allowed one of his opponents in the match, Chris Jericho, to put him in his standard finishing maneuver, the "Walls of Jericho", a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps. The tear required an operation, which was performed by famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, in Birmingham. This injury brought an abrupt end to the McMahon/Helmsley Era, as the rigorous rehabilitation process kept Triple H out of action for over seven months, completely missing the Invasion storyline of WCW/ECW.
Triple H returned to RAW as a face on January 7 2002 at Madison Square Garden, receiving a tremendous ovation. He soon won that year's Royal Rumble, and thus received a WWF Undisputed Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania X8. At WrestleMania X8, Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the WWF Undisputed Championship. After holding the title for a month, Helmsley lost it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash 2002. Triple H then became exclusive to the SmackDown! roster due to the WWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with Chris Jericho.
Meanwhile, Triple H's old DX companion Shawn Michaels had made his return to the WWE and joined the nWo, and Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple H over to RAW in order to put him into the group. However, Vince McMahon disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as RAW's new general manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and woo Triple H over to the RAW roster. Triple H did indeed jump over to RAW, reuniting with Shawn Michaels, but on July 22 2002 he turned heel once again by turning on Michaels, hitting a surprise Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion. The following week, Triple H smashed Michaels' face brutally into a car window to prove that Michaels was "weak". These events led to the beginning of a long, heated rivalry between the former partners, and an eventual "Unsanctioned Street Fight" at SummerSlam 2002, in which Michaels came out of retirement and won. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Michaels was carried out of the ring.
Prior to September 2 2002, the WWE recognized only one Champion for both RAW and SmackDown! However, after SummerSlam, champion Brock Lesnar signed a (storyline) deal to become exclusive to SmackDown!, leaving RAW without a champion. RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H in the form of the old WCW Championship belt due to the fact that he was the last person to hold that title before it was consolidated with the WWF Championship as the Undisputed Title (Y2J was the first Undisputed Champion but physically carried the WWF and WCW titles as separate belts on television). Triple H made his successful title defense against Ric Flair, but eventually lost the belt to Shawn Michaels in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series 2002, but regained it in a 3 Stages of Hell match at Armageddon 2002. After Armageddon, Triple H held the belt for most of 2003, feuding and ultimately defeating former WCW talent such as Scott Steiner, Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Bill Goldberg in main events.
In January 2003, Triple H formed Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. Its purpose was to include the "greatest wrestlers" of the past (Flair), present (Triple H), and future (Orton and Batista). The group was dominant on RAW from 2003-2004, the height of their dominance occurring after Armageddon 2003 when every member of Evolution held a title. Triple H beat Goldberg to win the World Heavyweight Championship, Randy Orton beat Rob Van Dam to win the Intercontinental Championship, and Ric Flair and Batista beat The Dudley Boyz to win the World Tag Team Championship. Triple H lost his title to Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX and was unable to reclaim the belt from Benoit afterwards in subsequent rematches, including an exact rematch of the WrestleMania main event between Triple H, Benoit, and Shawn Michaels at Backlash.
Triple H regained the title later that year from former associate Randy Orton. Following a controversial triple threat World title defense against Chris Benoit and Edge on the November 29 2004 episode of RAW, the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time. At New Year's Revolution Triple H won the Elimination Chamber to begin his 10th world title reign. At WrestleMania 21, Triple H lost the championship to Batista, and subsequently lost two rematches at consecutive RAW pay-per-views (Backlash 2005 and Vengeance 2005). Following this, Triple H took some time off from wrestling, learning about the corporate side of WWE in preparation for a future full-time executive position.
Triple H returned to RAW on October 3 2005 as part of WWE Homecoming to a tremendous ovation, even though at the time he took his absence, he was a heel. He teamed up with Ric Flair (who had turned face during Triple H's absence) against Chris Masters and Carlito. Triple H and Flair won, but the Game then turned on Flair with his sledgehammer. Triple H then began a feud with Flair.
Another championship opportunity came about for Triple H in the Road To WrestleMania tournament, in which he won, thus granting him a number one contendership for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22.
At WrestleMania 22, Triple H and John Cena fought in the main event for the WWE Championship. Triple H lost to John Cena. The next month at Backlash, Triple H was involved in another WWE Championship match, fighting Edge and John Cena in a Triple Threat match, where he lost again. In an act of frustration, a bloodied Triple H used his trusty sledgehammer to nail both Edge and John Cena with it, then performed a number of DX crotch chops, much to the delight of the fans. Shawn Michaels would return on the June 12, 2006 edition of RAW and would soon reunite with Triple H to reform their previous wrestling stable, D-Generation X. DX would continue their feud with the McMahons and Spirit Squad for several weeks, defeating the Spirit Squad at WWE Vengeance in June and Saturday Night's Main Event in July, then the McMahons at SummerSlam in August.
Currently, DX is scheduled for a handicap 3-on-2 Hell in a Cell match at WWE Unforgiven against Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, and ECW Champion The Big Show.
Controversy
Triple H is considered a very controversial figure in professional wrestling. Fans and critics frequently accuse him of using backstage politics to occupy screen time, retain titles, elevate his friends, and hold down talented workers.
This criticism intensified after he became the real-life son-in-law of WWE promoter Vince McMahon, marrying Vince's daughter Stephanie. McMahon himself once said on Off the Record that his "son Shane, daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Triple H" would run the company once he passes away.
Former D-Generation X members Billy Gunn and Road Dogg have claimed in a shoot interview to have personally witnessed Hunter's actions behind the scenes. However it should be noted that this interview was given shortly after Gunn left the WWE on bad terms.
Hunter has acknowledged the accusations, but he has also denied them on the grounds that "everything goes through Vince", and that he could not do such things even if he wanted to.
He has been accused of steroid abuse, due to the rapid growth of his physique, the aforementioned muscle tear (common of large muscles when they grow too large to be held by the tendons, as steroids only grow muscles, not tendons), his shelf forehead, and the change in his appearance facially (growing red-faced easily, as steroids can interfere with the heart's ability to pump blood to certain parts of the body).
Personal life
Prior to his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, Levesque had previously been in a relationship with Chyna. Following his first WWF championship run, Triple H was put into a program with Stephanie McMahon that culminated in Triple H "marrying" McMahon. During the program, in which Triple H and Stephanie were heels, Levesque and McMahon became personally involved in real life (while Triple H was still in a relationship with Chyna). On October 23 2003, long after the couple had divorced in the storylines, they married for real.
On January 8 2006, WWE.com announced that Triple H and Stephanie were expecting their first child in July 2006. On the July 24 episode of RAW, Todd Grisham announced that Stephanie had given birth to a healthy 8 lb. 7 oz. baby girl named Aurora Rose Levesque.
Television, films and books
Hunter has appeared as Triple H on MADtv and Saturday Night Live and as professional wrestler "The Disciplinarian" on an episode of The Drew Carey Show.
Triple H appeared in the movie Blade: Trinity, as a vampire enforcer named Jarko Grimwood.
In late 2004, Triple H released a book entitled Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body. Mostly devoted to bodybuilding advice, the book also includes some autobiographical information, memoirs, and opinions.
Triple H was featured in the August 14 2005 episode of MTV's Punk'd. He was led to believe that he had ruined a wedding by hitting the bride in the face with a door and damaging her nose, until Ashton Kutcher and Stacy Keibler showed up. Hunter was also featured in an episode of The Bernie Mac Show.
In May 2006, Triple H appeared in commercials for Miller Lite where he debates "Man Law" with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Eddie Griffin and Jerome Bettis. His appearances in this advertising campaign are ironic, given his personal stance against the consumption of alcohol. That same month, he also appeared in a commercial for USA Network with Anthony Michael Hall, which cross-promoted RAW and Hall's show, The Dead Zone; the main comedic factor being Cena leaving a sunburn enhanced handprint on Triple H's back. He has also been featured in an energy drink advertisement where it shows him pedigree someone.
Triple H has also appeared in a Wendy's commercial; he holds up a Triple Classic Burger and calls it the "Triple H Burger".
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Signature foreign object: sledgehammer
- When Triple H uses a sledgehammer as a weapon, it is in fact a real sledgehammer, and not a prop as is widely believed. Triple H covers the head of the sledgehammer with his hand just before it strikes his opponent, and usually uses it in a spearing motion instead of over-hand strikes. On one occasion when Triple H did use a fake sledgehammer he accidentally injured his opponent, the Undertaker (that occasion was at WrestleMania X-Seven.)
- Managers
- Nicknames
- The Connecticut Blueblood
- The Game
- The Cerebral Assassin
- The King of Kings
Theme songs
Throughout his career, Triple H has used several different pieces of music as his theme. While wrestling in WCW as Terra Ryzing, Triple H's theme was a piece of guitar music called Road Master. During his early days in the WWF, his first theme was a piece of harpsichord music. He would later change his music to the fifth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9". After the formation of D-Generation X, Triple H used the D-X theme, titled "Break It Down", performed by The DX Band.
Following the creation of Triple H's "The Game" character after WrestleMania XV, WWF composer Jim Johnston created a new theme entitled "Higher Brain Pattern". "Higher Brain Pattern" was later recreated with lyrics (again sung by The DX Band) and renamed "My Time". "My Time" was distinguished by a recurring "bleeping" noise and contained numerous inside jokes and instances of kayfabe breaking, including the addressing of WWF backstage personnel and executives by name. A slightly different version of the song was included on WWF The Music, Vol. 4. The original theme can be heard on the PC version of the video game WWF Raw. In early 2000, Triple H appeared in the music video of the new rap D-X theme, "The Kings", performed by Run-D.M.C..
In late 2000, Triple H began using The Game, a song performed by Motörhead, a band of which he was a long-time fan. Motörhead performed his theme live at WrestleMania X-Seven and at WrestleMania 21. The song was covered by Drowning Pool, who performed it live at WrestleMania X8. "The Game" was the opening track of WWF The Music, Vol. 5.
While in Evolution, Triple H used the Evolution theme, "Line in the Sand" by Motörhead, whenever approaching the ring with at least one other member of Evolution. When approaching the ring alone, Triple H continued to use "The Game". After Evolution disbanded in early 2005, Triple H reverted to using only "The Game".
At WrestleMania 22 Triple H debuted a new theme called "King of Kings", also performed by Motörhead. On the April 24, 2006 episode of RAW he began alternating between "King of Kings" and "The Game", using the new theme when approaching the ring to conduct an interview and the older theme when entering the ring in order to wrestle. "King of Kings" was featured on the WWE Wreckless Intent album.
When Triple H reformed DX with Shawn Michaels, both he and Michaels both went to using the DX theme, even when coming to the ring individually.
Championships and accomplishments
- Independent Wrestling Federation
- 1-time IWF Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time IWF Tag Team Champion (with Perry Saturn)
- PWI ranked him # 112 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best single-wrestlers in the 2000 PWI 500
- PWI Most Hated Wrestler (2003, 2004 and 2005)
- PWI Match of the Year, versus Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels, (2004)
- PWI Feud of the Year, versus Kurt Angle (2000); versus Chris Benoit (2004)
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- Won from Marc Mero on October 21, 1996 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
- Lost to Rocky Maivia on February 13, 1997 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
- 1997 King of the Ring winner
-
- Won from Shawn Michaels on December 11, 1997 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
- Lost to Owen Hart on January 20, 1998 in Davis, California, USA
- WWF European Championship (2)
- Won from Owen Hart on March 9, 1998 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- Lost to D'Lo Brown on July 14, 1998 in Binghamton, New York, USA
- WWF Intercontinental Championship (2)
- Won from The Rock on August 30, 1998 in New York, New York, USA
- Title stripped on October 12, 1998
-
- Won from Mankind on August 23, 1999 in Ames, Iowa, USA
- Lost to Vince McMahon on September 14, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- WWF Championship (2)
- Won vacated title on September 26, 1999 in New York, New York, USA
- Lost to The Big Show on November 14, 1999 in Detroit, Michigan, USA
- WWF Championship (3)
- Won from The Big Show on January 3, 2000 in Miami, Florida, USA
- Lost to The Rock on April 30, 2000 in Washington, D.C., USA
- WWF Championship (4)
- Won from The Rock on May 21, 2000 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Lost to The Rock on June 25, 2000 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- WWF Intercontinental Championship (3)
- Won from Chris Jericho on April 3, 2001 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Lost to Jeff Hardy on April 10, 2001 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- WWF Intercontinental Championship (4)
- Won from Jeff Hardy on April 16, 2001 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
- Lost to Kane on May 20, 2001 in Sacramento, California, USA
-
- Won from Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker & Kane) on April 29, 2001 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Lost to Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit on May 21, 2001 in San Jose, California, USA
- 2002 Royal Rumble winner
-
- Won from Chris Jericho on March 17, 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Lost to Hulk Hogan on April 21, 2002 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA
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- Awarded title on September 2, 2002
- Lost to Shawn Michaels on November 17, 2002 in New York, New York, USA
- WWE Intercontinental Championship (5)
- Won from Kane on October 20, 2002 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- Unified with the World Heavyweight Championship
- World Heavyweight Championship (2)
- Won from Shawn Michaels on December 15, 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
- Lost to Goldberg on September 21, 2003 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
- World Heavyweight Championship (3)
- Won from Goldberg on December 14, 2003 in Orlando, Florida, USA
- Lost to Chris Benoit on March 14, 2004 in New York, New York, USA
- World Heavyweight Championship (4)
- Won from Randy Orton on September 12, 2004 in Portland, Oregon, USA
- Vacated after controversial match also involving Chris Benoit and Edge on November 29, 2004
- World Heavyweight Championship (5)
- Won vacated title on January 9, 2005 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
- Lost to Batista on April 3, 2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- He is a member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (inducted in 2005)
- 2000 Wrestler of the Year
- 2000 Feud of the Year (versus Mick Foley)
- 2002 Most Overrated Wrestler
- 2003 Most Overrated Wrestler
- 2004 Feud of the Year (versus Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels)
- 2004 Most Overrated Wrestler
- 2005 Feud of the Year (versus Batista)
- 2005 Feud of the Year (versus Batista)
External links
| First generation | |
|---|---|
| Second generation | |
| Third generation | |
| Fourth generation | |
| In-laws | |
| Related articles | |
