This is the kind of thread I save for the especially hateful, those who spew garbage and make blind hateful remarks that they can't back up. The kind of person like the one below I am about to answer to. They go on and talk a bunch of shit, but do so before thinking about what they are saying. As I will point out through this retort, this argument was poorly thought out, invalid in almost every way, and spoken out of spite for those who would say otherwise. This is the kind of stuff that really gets me heated, and makes me want to flame someone until their computer monitor explodes. But, I wont. I can't. I am above that, and I don't need to go to that level to make my points. So without further a due I give you....The Game Rage on Triple H's Legend Status.
Triple H a legend? lol. Why is that word tossed around so loosely? What kind of an impact did Triple H have on the WWE that puts him in the same record books as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, The Rock and many others?
That impact you are asking about is a little thing called The Attitude Era. Now I don't know how old you are but you might not have been around to even see that, you may have been too little to remember it well, or you may not remember it as clearly as you think you do. Triple H was the man, all through the Attitude Era. He was one of the few individuals who was at the top then, that can say they really did drive that era, and help to keep the WWE from going under during that time. That list consists of Stone Cold, The Rock, Mick Foley, The Undertaker, and Triple H. Those are the men responsible for the success of the WWE from 1997-2002 when WWE purchased WCW ending the Monday Night Wars.
Do you even remember what he did during that time? Do you think I am going to let you go without finding out? Let's just start at 1997, he had already been Intercontinental Champion while the belt still meant something, and was apart of one of the most controversial incidents that ended up changing wrestling all together, the Madison Square Garden Curtain Call, but let's not get too deep into all that, we can start at 97'.
So for starters in 1997 incase you forgot, Triple H won the King of the Ring tournament, formed Degeneration-X with Shawn Michaels, and began the phenomenon that would change the way promos were cut, push the envelope of what was acceptable on television to it's limits, and begin the phrase that is being shouted at WWE events to this day Suck It. Not a bad year if you ask me.
Then when we move on to 98' not only did Triple H win the European title, but after doing so took over D-X after Shawn was forced to leave reforming the group with X-Pac, and taking over the role as leader of D-X. I don't know how you could over look any of this as significant to wrestling history or the career of Triple H. Just from the start of my response it is clear even then that this guy was on his way to being a true legend. It's not like a bunch of people get to form stables that end up being as big as D-X, or like people just get honors the likes of which Triple H has. When you are good your good, when you've got It you've just got It and he has had It for years and continues to. From there he went on to feud with The Rock over the Intercontinental title while it still meant something, winning that feud in a ladder match at that years Summer Slam. On to 99.
In 99' Triple H fought for the WWF Championship for the first time in an I Quit match with The Rock, and later joined The Corporation. This was about the time when Triple H began to evolve in to the Triple H we have now, and when he really began to take off. He went on to fight for the WWF Championship again that year at Summer Slam, and went on to win his first WWF Championship the next night on Raw. He then lost and regained the title again that year at Unforgiven, went on to defend the title against Stone Cold at No Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show at Survivor Series.
The next part is where it gets really good. After all of that, which was enough on it's own to call him a significant figure in wrestlings storied history, Triple H went on to have one of the most memorable and well done feuds in WWF/E history while feuding with McMahon. It was during this time that he married Stephanie McMahon(Kayfabe) and started the McMahon-Helmsly Era. That alone should be enough to cement this guys status, he has his own actual era in wrestling. Not too many can say that.
2000-2001 was really his time as he moved completely into The Game character. He started in January by winning another WWF Championship and avenging his loss to Big Show, Had a memorable feud with Mick Foley ending in a HIAC at No Way Out ending Foley's career for the time being. Then he had another great feud with The Rock going on to defeat him at Wrestlemania of all places to retain his title, he lost it to The Rock a month later at Backlash, and won it back again at Judgment Day a few weeks later in an Iron Man Match, and lost it again at King of the Ring Then he goes into a feud with Jericho that ended in a Last Man Standing Match, and on to one of his best feuds ever with Stone Cold.
That feud went all the way into 2001 and ended with Triple H beating Austin in a Three Stages of Hell match. After getting the best of Stone Cold, Triple H feuded with The Undertaker all the way to Wrestlemania where of course he lost. However, the next night Triple H joined forces with Stone Cold to make the tag team Two-Man Power Trip which was an awesome storyline as well. He won another Intercontinental title after that in April, and a fourth time two weeks later from Jeff Hardy, then became WWF Tag Team Champion with Stone Cold. Unfortunately that never got to play out as Triple H would tear his left quadriceps for the first time a month later, causing him to miss the entire Invasion angle.
So there's a little history lesson for you. I could keep going into the Evolution days, and into now, but I don't need to. From just that portion of his career Triple H has earned Legend status. If it were someone else who did those things, most people would agree. But, because it is Triple H, and he supposedly is only successful because of his marriage and a million other lame rumor accusations people will say differently to the grave. If that had been Scott Hall doing those things, he would be honored as a legend without argument. That was just the Attitude Era man, and he has done even more since then. What can you say to that? Nothing, it's all true and it is all apart of the legacy of a man that will go down as one of the greatest of all time, Triple H.
I can't figure out a single distinctive factor that gives him legendary status. Hell, I can't even remember anything he did that was 'wow' material.
I guess that answers my question from earlier. Obviously you missed somewhere in the neighborhood of the last decade and then some. He has had so many great matches it is ridiculous, he has been in every main event style match there is practically and won in almost all of them too. His matches with Shawn Michaels were classics, his matches with The Rock are of legend, as are his matches with Stone Cold and Mick Foley. Why? Not because they carried him and they were the best. It's because those few guys were the best, all of them. They all did what they did better than anyone else at that time, and a few of them continue to do that today, more prominently than anyone Triple H.
Triple H without his long resume of World Championships is very generic like Nitron back in the WCW circa 1990.
How so? In what way? I am trying to figure out where you conjured op such a poorly explained and thought out idea. Triple H was one of the most original characters EVER. That is another way he actually helped revolutionize the business. He was one of the first guys to have a gimmck that wasn't as much of a gimmick as it was the real person With the volume turned way up as they say it. He was one of the first people to make that kind of gimmick work, him and Stone Cold. His closer to reality approach with Shawn Michaels and D-X also bent the rules of kayfabe, and broke them. They along with the guys at WCW changed everything from what it was before to what it is now.
Triple H though is also the mainstay of all of those guys. Nash, Hall, Hogan, The Rock, Foley, Austin, have all either left the business for long periods of time, none of them have been as consistent and hard working as Triple H from the beginning. Nash has been giving TNA all he has but is spent, Hall has been drunk and on drugs, Hogan has been doing whatever Hogan wants to do, The Rock abandoned the business, Foley is still around even though he should have retired a few years ago, and Austin can't wrestle because of injuries he's sustained. Triple H on the other hand has come back from two injuries that would have ended the careers of lesser men, and aside from that not missed a beat. He has stayed with the company, stayed relevant and at the top of his game, been able to stay in the title picture and win an impressive 13 titles, helped put over new talent, done everything they have asked of him, and show he is a true leader in all aspects of the business.
He doesn't have remarkable mic skills that could put him in his own respective spot, he has a similar build to Lex Luger except less roided, he can sell moves decently, and he has a double-arm underhook facebuster for a finisher. What's so special about him?
First of all, your high! Triple H has been a maestro of the mic since his early days in D-X. He constantly cuts great promos, he can project and display all his emotions very well visually and verbally, and always gets his point across. How is that bad? He has been one of the best in the company for years and years. He is one of the only guys who can shift gears mid promo too. It has been show even as of recent in some of the skits with him and Shawn, he will go from funny and happy go lucky to serious and focused. Not everyone can do that, as a matter of fact very few can do that. He is frankly in a league of his own, or at least at the very very top with a select few other superstars.
His look is perfect too. If you were going to be a great heavyweight that is what you would want to look like. He has a classic professional wrestling build(or what is now a classic pro-wrestling build). The guy has been into bodybuilding for years and worked very hard to get the look he has, I don't know how you could even compare that to the juiced up physique of Lex Luger, they look nothing alike. There is no way you can even justify comparing the two, they are worlds apart. He has managed to stay fit, healthy, and active all this time while all of the other guys from the Attitude Era with the exception of Kane, Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels have wilted and faded into obscurity, and even died. He looks better than Take and Michaels by far, and all of them are showing their age rapidly catching up to them in the ring except Triple H, he is still as good as he has ever been.
There isn't anything he's done to change or elevate the business as far as I can tell.
And from what we can tell you have no idea what you are talking about. While all the others have come and gone, while different flavors of the month have had their time and past, Triple H has stayed at the top through it all. That in and of itself is historic. As I explained earlier Triple H has been one of the driving forces behind the elevation and changes the business has gone through. From the original D-X to Evolution, to 13 title reigns, to monumental feuds, to the current D-X, Triple H has done it all. He has helped mold and industry, and helped a company form it's identity. There is no argument you can make against any of that, no argument you could put together to dispute what he has done for the business. Just because you are not educated enough about the business to know, does not mean that he is anythnig less than a Legend.
He's shown passion by returning from quad injuries, but really, lots of non-legends have returned from injuries. It's what you need in order to sustain a main event wrestling career or a successful wrestling career period.
So you just basically said he has shown he has what it takes to be successful in wrestling, but tried to tear down everything he has done in wrestling like it was all nothing, and then try to play down his returns from career ending injury? It's looks to me like you've contradicted yourself. I bet there are few if any legends who have come back from 2 quad injuries, or 1, or anything much worse. Come to think of it Shawn Michaels,Psycho Sid and Edge are the only wrestlers I can think of off the top of my head who have come back from injuries as serious as his. That should tell you something right there, that this guy is a one of a kind. You are never going to get another Triple H, it just won't happen, you can't replace a guy like him. He is and always will be a Legend. He earned the credentials a long time ago, and when he retires will probably be argued to be the best ever by many. You can not take anything away from him, his accomplishments, or his ability in any facet of the business. He is without question one of the elite of all time, and now you know that.
