Best Two - Triple H

[IrishCanadian25]

A new week, a new best two series! This week, I am kicking things off with "The Game" Triple H. Controversy aside, the man has been a part of some classic matches, and the question is - which two matches have been his best?

Triple H vs The Rock, Summerslam 1998 Ladder Match

This match had terrific build-up. The leader of DX vs the leader of the Nation of Domination in an IC Title Ladder Match at a Summerslam at Madison Square Garden. Mind you, MSG was where HHH's friend Shawn Michaels had torn the house down with Razor Ramon at Wrestlemania 10 in an IC Title Ladder Match.

The crowd was SO hot for this match. Rock was booed mercilessly, accept when he hit the People's Elbow on HHH on the ladder. H's eventually won, but had to drop the belt thanks to a knee injury. Shocker.

Triple H vs Steve Austin, No Way Out 2001

The Three Stages of Hell match. This match effectively ended the HHH / Austin feud. The match went 40 minutes, and ended in a Steel Cage with both men exhausted. After the final blow, Triple H fell on top of Austin, pinning him for the victory. It was a classic feud match, and it's a shame it was used at a No Way Out instead of a major event like Wrestlemania or Summerslam.

As always, the question is - what TWO Triple H matches make your list?

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'll go with the Three Stages of Hell. Excellent 40-minute match with close falls and great intensity throughout. The crowd was into the match and this was a Wrestlemania or Summerslam match. Even though HHH fell on Austin, they both performed extremely well and it was the epitome of what the Attitude Era was all about.

 

[Mr. TM]

John Cena vs Triple H- Wrestlemania

I like this match for a couple reasons. Overall, it was a pretty good match, I know a lot of people did not like it too much, but I did. I wasn't even a Cena fan at the time, but now looking back, I think it was a huge match. No match has ever made Cena seem more important than this match. He was ablt to beat Triple H and become a bonifide Main Eventer. For Triple H, this match showed me one thing. He was still able to put on a hell of a show. He was also still willing to put people over at Wrestlemania, especially a young kid like John Cena, who he saw as the future.

There are many great Triple H matches, where both men got their asses kicked for 20+ minutes. A great example and one of my favorite of his matches was in 2000.

Fully Loaded (2000)- Triple H vs Chris Jericho
I might get flak for this one, but whatever, I loved it. Triple H beat Chris Jericho to a pulp in the Last Man Standing match, which was the best match of the night. This is also one of my favorite Chris Jericho matches where we saw some great spots, especially Jericho getting planted through the announce table. After this match, Austin was getting ready to come back, and it launched into a great feud between the two.

 

[pyrusane]

1) Triple H vs Shawn Michaels, SummerSlam 2002 The build-up to this match was phenomenal, with the teasing of a DX reunion only to have Trips pedigree Shawn instead. Putting Shawn through a car window. The fact that this was HBKs first match in over 4 years. This was the start of a major heel turn for HHH, who had been a top face ever since returning from his quad tear to win the Royal Rumble earlier in the year. Oh, and let's not forget that they put on a helluva match too.

2) HHH vs Cactus Jack, No Way Out 2000, Hell In A Cell These two told an amazing story in the ring for this match. Trips did an excellent job making Foley, who by this point had very little left to give, look like he was still the Cactus Jack of five years earlier.

 

[Shocky]

As much of a critic as I am of the game, it's hard to deny that the man has had some absolutely fantastic matches. Now, the quality of his matches over the last few eyars is certainly in question, as I personally feel he is about 6 to 7 years removed from his prime and his truly great matches. The man has had great matches with Jericho, and Cactus Jack, an hour long match that I watched the entire way through with the Rock. You name them, chances are Triple H has had a great match with them, but there are two that stand out to me.

2002: vs. Shawn Michaels (Unsanctioned Street Fight, Summerslam 2002). The build up for this was amazing. The summer of 2002 turned into a nasty feud, with Triple H returning to his strong suit of being a nasty heel. The returning Shawn Michaels, was the clear under dog going into this match. The big question marks of this match, could Shawn Michaels look good in this match, and could Triple H protect him in this match. There was so much uneasiness and tension going into this match from a smark and mark point of view. What happened, they delivered arguably the best match in the history of Summerslam. These two battled from pillar to post, bringing out chairs and ladders and anything that could be brought into the match. Shawn Michaels prevailed in the end, but Triple H stood tall as he smashed his sledgehammer into Michaels back. Truley great stuff.

2001: vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (3 Stages of Hell, No Way Out). For me, it's a coin toss on which of these matches are his best, and arguably, the best of the decade. For me, these two matches are in the top five for match of the decade, and this match was easily the match of the year for 2001. This match should have been the main event of Wrestlemania 17, but instead the WWF went into the boring and safe vs. The Rock option. It's a true shame, because this match was Austins best, and miles better then the travesty which occured in the main event of Wrestlemania 17. Triple H and Austin battle for nearly 45 minutes, with Austin winning the regular wrestling match, but triple H coming back and winning in a street fight, and possibly the greatest finish ever to a match with the win inside of the Steel Cage. This match right here, is the definition of Five Star.

 

[2012isbs]

I have to go with...
HHH vs. HBK in HIAC
It was 47 minutes of all out brutality even for a cell match. It had everything and more a Hiac fan like myself could want. there were tables, ladders, finishers and a cell. HHH's streak in Hiac was in jeopardy as HBK who he was at time feuding challenged him to HIAC. The match itself was fastpaced and action packed. What amazed me about it though was it is one of my favorite Hiac's and they never even left the cell!

AND

HHH vs. "The Animal" Batista
Critic tham both as much as you want. Batista showed he could put on a show. It had barbed wire chairs, chains, and The great equalizer HHH's hammer. Batista use every weaponm HHH pulled out against him he counterd a top dive by lifting the hammer so it hit HHH right in the chin he sparyed blood out of his mouth, and right when You thought HHH was going to lose He grabbed the hammer as he was lifted up for a Batista Bomb and Batista go the Batista Bomb off. It was the best finish in a batista match.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

Trips' 2 Best Matches:

6 Man Elimination Chamber - World Heavyweight Championship: Summerslam 2003

I am probably going to get some red rep for this, but I could care less. This match is my favorite of all time, and Trips' performance is essential to its quality. He does NOTHING. That's right....NOTHING during the entire match except hide out in his pod, get superkicked in the pod, get totally dominated by Goldberg, only to use the sledgehammer on Goldberg to pick up the win in classic heel fashion. I mean, Goldberg STEAMROLLED through the rest of the competition (including a sickening spear on Jericho through plexiglass)...having him TOTALLY built up to pick up a freaking energetic and massive win for the title. Then, Trips, with his sledgehammer, sucks ALL of the positive energy out of the building and turns it into absolute heat on himself. Classic, classic, classic. That's why Trips is in contention (if not the front-runner) for best heel of all-time.

Triple H v. Cactus Jack - Street Fight - WWF Championship: Royal Rumble 2000

This match sometimes gets overlooked by the circus-like Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out, but this is another classic heel display by Triple H. The majority of the match just consists of him completely obliterating Foley, using chairs, a barbed wire 2x4, and the best of all...handcuffs. The handcuffs really bring out the sadistic nature that Triple H's character was trying to display at the time...showing absolutely no mercy to a highly crowd-favored and sympathetic Cactus Jack. Then after Foley broke free from the cuffs, back-body-dropping Cactus onto thumbtacks, and unsuccessfully pinning Foley after a normal Pedigree, Triple H goes to another level of sick when he Pedigrees Cactus onto the thumbtacks. I remember watching that and legitimately cringing. It just makes you think, "Wow. Triple H is nothing a but a sick *&(%^&&^!!!"

 

[Father:_Polley]

ZOMG!!! The elimination Chamber??? Nah Ricky, I have to actually agree that it was a very clever way of getting a lot of heel heat and instantly making Goldberg the top face in the company because of the screw job.

My top two matches however both involve a distinct lack of rules and have both been mentioned before.

For my view, I think HHH is a master of No DQ matches, because he takes some pretty scary shots and always manages to make the other guy look good.

His match with Cactus Jack was always destined for greatness. All you have to do is look at the debut of Cactus Jack in a similar environment and you know these two work very well together because that was a rather awesome match. Factor in an environment both men work well in and you're pretty much set. The move had some scary pops, and as Ricky has said, it made you think HHH was a sick, sick dude. Perfect for the role he was playing and set up HIAC nicely.

Number 2 - The Unsanctioned match. A match that brought out the best in both men, proving HHH could get HBK to perform in an environment he wasn't used to and look damn good doing it. The bitterness portrayed in the run-up between two friends and former allies lent itself to a charged match which was pretty brutal for both men. He may have lost, but he got one of the best performances from HBK and himself in the process and did nothing to lose his heel status with the ending

 

[Skillz]

Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels - Summerslam 2002

I absolutely loved the build-up to this match. It had Shawn Michaels returning after 4 years to face probably my favourite wrestler at the time, Triple H, in an unsanctioned match. The only time I was just as excited to watch a match from this decade was when Michaels faced Angle at Wrestlemania 21. When the match took place it sure as hell delivered. It became an instant classic, and one of the best matches in Summerslam history. This match told such a great story. I also loved the way it was layed out, which was different to most street fights. It wasn't the typical "I hit you with a weapon, you kick out at 2, you hit me with a weapon, I kick out at 2, and so on and so on" type of match. This match was very logical and had great psychology. The build-up to the finish, and the finish itself was perfect, and fit in perfectly with the story of the match.

For me, this was the end of Triple H's prime. Up to this point he was a complete badass, character-wise, and his in-ring performance was consistently good. Ever since then, only on very rare occasions has he had quality matches at the level of the ones he had in the early 00's. Which leads me to my next match:

Triple H vs. John Cena - Wrestlemania 22

When I first watched this match I didn't care for it. I was no longer much of a Triple H fan, and I didn't yet realise the greatness that is John Cena. It's only now that I realise, when watching this match again, how good this match really was. I feel that this match is arguably the best Wrestlemania main event since Austin/Rock at X-7. In Wrestlemania history, only several times has there been a true feeling that the main event is being contested between the two absolute top wrestlers in the company. Hogan/Andre definitely had that feeling. So did Hogan/Savage and Hogan/Warrior. Hart/Michaels also had that feeling, as did Michaels/Austin and Rock/Austin. HHH/Cena also belongs in this notorious list. The crowd was so into this match, which made for a great atmosphere and big-match feeling. This match told very good story, and even though Cena won the title a year prior, it was this match that truly started the Cena era, and it was this match when people with any intelligence actually started to realise that Cena actually could wrestle.

 

[Khalifa]

HHH vs Austin 2001 ,NWO ,3 stages of hell match.

This match was amazing. As i said in the WWE section for the 3 stages of hell matches thread, i loved it . Obivously the best 3 stages of hell match ever. HHH and Austin were having a good feud. Good way to finish it off the feud and even better with a great match. It was one of those anyone could win matches were you didn't know who was going to win until the last second. For both men to put on a great show for 40 minutes is just amazing.

HHH vs HBK vs Benoit 2004, Wrestlemania, Triple threat match for the WHC.

This one of the best matches ever at Wrestlemania. It had a great feel because benoit finally made it to the big one in a main event after winning the Rumble. The HBK and HHH feud didn't get old and it just brang more to this match instead of it being HHH vs HBK. It went on for 20+ minutes ( didn't get boring at all) and had great moments in the match. In the end Benoit won. But overall they all won.

 

[twisterwrw929]

Trips' 2 Best Matches:

6 Man Elimination Chamber - World Heavyweight Championship: Summerslam 2003

I am probably going to get some red rep for this, but I could care less. This match is my favorite of all time, and Trips' performance is essential to its quality. He does NOTHING. That's right....NOTHING during the entire match except hide out in his pod, get superkicked in the pod, get totally dominated by Goldberg, only to use the sledgehammer on Goldberg to pick up the win in classic heel fashion. I mean, Goldberg STEAMROLLED through the rest of the competition (including a sickening spear on Jericho through plexiglass)...having him TOTALLY built up to pick up a freaking energetic and massive win for the title. Then, Trips, with his sledgehammer, sucks ALL of the positive energy out of the building and turns it into absolute heat on himself. Classic, classic, classic. That's why Trips is in contention (if not the front-runner) for best heel of all-time.

I like everything you had to say, but I think we need to question whether it was done cause Triple H was great, or because it was all he could do. During that time Triple H had an injured groin, possibly torn if I remember correctly. For having a torn groin, I think he did a good job and I agree with what you had to say, but its possible too much credit is being given to him there.

What I would pick for Triple H's two best matches:

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels - Summerslam 2002

This has been picked a couple times already, so I won't say much about it. But it had a great build, a fantastic match, surprisingly good cause you weren't sure how Michaels would be, and then a great ending. One of my favorite clips in all of wrestling, Triple H walking back up the aisle after the match, covered in blood with a huge grin on his face because of what he had just done to his old best friend, great moment.

Triple H vs. Kurt Angle vs The Rock - Summerslam 2000

One of my favorite matches of all time. This is just one of those matches that I could watch every single day and not get tired of it. The match was great, but something even better came out of it, and I think it showed that Triple H was a legit main eventer and one of the best. This is when Angle got knocked out early in the match, and eventually came back out later while having a concussion. But Angle getting knocked out didn't matter, cause Triple H was able to keep the match going, and not only did it keep going, but it turned out to be a really good match.

 

[jmt225]

Triple H vs. John Cena - Wrestlemania 22

My hatred for HHH peaked around this time period. I mean, I literally hated his fucking guts. I hated everything about him. His laziness, his god-awful "work-shoot" promos... EVERYTHING. The guy was just a fucking tool. He still is a tool, but around this time period, he was the biggest tool on earth in my eyes. Seriously, if he had died, not one once of sympathy would've ran through my body for him. Today... I still can't stand him, but I can at least tolerate and even respect him to a very limited to degree. However, back then, there was not one once of respect in my body for the douche.

The point of me expressing that is because I thought for certain HHH was going to beat Cena at Wresltemania 22. I was 100% fully convinced he was. So, when you add that up with my hatred for him at that time and my love for Cena... it was amazing to witness Cena defeat Trips. And to do it in front of such a fucking HHH-favored crowd full of idiots, made it that much better. It was glorious. And the match itself was awesome. The drama, excitement, crowd participation, false finishes, ect. all just made up for one of, if not THE, greatest Wresltemania main events of all time. I loved it every second of it. Trips tapping out to Cena at the end of that match is now one of my favorite moments in wrestling history. I never expected that, and just to know how upset those ******s in the audience had to be when HHH’s started tapping was the icing on the cake.


I can't pick another match to go #2. I just know that match above is by far my personal favorite HHH match of all time. His matches against Jericho at Fully Loaded and against Foley at the Royal Rumble 2000 are two other matches I love, but neither come close to how I feel about HHH's match against Cena at Wrestlemania 22.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

This is easy.

HHH vs. The Rock - Ladder Match - Summerslam 1998

Both men fucking brought it. A match that I have often claimed might be better than Razor vs. Michaels. Also in many ways tried to imitate it. Powder being thrown, the evil Rock vs. the uber popular Triple H. Who just got back from knee injuries. Fucking hell, they tore the house down with this match.

Cactus Jack vs Triple H - Street Fight - Royal Rumble 2000

Oh shit son. This match was off the fucking charts. Im usually not a fan of real hardcore matches. But this one was the SHIT. Breaking chairs over Foleys head. Blood galore. Triple H getting stabbed in the calf with a huge piece of wood from a skid. Trips Continuing the match and finally pinning Cactus Jack to end this massacre. A fucking fantastic match that had the audience cheering throughout. Which is something I love since Im a sucker for crowd heat.

 

[NSL]

I loved Hunter Hearst Helmsley as the blue blood, and I think it was great work as a heel. I also loved The Rock as Rocky Maivia, so naturally, one of my favorite Triple H matches was at Thursday RAW Thursday against Rocky Maivia. It was for Hunter's Intercontinental Title, and Rocky won, for his first ever title reign. Hunter worked great as a heel throughout the match, and the chemistry with Rocky was apparent throughout the match. There was a run-in by Chyna, but it worked for the match, and helped build both wrestlers towards what they were becoming quickly. There was a few times where Rocky was down and out, but wouldn't give up, and even a few spots where he climbed the turnbuckles.

Another match I always loved with Triple H was against Batista at Wrestlemania 21. Batista won, after having a Batista Bomb as almost his entire offense for the match, but the match as a whole worked well, and had me cheering Batista the whole time. Triple H played a great heel, and did a great job putting Batista over for the title win.

 

[Pimpin]

HHH vs Rock 60 minute Iron Man Match at Judgment Day 2000 One of my favorite Iron Man Matches of all time. Both men hit alot of exciting moves & gave it their all for 60minutes. I didn't even have a problem with the ending of the match when The Undertaker returned to attack Triple H. I believe this match is one of the greatest Iron Man matches of all time.

Cena vs HHH at Wrestlemania 22 I hated John Cena(still do to this day) but I hated Triple H even more(also still do to this day). What made this match special was when Triple H tapped out infront of the crowd that was mostly in his favor. The actual match was pretty good as both competitors worked really well into making the match exciting. The crowd was definitely into this match making for a great atmosphere & a big-match feeling.

 

[CENAtion]

3 Stages of Hell vs. Steve Austin : I can't say enough about this mathc. The Game plays a great heel, and Austin plays the role perfectly as someone who is hell bent on whooping your ass. These guys went at it for 40 plus minutes. Easy 5 Star match. In my opinion this is the best win of HHH's career, forget all the title wins. Also this is the best Austin match that he ever lost. Typically the RattleSnake during his era was getting screwed over in matches when he lost but this one was clean. Much to both their credits, both guys look amazing in the whole match. It combined everything such as Austin beating HHH in a regular wrestling match. HHH winning the Street Fight or whatever it was called. The ending with The Game just falling on Austin was awesome.

I agree with Shockmaster this was easily a candidate for match of the decade.

vs. Cactus Jack at No Way Out : Cactus's Career was on the line as well as The Game's title. This was a physical match all the way through. The Game showed proved just how sadistic he could be once again in that match. To me HHH was in his absolutely prime around this time, when he seemingly could go a half hour easily and pull out a win in the end when you didnt think he could. My personal favorite part of the match is after Cactus falls thru the cage and then HHH pedigree's him nad you hear JR go "come on Cactus kick out, damnit!"

 

[dobieman0488]

My all time favorite was probably the triple threat at WM 20, (my favorite match ever,) but I'll stick to two awesome singles matches

1. NWO 2001, Triple H vs austin. This was intense as hell, and had a great buildup, with austin coming back and destroying triple h at survivor series 2000, the feud continued and got more and more intense, with the two men not being able to touch each other other before the match. then they pummeled each other for nearly 40 minutes, and it never got old, triple h finally falling on austin after they both hit each other and getting the pin.
2. smmerslam 02 HBK HHH this match was awesome, the breakup of DX, shawn's return match, the threatening condition of HBK's back, great match, HHH beat the hell out of michaels, which actually looked pretty legit, and the cries of JR and King to stop it made it all the better from the announce table. HBK came back with somesick offense of his own, busting the game open, and eventually winning by countering the pedigree with the roleup. HHH showed why he's one of the best heels ever, by hitting michaels in the back with a sledgehammer after the pin, causing HBK to be taken out on a stretcher.
HHH-taker at mania 17, rock-hhh ladder match 98, other hbk matches are great too,

 

[Mitch Henessey]

If I had to pick two favorite HHH matches I would have to go with.... 1- Summerslam 2002 street fight. This match was amzing. HBK didn't even show any ring rust after missing 4 years. It was bloody, brutal,and suspensful. 2- Armageddon 2002 2 0ut of 3 falls match. HHH and HBK really gutted it out in this one. The street fight was good,HBK dominated the cage match (despite interfereance from Ric Flair), and by the time they got to the ladder match, you could tell they were tired as hell. HHH starts his seventh world championship reign, and HBK takes one sick fall

 

[The Rob]

We're only allowed two matches? Man this is tough.

v.s Undertaker - Wrestlemania X7

This match, in my opinion, was the one that really cemented Trips as one of the very best wrestlers in the world. The match itself wasen't all that great to be honest, but what was so good was that Trips was able to stand there and slug it out with the biggest badass' the WWE has ever had. And he almost defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania. I know Trips was probably the main guy through-out the majority of 2000 but his biggest push, in my opinion was when he was allowed to take Taker to the absolute limit at WrestleMania, something that really had not been done that much before. I personally love the whole thing, from Motorhead performing his entrance music, to when they took the match into the crowd, to when Trips counted the last ride by completely twating Taker in the face with a sledgehammer, it was just gold.

v.s 29 other superstars in the Royal Rumble match - Royal Rumble 2002

Theres just one image from the whole match that I absolutely love. And thats the image of Stone Cold looking at Trips walking to the ring... and he looks afraid. He knows that he was in serious trouble. The Game had never looked more intense and I think we all knew from that point that Trips would be going to WrestleMania. Also the way he came back from a extremely serious injury to win the Royal Rumble match was something special and because I've been a huge fan of Trips, ever since I've been a WWE fan, that match will always mean something to me.

 

[matty256]

vs. Steve Austin-No Way Out 2001

a great 2 out of 3 falls match even though Trips was a former 4 time champ at the time i feel that this match was what really boosted him as a true main eventer with the clean win over the rattlesnake


Vs. Ric Flair-Survivor Series 2005

An outstanding last man standing match between these 2 former alies. Imo this was the last great feud Triple H had. It took Trips 3 pedigress and a sledgehammer shot to put Naitch away