First Impressions: Triple H

[The Brain]

The first time I saw Triple H was at a WCW house show in December 1994. He was in the opening match against Alex Wright. I didn’t even catch his name during the introduction and he lost the match but I liked what I saw from him. He had good mannerisms and worked the crowd pretty well. I was a die hard WWF fan and didn’t watch too much WCW. Even though I didn’t know this guy’s name I remember thinking I wouldn’t mind seeing him come to the WWF.

Six months later a brief video aired on Superstars of wrestling introducing a new WWF wrestler. I recognized the man as the unknown name from the WCW house show. He didn’t say a word in his debut vignette. He simply looked at the camera with a disgusted look showing that the fans weren’t worth even a moment of his time. I immediately had him pegged as a future IC champion. Nowadays when a new wrestler debuts we automatically speculate if he can be a world champion one day but things were different in 1995. Being IC champ was a bigger deal back then than it is now and I felt Helmsley perfectly fit the mold of an IC champion. I’m not going to sit here and tell you I thought he would be a multiple time world champion. IC champ was high enough praise for a brand new wrestler in 1995. My point is I liked him from the start. I thought along with Jeff Jarrett he was going to fill the void that Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels had left as the mid card heel workhorses. I even bought the Hunter Hearst Helmsley “How to be a Snob” t shirt in 1995.

So what were your first impressions of Triple H? Were you watching when he debuted or was he already an established star by the time you first saw him? Either way, share your opinions here

One more thing regarding that t shirt from 1995. I’ve always supported HHH when people accuse him burying other wrestlers. Despite that I find the quote on the back of that t shirt very interesting. “On your rise to power, step on everyone. You’re not coming back down.” And that’s from a 1995 t shirt. Who knew?

 

[The Ghost of Benoit]

I didnt really like his gimmick when he first started which is why I dont like Sandow atm either. I didnt start to believe in him until he was in DX.

Also about your last comment, how exactly do you support someone who buries other wrestlers? I guess you are a big Hogan fan too.

 

[trashboy]

I didn't start watching wrestling religiously until late 96, early 97. During that time Triple H was still doing his snob gimmick. I hated him then, it wasn't until he started teaming with HBK and eventually naming their team DX that I started liking him. Ever since then, he's been one of my favorite wrestlers, next to Bret Hart and Scott Hall of course. Even to this day, I'm still a fan of HHH.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Nice thread, Brain.

First time I saw Triple H was him in the midst of his WWE Intercontinental Championship reign back around 1996, I can remember him defending it against the then Rocky Maivia, but I was still pretty young at the time. Having watched their match since and a WWE Vintage Collection edition focusing on the career of the now "Game", he obviously had a great look about him and the blue blood gimmick was something different. I fondly remember his bowing pose, I know there is a name for that type of bow, just doesn't come to my mind at the moment.

As I continued getting more into wrestling though, I can remember the forming of D-Generation X and being taught how to say "Suck It" despite not knowing what it meant at that time. I've enjoyed most of Triple H's career, I liked him as a mid-carder and some of my favorite matches of all-time include Hunter. I vividly remember watching Summerslam 98 on Channel 4 over here, with one of my older brothers, as he faced The Rock in a Ladder Match. Phenomenal match.

As for the t-shirt, Triple H doesn't exactly deny he stepped on people to get to where hes got. But to quote Chris Jericho, "In the professional wrestling business, whether you like it or not, eventually you're going to have to get your hands dirty in the climb up the mountain."

 

[byrnside]

Ah, yes. Without a doubt Triple H is my favorite wrestler of all-time, but if you had told me when I was 10 in 1995 that I would one day feel that way, I would've said you were crazy. The first time I saw him was when the vignettes began airing in '95. I didn't think much of him at the time, he was simply a bad guy that was too good for the fans of the WWE. I can remember him consistently winning matches and wondering how it continued to happen. It wasn't until he enlisted the services of Mr. Perfect and won the Intercontinental title from Marc Mero that I really began paying attention to "The Game." Funny how a little thing like an endorsement from someone the likes of a Mr. Perfect can change your opinion on a guy. His feuds with Goldust and Owen Hart only enhanced my enjoyment of his matches. I too remember the good ol' days, Brain, when a superstar winning the Intercontinental title might have meant everything for their career and in his early days in the WWE, I don't think I would've pictured him going much further than that, but as you said, in those days it was a big accomplishment to carry the IC title. He then of course went on to form DX with Shawn Michaels and who didn't love DX at the time? Following the run of DX he went on to become "The Game" and that was when I became a huge fan. In my opinion he is one of the greatest heels to ever enter the squared circle. He catches a lot of flack because he married Stephanie and continuously [supposedly] refused to put other guys over, etc. I don't care nor do I buy into them. Triple H has always put on quality matches as a main-eventer and that's what matters to me.

 

[Chicago1989]

Like most would say, I first got to see Triple H in the Attitude Era. He was the leader of D-Generation X along with Chyna, X-Pac, and the New Age Outlaws. At that time, they were hot, as far as my childhood goes. Road Dogg was the most over out of that group from what I knew.

But for Triple H, I didn't think that he would achieve all the success he's gotten. And I feel fortunate to have seen what he's done for the business and to actually have met him in person. I didn't actually get to greet him personally, but I still got to see him with my two eyes and that's good enough for me

 

[HBsam31]

I first saw HHH on I think it was a WCW morning show. I didn't give him much thought until he debuted on WWF tv. At the time I, like the Brain, thought he had the look and skills of a future IC champion. I liked the snob behavior, and as a heel you could already see he had what it takes. I never imagined he would be as successful as he was, but I could see a little something in him even then. He looked like he would fit in perfectly with past stars that chased the IC title, and he did fit in well there in his beginnings. Just seemed to have what it takes even from the start.

 

[Slowdude]

The first time I saw HHH wrestle was at Wrestlemania 20 (I bought it for pretty much every other main match with no clue who was in the world title match). I didn't start watching Raw until before just before Bad Blood (mostly to see Benoit).

I guess my true first impression was when HHH walked out on HBK the night after Bad Blood when Kane attacked. Next feuding with Benoit & Eugene I saw his character as the every word that explain his heel character at the time. Then as he betrayed Orton, stole the title then managed to keep holding onto it just put him at the top of my "I hate you so much" list. I guess all i can say is 2004 - early 2005 he was the perfect heel, he cheated in every way yet he could also rather dominate so him winning just made it so much easier to hate him at the time.

So overall he was far into his career by time i first saw him and he was doing his best at the time to be the most hated guy on screen.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

The first time I ever watched a WWE show was in 1999. I was 10 years old and I stayed the night at my aunts house, my cousin who was in his late teens had ordered Summer Slam. The main event was Steve Austin vs. Triple H vs Mankind and I was blown away by what Triple H did after the match to Stone Cold. I'd never seen something like this before. That instantly shot Triple H to be one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. He was mean and tough. One of the all time greats no doubt about it.

 

[berlinbrawler]

First time I saw him was was in a Tag Team with Lord Steven Regal in WCW. I immediately figured he would be the future of the business and become the WWF champion for at least 10 times.

... Kidding. I barely noticed him at all. I remember in those days thinking that that Regal guy had something, but his supposedly French partner was barely on my radar.

When he made his debut as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, though, I took notice right away. The guy had future IC champion written all over him. Clearly he would be big. No idea how big he would be, though.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

The first time I noticed Hunter was during his time with Shawm in the original DX. He still had the same look from his original gimmick, but with the DX attitude to go along with it. I loved original DX, so I started to like Hunter. What really got me on Hunter's side was during his fued with Slaughter. Some of the funniest moments on Raw was DX's interaction with Slaughter.

After Mania XIV, Hunter took over DX, they became faces and I stopped caring for him and started hating him because I became a Rock fan by the summer of 98. It wasn't until Evolution that I started coming back around on Hunter and ever since I have nothing but respect for the guy.

 

[HBKperfect23]

I vaguley remember him in WCW. I was also a WWF guy. I disliked Hunter during his initial run in the WWF (simply because he was a heel and I only rooted for good guys at that time). So he did his job getting over. I did love the pedigree though. I thought he was definitly talented and saw his IC run coming.

Most fans started liking him when DX formed. Even though I was a huge HBK fan I hated HHH. I wanted DX to break up and HBK to turn face. Fast forward to HHH taking over DX and them going face: I loved DX now. I was more of a DX fan then an Austin fan. Triple H was now my favorite wrestler and I hated the Rock.

By his heel turn, I joined the IWC and now had a new apperciation for heels and rooted for them as well. I remained a HHH fan and still am to this day. Triple H is a legend and one of top 5 favorites ever.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I first became aware of him when he joined WWE. He wore an outfit that made him look like the Ringmaster of a circus which, when you think about it, puts him perfectly in place with a pro wrestling organization. I wonder if people can appreciate the irony of his being billed as a blue-blood from Greenwich Connecticut.....and that he now actually lives there. I mean, c'mon, what are the odds?

From then 'til now, I've seen him as an extremely hard worker who gave everything he had to give, which became especially significant when he rose so high in the organization (even before marrying the boss' daughter). He could have left a lot of the lower-caste chores to lesser wrestlers, but he showed he would get down in the trenches and do whatever was needed.

Even so, while he seems like the biggest WWE loyalist in creation, we shouldn't forget that when his buddies (Hall & Nash) defected to WCW, Paul Levesque wanted to go, too......that he wound up benefiting more than any of them by staying was by happenstance: Trips got lucky.

Still, from the early days of Arkansas Hog Pen matches against Henry O. Godwinn..... to wrestling five matches in one night on Raw..... to being crushed by Ultimate Warrior in half-a-minute, Levesque has proven himself over and over to be one of the hardest-working performers in the business.

You can say what you want about his marrying Stephanie only to get ahead in WWE, but after almost 9 years and 3 daughters, he's sure doing a good impression of a husband, isn't he? If his marriage is all an act, he's turned it into a record-breaking engagement.

First impression?....He's the best........past, present and future.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

First impression of him with his blue blood gimmick (I think in '95) was meh. I had seen the blue blood gimmick done before in WCW, with Steven Regal and Bobby Eaton. Triple H didn't really stand out back then. I thought he would never really amount to much more than a mid-carder, especially how he was relegated to jobbing to the Ultimate Warrior in his original return to Wrestlemania. He was also stuck in meaningless Hog Pen matches with Henry Godwinn, if I remember right. He was also a lot leaner and less muscular at the time - it wasn't until later when he befriended the Cliq and Shawn Michaels that his muscles suddenly exploded. I was definitely proven wrong about him, though I never would have suspected how much political clout he would go on to have behind the curtains.

 

[IT Factor]

My first impression of Triple H wasn't very good. I missed his matches in WCW and didn't care for his hog-pen matches against the Godwinns[gotta love the refrence, though ]. The first time I sat up and took notice of him was when the attitude era started and DX blew up. He started showing more personality and began taking control of his career and took off. I've been a big fan ever since and think he'll definetely be remembered as one of the best on-air characters and overall behind the scenes guys ever in WWE.

 

[XtheXlegacyX]

Well, I probably thought he was the coolest cat around when I was three years old watching him and Shawn Micheals tear it up, but since I don't exactly remember that, I'll go to my first real HHH memory.

I had stopped watching from 2001 to 2005, because Primestar in my area got switched with Directv, and we couldn't find wrestling. One night I remember I was in a hotel room watching TV while everyone else in my family were sleeping when I saw Batista getting lowblowed by Ric Flair in the ring and Triple H coming out to beat Batista senseless with a sledgehammer. I though "oh my god, this guy is a badass!" Sadly, he wasn't on the first couple of Pay-Per-Views I watched in my new fandom (Bash 05, SS 05), but I remember seeing the Vengeance 05 DVD in wal-mart one day with who else but HHH and Batista on the cover with "Hell in a Cell" below it. I begged my mother to buy it for me, and that was the match I watched first. The whole time I was rooting for HHH, even though I know he didn't win obviously, but because from everything to his theme song to his whole approach in the ring just screamed one thing to me: This guy is badass. He has since become one of my favorite wrestlers, in fact I love watching the King of Kings DVD, it gives me memories because most of the WWF stuff I had seen and they reminded me of that, and honestly I don't let backstage politics decide my love for a wrestler, and plus, I cannot (along with the rest of us on here) say for a fact that he buries talent, simply because we have never personally witnessed it. You know, wrestlers could lie in shoots .

 

[pigpenwm]

My first impression of HHH wasn't much of one. I was just a little kid so of course his snobby character was tailor-made for me to scoff at. I remember though, he earned my respect during the summer of 1997 for the feud he put on with Mankind. They had two ultra-physical matches, one at the King of the Ring and one at Summerslam.

So even as a 7-year-old, I started looking forward to his matches.

I stopped watching WWF from about the time of the Screwjob until late 1998, so about a full year, and was shocked to see him portraying this smart ass punk as a part of DX when I started watching WWF again...it wasn't until Shawn was forced out by injury and he took over as DX's leader in 1999 that he became one of my favorites.

Then, when Austin and Rock were full-fledged megastar babyfaces in 1999 and Triple H evolved again into "The Game" as the undisputed top heel in the company he became my very favorite wrestler in the biz. His passion, his tenacity, his underhanded tactics....I thought it was so dope...he OWNED 2000.

 

[harrythem]

I first saw HHH when he started in WWF. I thought "great, snob gimmick and generic wrestler". He did nothing to prove me wrong. He then, through average (but solid) matches got to become HBK's partner in DX and, IMO, ride HBK's coat-tails and continue to saunter on as an IC title level wrestler (not a bad thing, it still meant something then) but clearly wasn't main event material. I will say his matches with Mankind in 97 were awesome but, to me, that didn't make up for that dog shit awful series with Mero or with Goldust. I thought his promo work was forced and, in general, pretty crap.

Then came the Raw after WM14. He took over DX and, fuck me, the guy actually had personality. He took the ball with the gimmick and ran with it. His work seemed to improve as well. I'll probably assume that I was finally able to connect with him as a person, and thus I enjoyed his stuff more but, either way, I was finally interested in Triple H.

Then came 99 and his big push towards the main event. Fuck me did he suck serious shit on the mike. His promos, which had become a strong point for him, went-urgh to-urgh the-urgh place-urhg where everyone was taking the piss out of the strange noises he was making at the end of every word.

He became champion and was fucking awesome. He held the WWE main event scene together in 2000 and was, without a doubt, the overall best all rounder in the world throughout the year. Bollocks to the back-stage stuff, he was producing the goods onstage which is all that matters to me.

So, yeah, didn't see shit all in him but really glad to be so massively wrong in this case and I use it as a reminder to not completely shit all over someone with a gimmick/personality I think is crap at the beginning (see Ziggler, Dolph)

 

[justtxyank]

Always been a Triple H fan. Liked his look when he was in WCW as JPL but thought he was awesome in the WWF. I know he gets dinged for marrying Stephanie, but during the Corporate Ministry Angle I will never forget, he fought The Undertaker in a match on Raw to figure out who would challenge Austin...He wrestled in those silver and black tights and I remember that night KNOWING he was a star. Not just another "star" but a STAR. His heel run after that is one of the best I've ever seen. The man drew heat.