If only one could go in, Triple H or Undertaker

[Disturbed]

WZ, it looks like it's time for another edition of "if only one could go into the WWE Hall of Fame." I figured Triple H and Taker would be a good choosing as they have both done so much for the business and could possibly be main eventing Wrestlemania together this year. Remember, this is the WWE Hall of Fame, not Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Independent Wrestling Federation
IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Kurt Angle
PWI Feud of the Year (2004)vs. Chris Benoit
PWI Match of the Year (2004)vs. Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX
PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2003–2005)
PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000 and 2009
PWI ranked him #139 in the PWI Years in 2003
PWI Wrestler of the Year (2008)
PWI Most Hated of the Decade (2000–2009)
PWI Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009)
World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
World Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
WWF/E Championship (8 times)
WWF European Championship (2 times)
WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (5 times)
WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Steve Austin, and Shawn Michaels
WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shawn Michaels
King of the Ring (1997)
Royal Rumble (2002)
Second Grand Slam Championship
Slammy Award for Best Hair (1997)
Seventh Triple Crown Champion
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Mick Foley
Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit
Feud of the Year (2005) vs. Batista
Most Overrated (2002–2004, 2009)
Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (2002, 2003)
Worst Feud of the Year (2002) vs. Kane
Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Shawn Michaels vs. Vince and Shane McMahon
Worst Worked Match of the Year (2003) vs. Scott Steiner at No Way Out
Worst Worked Match of the Year (2008) vs. Vladimir Kozlov and Edge at Survivor Series
Wrestler of the Year (2000)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI Feud of the Year (1991)vs. The Ultimate Warrior
PWI Match of the Year (1998)vs. Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring
PWI Match of the Year (2009)vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV
PWI Match of the Year (2010) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI
PWI ranked him #2 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002
PWI ranked him #21 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
United States Wrestling Association
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (2 time)
World Class Wrestling Association
WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 time)
World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kane
World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
WWF/E Championship (4 times)2
WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
WWF Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Steve Austin (1), The Big Show (3), The Rock (1) and Kane (1)
Royal Rumble (2007)
Slammy Award for WWF's Greatest Hit (1996) Sucking Diesel into the abyss
Slammy Award for Best Tattoo (1997)
Slammy Award for Best Entrance Music (1997)
Slammy Award for Star of the Highest Magnitude (1997)
Slammy Award for Match of the Year (2009) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXV
Slammy Award for Moment of the Year (2010) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI
Undefeated at Wrestlemania (18-0)
The WWE ranked him at # 2 in their list of "Top 50 Superstars of all Time", behind Shawn Michaels who was ranked # 1. However, the list has been disputed and criticized by several WWE Hall of Famers including Jim Ross and Stone Cold Steve Austin on their Twitter accounts.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
5 Star Match (1997) vs. Shawn Michaels in a Hell in a Cell at Badd Blood.
Best Gimmick (1990–1994)
Best Heel (1991)
Feud of the Year (2007) vs. Batista
Match of the Year (2009) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXV
Match of the Year (2010) vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI
Most Overrated (2001)
Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (2001)
Worst Feud of the Year (1993) vs. Giant González
Worst Worked Match of the Year (2001) with Kane vs. KroniK at Unforgiven
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
The Mirror ranked The Undertaker's Wrestlemania undefeated streak as the 7th greatest winning streak in sports, and it was the only ranked streak from professional wrestling

Just like in my other threads like this, we know both men will go into the WWE Hall of Fame one day, but if only one could go in, which superstar deserves it the most?

You know the drill.

 

[DeathClutch]

Plain and simple The Undertaker!

Not taken anything away from Triple H but most of the big stuff in his career happened while he was romantically linked with Stephanie then married.

I've never thought HHH was that good of a straight up wrestler, I can't name many of the norm wrestling matches HHH looked great in. Gimmick matches thou I can rattle a list as long as a country mile, he excells in gimmick matches but straight up wrestling matches I don't see anything in him.

Undertaker on the other hand was given a concept of a gimmick and told to run with it, and for the fact he kept it up 9 years and changed his look with the times while not really tweaking his arsenal of moves is a pretty good feat.

I loved his American Badass gimmick it was Mark Calloway out the ring it worked and he changed his look when needed along with his move set, but then again Undertaker and WWE realized most fans clamoured for the deadman, so once again we get him and yet again Undertaker tweaked his look and move set with the times to keep it fresh.
Lil known fact Undertaker's tattoos he got to enhance his gimmick, only a couple had any kind of personal meaning to Mark the rest were the Undertaker.

HHH on the other hand HASN'T changed his look since 1999, sure he changed his handle bars off and regrew his beard but over all HHH has coasted for 12 years on the same gimmick with minor tweaks here and there to his nickname but over all I don't think HHH really tried to evolve once he found what worked for him he coasted with it.

I like both wrestlers, I like their matches HHH/Undertaker @ WrestleMania 17 is one of my favorites but when I watch stuff from 1999-2010 I don't see any change in HHH yet I see Undertaker tried to evolve with times and never needed a world title to define him, unfortunatly HHH smoothered the world titles and that is a sign Undertaker was over so much a belt wasn't needed, so I'd say Undertaker for HOF over HHH, but we know both will main event their HOF inductions anyways with good reason.

 

[triple_b2k]

Undertaker, without a doubt. When I think of WWE, I think of the Undertaker. Whether he's a face or heel, he sells out arenas.
Triple H has been very successful, I can't deny that whether I hate him or not (I do hate him). I give him credit none the less.
Undertaker for HOF 2012 (the end of the world haha)

 

[Disturbed]

Since everyone is going for the Undertaker, I'll make an argument for Triple H. Is Undertaker a 13 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion? I'll answer that, nope he isn't. Has Undertaker ever been awarded PWI's top single wrestler of the year? Triple H has not only once but twice. Undertaker may be looked on as the bigger and better superstar because of how long he has been in the business and the gimmick that he potrays. I am not taking anything from Taker but Triple H has accomplished more thus deserves a WWE Hall of Fame spot more.

 

[GameOver]

Hmm i know i would usually be 100% HHH

Taker deserves a HOF regardlss, he is the conscience of the WWE, The Streak, and always remains relevant. Taker is the true Mr WrestleMania

Triple H however is the total package and is The Game. He has done more for the popularity of the WWE and behind the scenes is more involved then Taker in my opinion. Taker just sells WrestleMania

my vote goes with Trips

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

Since everyone is going for the Undertaker, I'll make an argument for Triple H. Is Undertaker a 13 time WWE World Heavyweight Champion? I'll answer that, nope he isn't. Has Undertaker ever been awarded PWI's top single wrestler of the year? Triple H has not only once but twice. Undertaker may be looked on as the bigger and better superstar because of how long he has been in the business and the gimmick that he potrays. I am not taking anything from Taker but Triple H has accomplished more thus deserves a WWE Hall of Fame spot more.

I say both of them deserve it. Yeah Undertaker has been wrestling longer than HHH and was in the most memorable Hell in the cell match (You all know which one i'm talking about), and HHH has more championships. Some will argue about HHH because he is married to Stephanie McMahon, but when i think about two wrestlers in WWE that have been ring generals since the attitude i think of them.

 

[GameOver]

Plain and simple The Undertaker!

Not taken anything away from Triple H but most of the big stuff in his career happened while he was romantically linked with Stephanie then married.

I've never thought HHH was that good of a straight up wrestler, I can't name many of the norm wrestling matches HHH looked great in. Gimmick matches thou I can rattle a list as long as a country mile, he excells in gimmick matches but straight up wrestling matches I don't see anything in him.

Undertaker on the other hand was given a concept of a gimmick and told to run with it, and for the fact he kept it up 9 years and changed his look with the times while not really tweaking his arsenal of moves is a pretty good feat.

I loved his American Badass gimmick it was Mark Calloway out the ring it worked and he changed his look when needed along with his move set, but then again Undertaker and WWE realized most fans clamoured for the deadman, so once again we get him and yet again Undertaker tweaked his look and move set with the times to keep it fresh.
Lil known fact Undertaker's tattoos he got to enhance his gimmick, only a couple had any kind of personal meaning to Mark the rest were the Undertaker.

HHH on the other hand HASN'T changed his look since 1999, sure he changed his handle bars off and regrew his beard but over all HHH has coasted for 12 years on the same gimmick with minor tweaks here and there to his nickname but over all I don't think HHH really tried to evolve once he found what worked for him he coasted with it.

I like both wrestlers, I like their matches HHH/Undertaker @ WrestleMania 17 is one of my favorites but when I watch stuff from 1999-2010 I don't see any change in HHH yet I see Undertaker tried to evolve with times and never needed a world title to define him, unfortunatly HHH smoothered the world titles and that is a sign Undertaker was over so much a belt wasn't needed, so I'd say Undertaker for HOF over HHH, but we know both will main event their HOF inductions anyways with good reason.

Taker has been Taker since 1991 thats more than 9 yrs just an FYI
and has only really changed his look a handfull of times and quickly changed back to the dead man. The only thing he changed was his finisher and that only changed twice. Changing look doesn't make you a different character when everything else is essentially the same

Trips doesn't need a look change, he has a champions champion look, doesn't need a far out gimmick, you know what he is and what he's gonna do.

also disagree that Taker is better at standard matches, neither of them are great at straight up matches both are brawlers. Taker excels in dark matches (Cage, Casket etc.), Trips in hardcore style matches (Elimination, Hardcore, Falls Count Anywhere etc.). Trips however can pull off more technical stuff when it works

and Taker not being a champion was Vince taking the character as being better chasing the title then defending it. I do agree though from a personal standpoint Taker deserves the nod in terms of puting people over if thats what you meant

 

[DeathClutch]

Taker has been Taker since 1991 thats more than 9 yrs just an FYI
and has only really changed his look a handfull of times and quickly changed back to the dead man. The only thing he changed was his finisher and that only changed twice. Changing look doesn't make you a different character when everything else is essentially the same

Trips doesn't need a look change, he has a champions champion look, doesn't need a far out gimmick, you know what he is and what he's gonna do.

also disagree that Taker is better at standard matches, neither of them are great at straight up matches both are brawlers. Taker excels in dark matches (Cage, Casket etc.), Trips in hardcore style matches (Elimination, Hardcore, Falls Count Anywhere etc.). Trips however can pull off more technical stuff when it works

and Taker not being a champion was Vince taking the character as being better chasing the title then defending it. I do agree though from a personal standpoint Taker deserves the nod in terms of puting people over if thats what you meant

If you read what I said, he kept his gimmick going for 9 years before the overhaul into American Badass. Undertaker is a 20 year Veteran, I know that, hell I should do I've been watching him since 1994 and have most of the PPV's from 90s.

HHH has coasted on the same gimmick/look for 12 years, Undertaker has constantly changed his look and gimmick with the times, read what I put I'm not saying HHH needs to change but playing off the same gimmick/look for 12 years is tidious. The DX stuff was a welcomed change to a degree.

I didn't say Undertaker was better in straight forward wrestling matches however I can rattle off Undertaker matches that were straight forward standard matches now then I could for HHH, and they wouldn't even include his HBK matches from 2009-2010.
I said I can't name many HHH matches that were straight forward matches he has been in that were good. His style is more bone crushing street fights. Undertaker excells more in straight forward matches then HHH, he has his old school novelty moveset that he uses at the right times and he has his updated stuff. And I tend to disagree about Undertaking looking good in dark matches, apart from Hell In a Cell, and one or two buried alive matches out of the 5 that has been have been good, (Mankind/1996, Austin 98) I've seen the tag buried alive match from smackdown in 99, and survivor series 03 and Bragging rights 2010 weren't that good, but I blame that on the fact Taker was injured in 2010 and Mcmahon being busted open in 2003 and the match being rushed.

I'm not saying HHH doesn't deserve to be in The HOF, however fans need to remember when talking about him being 13 time champion, he was given the belt, he never won it like in Boxing/MMA, he was scripted to win the belt for storyline purposes, and some of them title runs were useless (May-June 2000 an example) or his title run in late 2004 taken the belt of Orton only for a month later to have the belt vacated due to triple threat and both Edge and Benoit pinning him (wouldn't that mean a match between them two would crown the rightful champion? no elimination chamber with HHH winning so the whole point of him dropping the belt was pointless).

HHH has done some good stuff in WWE however once he found what worked for him he coasted, Undertaker kept up-to-date with his gimmick and move-set and tried to improve, HHH didn't. But he used what worked for him and made it sucessful, but saying he's a 13x champion as a basis for HOF is laughable, considering most of his title runs happened when he was Steph and may have used some pull in sticking at the top. not hating just stating a fact.

Undertaker changed his look a lot, from 1990-1994 he used gray gloves then changed to purple from 1994-1996, before dropping them and going for the batman/leather look in late 1996 before going to his black/loose fitted look from 1997-1998 then changed into Lucifer style Undertaker from 1998-1999.

American badass he had the jeans and long red hair look from 2000-2001, then when sort the leather look with short hair (also changing his theme song a few times to keep up with his change in gimmick/look) from then he went on to his Big Evil look from 2002-2003 before returning to his Big Evil with long hair and old school theme look from 2004-2005 before going to his current look with changing his symbol along the way.

Over all like I pointed in my original post Undertaker will be remember for his WrestleMania streak, titles were never the objective of his career, and saying he was better at chasing them? no he wasn't he RARELY ever did chase them unless it was to get over his next feud (Bret Hart Rumble 96 Diesel causes the DQ..., Bret Hart summerslam 97 HBK costing the belt..) Undertaker only really chased the belt in 2004 with JBL, sure he's had title matches on PPV were he didn't win but after one match he moved on, JBL from Summerslam 04, they had matches at No Mercy and Armageddon without Taker coming close to the belt).

 

[Ferbian]

I'm gonna have to go against the tide and say that I would rather see Triple H go into the Hall of Fame than The Undertaker. Sure, it's the fan in me that speaks, but after all I guess it's the fan in all of us that speaks with choices like this.

First off, Triple H has been in the business for years, not as long as The Undertaker, but he has still been in the business for years. Triple H has one of the best WWE legacies you could think of, with 13 world titles under his name and 23 championship reigns in total. He has been dominant for years, both as a top heel as well as a top face in some of the most brilliant storylines, from Evolution, D-Generation X to Randy Orton vs The McMahon's.

Triple H is a prime example of an ultimate superstar. Not only does he have a great look that makes him seem legitimate against anyone from Rey Mysterio to The Big Show, to put it simple, he looks like someone who could beat any man on the planet, and do it decisively. Top that off with the fact that he's a great in-ring talent, an in-ring general so to say who knows how to work the course of a match, especially if it fucks up (Randy Orton vs Triple H, One Night Stand 2008 anyone?). As well as the fact that, and this is where Triple H exceeds Undertaker by miles, his microphone skills is superb, especially as a heel. Triple H has been able to work the crowd to the point where they were most definitely ready to either kill him, or riot on his ass. And then to turn it all around, and make the crowd love the hell out of him (Face DX anyone?).

Triple H has build a legacy for himself out of being one of the top dogs of the industry, one of the best things the industry had to offer in the past 10 years time, and that in itself shows how big a star Triple H is and how he definitely deserves to go into the Hall of Fame.

Undertaker, without the streak his legacy would be much less. Sure he has worked for many many years with WWE, and made a "silly" non-realistic gimmick work in an era that practically eradicated unbelievable gimmicks (Attitude Era and on-wards). But he's just not quite at the level of Triple H, who have been carrying the flagship show of RAW during the Ruthless Aggression Era (2002-2005 I would say), as well as been one of the top draws for a long period of time with WWE.

Overall Triple H is just the more deserving, and the better wrestler to go into the WWE Hall of Fame. And that's without taking anything away from Undertaker, who definitely deserves it as well, just not as much as Triple H.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

The Phenom.

When you've been apart of a federation for 20+ years, you're bound to gain alot of respect. Doing what Taker does isn't easy. Nagging injuries, constant high profile matches, it's a lot to be admired when it comes to Takers job. Even gauntlets like Triple H haven't ever talked down about him, and it comes as a surprise seeing as they supposedly dislike each other. Now, when Edge spoke about Eddies death, he mentioned Taker, and said he was the only guy left he could speak to after Chris and Guerrero died. Not to forget Taker is a respected guy backstage, he's earned his keep. And anyone who talks down about him, regardless, will get a crap load of backlash from nearly every other wrestler in the locker room. He's like their God, even when The Hardy Boys first started, they where jobbers, but Taker looked out for them, and then was only within his first couple of years in WWE - so it shows he pretty much worked hard all his career.

The only person who i can think of, which comes to close to 'talking down' of Taker, is Stephanie McMahon. She wanted to end Takers streak, for Triple H no doubt - favoritism much? Anyway, she wanted it gone and her husband to end it. Thankfully, that never and hopefully, won't happen. He has this undeniable aura about him, even the haters can admit that, heck, does he even have haters? Lame if you can't admire one of the best in the business, and that's an understatement.

Overall, as it has been stated by many other guys (i.e. JBL, Edge, Orton), The Undertaker runs the backstage, and if he says something, it sticks. I believe he was the first to man up and pound McMahon's door and say he needed to apologize to Bret during the whole Survivor Series screwjob and that spoke volumes with the clubhouse, showing that Taker, would stick up for any person, no matter what.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If only one of them could go in, I'd have to go with The Undertaker. I admit that it nostalgia does play a part, but not a huge one. The Undertaker character is among the most original gimmicks in wrestling history. When you consider the "supernatural" applications of the character, it could be looked upon as sort of silly in this day and age but people still absolutely love it. Mark Calaway had the talent to make fans care about him even when creative put him into some downright abysmal feuds and that's something that can't be looked over easily.

The Undertaker character is one that, by design, was more limited in some ways than Triple H. The Undertaker has been portrayed as this etherial, almost mythic figure that doesn't cut promos often, never has really, and hasn't been simply featured nearly as much in such a capacity as Triple H. All the same, the fans have come to care about Taker every bit as much as they have Triple H.

When I think of someone that's universally respected, Taker is the first one that springs to mind. You just never hear about anyone shitting on the guy. In this day and age where every wrestler has something to bitch and moan about whether it's legit or something that they pull out of their ass, you never hear anybody put down The Undertaker.

I like Triple H, don't get me wrong on that, and his number of World Championship reigns is impressive, but simply having more title reigns isn't all that important of a factor for me in this situation. The Undertaker, for a long time really, has been a wrestler that's really kind of transcended championships. The Undertaker really hasn't "needed" to be a World Champion for a very long time to be a headliner. I can't really blame anybody if they did pick Triple H, both men deserve to be in the HOF and I'm sure that they will be some day. But if only one of these two could ever be inducted, The Undertaker is my pick. I think his overall legacy is superior to Triple H's, he's a much more unique character, his respect among both fans and wrestling insiders is second to none and he's just given so many memorable moments and matches that I just can't overlook all that.