Triple H's Legacy

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Paul Michael Levesque was born in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1969. In 1995, he became known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and by the end of the decade, he was Triple H. In 1999 Triple H became World Champion for the first time, capturing the WWF Championship on the 23rd of August. Since then, Triple H has gone on to win 12 more World Titles, a Royal Rumble, main evented WrestleMania 6 times and was the leader of WWE's biggest stable of the 00-09 decade; Evolution. However, this success came at a price. Triple H suffered two separate Quadricep tears in 2001 and 2007 and has become a figure of hate, especially amongst some internet communities for his links with the McMahon family and his tendency to play politics. This is all very interesting, but my question, as Triple H looks close to returning, is this: What Exactly is Triple H's legacy?

To me, Triple H is a man who has always had that 'it' factor. Even as the Connecticut Blue Nose, there was strong sense that he could do something with his career. He was always going to finds success in wrestling, whether he took it or whether it was handed to him. Triple H is a guy who payed his dues in getting to the main event scene, but did his upmost to stay there, even if it meant doing something’s that people disliked. To me he's a natural talent who'll always have enemies because of the way he stayed on top. I have nothing against Triple H and I find him to be very entertaining, but it cannot be denied that he has played politics, and that will always slightly alter my overall opinion of him. But what about you?

 

[Kingdoug]

To be honest, I am a HUGE Triple H mark. He is arguably the only reason the WWE stayed afloat from 00-early 03. Yes, he played Politics, but all the Greats have....including Austin, Hogan, and HBK. The only thing that someone can say is, "well he's banging the boss' daughter, and thats the only reason he has had such a great career." Thats crap because by the time him and Steph got together, he had already held the title.

Triple H is the 2nd best of all time....losing to only HBK. HHH has built up talent and made talent, just like he has killed some. HHH could retire right now and in a couple of months everyone would just be begging for him to make a comeback. Actually, he's been gone a couple of months now and some of the biggest HHH haters are pleading for his return now....

I for one would jump at the chance to see HHH 100%, kicking ass, taking names, and Kicking ass in true HHH fashion.

HHH is the one man that when someone jumps him to end a episode of Raw you almost feel bad because you know HHH will be coming to KICK THAT ASS! Just think back to HHH vs Orton....HHH threw Orton through ORton's own window.....epic!!!!!!

 

[Kidd]

I too am a huge HHH mark.

I have a herd time buying the whole "he slept with the boss' daughter" bit. He has done nothing but entertain and he worked his ass off doing it.

As I said in Hamburglar's "Criticizing the Best" thread, the most imprssive thing about HHH is the fact that he has carried this company on his back as a heel. I don't know of any other Superstar that's ever done this.

Some may point to Austin after WM X7 but I disagree because the fans didn't want to hate Austin. HHH never had this problem. He could carry a company on his back while making sure everyone hated him.

It really is a shame that his marriage to Stephanie will take away from his legacy because I could see him being just as good without her. Unfortunately, others don't.

 

[Krobra]

Triple H is one of my favorite all time wrestlers. The day he debuted in WWE, you knew this guy was going to be a future Hall of Famer. He can play a sinister Heel or a goofy Face. I personally prefer him as a dastardly Heel that can make you shutter and what he did than him making cock jokes. To answer your question what Triple H's Legacy, you have to look back to his extensive career.

Triple H is famous for being in the Kliq, who comprised of Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and himself. They were well known to influence the creative writing team to work in their favor and went on to win King of the Ring. When Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left, both him and Shawn got in big trouble for breaking character. He got in trouble for that but eventually won the Intercontinental Championship from Marc Mero. He later formed DX which was a huge risk. DX, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Taker, and others really kept WWE afloat as WCW was beating them in the rating wars for 82 straight weeks.

Triple H went on to win the European Championship. Triple H eventually took on as the Leader of DX when Shawn was injured at the Royal Rumble. He eventually went back to Heel and won his first WWF(E) Championship. He went on to win the Tag Team Titles, the Intercontinental Championship twice, and 12 WWE and World Heavyweight Championships. He was the leader of one of the best Stables, Evolution and won the 2002 Royal Rumble.

While Triple H plays politics backstage, he does and has the skills to be the top guy around. We may not agree that he was pushed so hard, holding a Championship for months at a time, and 'married' his way into the business. But you have to hand it to the guy. WWE would not be as strong or even around if he didn't do what he needed to back then.

 

[Pointzero]

Honestly, it doesn't matter what anyone says about his marriage with Stephanie. He could divorce her now and still go about being the great wrestler he is. He can make a crowd laugh with him or hate him based on his actions. Also, he is a damn good wrestler. Nearly every match he has been in, he has always stolen the show. His feuds with HBK, Mick Foley (Cactus Jack), and even the Rock were by far, amazing. Everyone recognizes the Pedigree as a realistic, but harmful finisher. The main thing about HHH's legacy I will remember.... the way he took RAW after the end of the Attitude Era and made it his own show. He made it where he was in nearly every main event and if not, his presence was known. Triple H will forever be known as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and possibly one of the top two greatest heels of all time (Cerebral Assassin).

 

[SSJPhenom]

I am a HHH fan as well. Not a huge one, but I am fan of his. When talking about his legacy, however, it's hard to say for certain what it will be.

Unlike HBK, HHH isn't the greatest in ring performer of all time. Unlike 'Taker, HHH isn't undefeated at WrestleMania. He took a back seat to Austin, The Rock, and even HBK during the Attitude Era. So he won't be remembered for being responsible for that. So what is his legacy?

HHH should be remembered as an all time great. He's a 13 time Champion, an original member of DX, responsible for Evolution, and many other things. HHH has made some talent and he has destroyed some talent. When it's all said and done, however, people will always bring up the fact that he's married to Stephanie McMahon. I hate to say it, but in the grand scheme of things, that is what he will be remembered for by a lot of fans the most.

That's really unfortunate. HHH is an all time great and he will deserve more than that when he retires.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I'm not a Triple H mark but I'd be an idiot to not agree that Triple H is one of the all-time greats in professional wrestling. He is arguably the biggest heel of all-time, feuding with the likes of The Rock, Undertaker, Stone Cold, HBK, and John Cena and the height of their popularity. He's stood the test of time, main-eventing WrestleMania 2000 with legends Mick Foley and the Rock, yet main-eventing WrestleMania 25 with current top star Randy Orton.

He's achieved a lot of success as a face as well, but I will always remember the 'Cerebral Assassin' for his terrific success as the most dominant heel in the company. My favorite aspect of this dominance is that he did it with several different 'eras'. At first, he was the new young leader of DX making a name for himself with HBK injured. Then he transformed into the Game and married Steph, ushering in the McMahon-Helmsley era, where he arguably got his most heat. Then after his short-lived face run he turned on his once best friend HBK and once again became the big heel. And that brought in Evolution, which basically existed to keep HHH on top on the WWE.

Recently, he's used his incredible mic skills to reunite DX several times and capture more world championships. When he comes back he'll definitely have a lot to offer but I don't know if he'll be heel or face (I hope to god he's a heel). His moveset has shrunk over the years, but his value hasn't; the main is still a main attraction wherever he goes

The only people who can truly believe that Triple H's immense success was due to his marriage are ignorant fools. Triple H has the it factor, his dedication and talent was almost unmatched, and those are the 2 main reasons why he was pushed. If he was single he'd still be a future hall of famer, his marriage has nothing to do with it. Say what you want with politics, but talent is talent and HHH had way too much to be overlooked.

So in conclusion, I will always remember HHH for being exactly what he said he was in 2003: The standard to which every other superstar is measured, he is the ultimate heel and he truly was the best in the business when he said he was during evolution

 

[S.J. Maximus]

oh and can we talk about how HHH supposedly doesn't put people over (he killed Booker T at WrestleMania 19) yet he tapped out to both Chris Benoit and John Cena at Backlash '04 and WrestleMania 22 respectively? he put over Benoit and even Shelton Benjamin in 2004, just like how Batista was a top face after defeating HHH at WrestleMania 22. Let's remember why he's not on RAW right now, he put over Sheamus big time in 2010.

How about Jeff Hardy? They feuded briefly in 2001 but it wasn't until 2008 when Triple H started truely putting Jeff Hardy over as a main event talent. HHH might play 'politics' but he's clearly not the only person who benefits from his ideas if Benoit, Cena, Batista, Orton, Sheamus, and Jeff Hardy have all become credible main-eventers because of him

 

[Alastor]

Coming back from major injuries, putting stars over that actually carried the company, promoting WWE outside of wrestling. Nobody has displayed as much passion for the business of wrestling as HHH has for the past decade. Unfortunately HHH will always be remembered as the guy that slept his way to the top due to his marriage to Stephanie. HHH is hated by many fans of other wrestlers for playing politics but which other top dog didn't? (except maybe Cena) I think the hate for HHH is often due to the fans identifying HHH with his on-air heel character.

 

[JJ15776]

His legacy will depend on who you ask. Some will say he's one of the all time greats, some will say he's only in his position because he's banging the boss's daugher. The truth is somewhere in between.

Triple H, on his own merit, is not an all-time great. Granted, I may have a different standard for "all-time great" than other people. To me, the all-time greats are guys like Hogan, Austin, Rock, HBK, Taker...the guys that carried the company, the guys that the mainstream non-wrestling fans knew about, the guys that changed the industry. Triple H is NOT on that level. No matter what anybody tries to tell you, don't for one second put Triple H on par with Austin or Rock. But he's on the next level. A great comparison is a guy like Edge. A good, solid main eventer that wins a title here and there.

The difference, though, is his marriage to Stephanie. His marriage means the WWE tries to take Triple H from the Edge level to the Austin level.

 

[merce07]

The legacy of HHH is definitly secure. He is a shoe in for the hall of fame. Also I think that when Vince gets to old to have anything to do with the company and HHH gets to old to wrestle he will fill Vinces shoes and play the role of the on screen evil boss. Except, HHH's employees will actually fear him and he will bring out the sledgehammer and lay the smackdown any time someone gets out of line.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Triple H, on his own merit, is not an all-time great. Granted, I may have a different standard for "all-time great" than other people. To me, the all-time greats are guys like Hogan, Austin, Rock, HBK, Taker...the guys that carried the company, the guys that the mainstream non-wrestling fans knew about, the guys that changed the industry.

First off, almost no mainstream non-wrestling fans know about Shawn Michaels. A matter of fact, Triple H is definitely more well known than Shawn Michaels, he was on Mad TV, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Punk'd and the last Blade movie. What has Shawn Michaels done? As revered as he is in the wrestling world, even Chris Jericho is arguably more popular outside of the wrestling world that HBK.

Secondly, how did Triple H not change the industry if he was in almost every major angle of the WWE since 1999? He was THE heel of the attitude era, it was always Austin/Rock/Mankind vs him because he was the top heel and everyone wanted to see their favorite faces try to dethrone The Game. Triple H led DX for a few years after HBK got hurt, and then would later create his own stable that is now legendary (Evolution). He headlined WrestleMania 18-22 yet also headlined 16 (2000), 24, and 25. How did he not have an impact on the industry when he was the first man to put over Chris Benoit and make him world champion? Exactly what does it take to 'change the industry' then?

It almost seems like your argument is that HHH isn't memorable because his biggest runs were not as a major face, which seperates him from your 'industry changers' Hogan, Austin, Rock, HBK, and Taker

 

[Kidd]

His legacy will depend on who you ask. Some will say he's one of the all time greats, some will say he's only in his position because he's banging the boss's daugher. The truth is somewhere in between.

Triple H, on his own merit, is not an all-time great. Granted, I may have a different standard for "all-time great" than other people. To me, the all-time greats are guys like Hogan, Austin, Rock, HBK, Taker...the guys that carried the company, the guys that the mainstream non-wrestling fans knew about, the guys that changed the industry. Triple H is NOT on that level. No matter what anybody tries to tell you, don't for one second put Triple H on par with Austin or Rock. But he's on the next level. A great comparison is a guy like Edge. A good, solid main eventer that wins a title here and there.

The difference, though, is his marriage to Stephanie. His marriage means the WWE tries to take Triple H from the Edge level to the Austin level.

Yeah, I'm gonna pretty much disagree with all of this. And I see That I'm not alone:

First off, almost no mainstream non-wrestling fans know about Shawn Michaels. A matter of fact, Triple H is definitely more well known than Shawn Michaels, he was on Mad TV, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Punk'd and the last Blade movie. What has Shawn Michaels done? As revered as he is in the wrestling world, even Chris Jericho is arguably more popular outside of the wrestling world that HBK.

Secondly, how did Triple H not change the industry if he was in almost every major angle of the WWE since 1999? He was THE heel of the attitude era, it was always Austin/Rock/Mankind vs him because he was the top heel and everyone wanted to see their favorite faces try to dethrone The Game. Triple H led DX for a few years after HBK got hurt, and then would later create his own stable that is now legendary (Evolution). He headlined WrestleMania 18-22 yet also headlined 16 (2000), 24, and 25. How did he not have an impact on the industry when he was the first man to put over Chris Benoit and make him world champion? Exactly what does it take to 'change the industry' then?

It almost seems like your argument is that HHH isn't memorable because his biggest runs were not as a major face, which seperates him from your 'industry changers' Hogan, Austin, Rock, HBK, and Taker

I'm gonna piggyback on some of this.

How is HHH not on par with Rock and Austin? He too has carried the company on his back... as a heel nonetheless. How many wrestlers do you know of that did that?

Speaking of Rock and Austin, they both carry a huge stigma as far as I'm concerned. Austin walked out on the company right in the middle of a storyline. This is almost unforgivable. Rock has pretty much abandoned the business in favor of an acting career. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this but he could at least show his face in WWE now and then. But this is a debate for another thread.

HHH never walked away from the business that he loves. He was the JR Ewing of pro wrestling. In case you don't know who JR Ewing is, he was a huge Villan on the hit night time soap, Dallas. Like JR, everyone tuned in to RAW and Smackdown to see how HHH was gonna screw over the face who he was feuding with or if the face was gonna beat the odds against HHH.

Even after he turned face and reunited DX, he was a huge contributor to wrestling. Everyone loved the DX vs McMahon/Rated RKO storyline. It was as big, if not bigger than the WWE championship feuds (It's funny I can't even remember who was Champ at that time).

The difference, though, is his marriage to Stephanie. His marriage means the WWE tries to take Triple H from the Edge level to the Austin level.

This is where you're most wrong.

HHH was already a huge star before he and Steph even dated. You do know that their marriage was only a storyline on TV before they married in real life, right? HHH had never really talked to Steph until they did the marriage storyline on TV. If I'm not mistaken, HHH was seeing China at that time (or at least that was the rumor I'd heard). If I recall correctly, his marriage to Stephanie didn't become real until 2003.

So his marriage to Stephanie has had little to do with his rise. Unfortanately, for fans like JJ, thsi will alway tarnish HHH's legacy.

 

[radec]

triple H legacy is well establish and deserves to be in the list with stone cold, the rock, hulk and fliar he has THe man of 2002-2005 those where Triple H's year and even before 2002 he has a huge guy in the main event fueding with stone cold and others triple H just has that factor that keeps you watching. Im not that big of a HHH fan but i can see that the guy just is amazing at what he does and can really tell a story he might not be at a wrestling ability as HBK and chris jericho but he can still put on great matches(vs batista in a HIAC)

 

[Ferbian]

Triple H over the past 10 years in specific has proven time and time again why he is one of the best things the business has been able to offer in the past 10 years, if not ever.

Triple H has been involved in some of the biggest and better storylines over the past 10 years, from the McMahon/Helmsley faction, D-Generation X to Evolution and the Triple H / Randy Orton escapades. And not only have there been many many exciting moments that has gotten Triple H over as a bigger and badder superstar that will go down as one of the greatest, but it has all been warranted.

Triple H is one of those complete packages, he has an amazing look that screams for him to be legitimate against even the biggest of guys (Big Show anyone?) and being able to kick anybodies ass.

He's great in the ring, having adopted an old-school Ric Flair / Harley Race sort of style, which has been commented on by numerous other wrestlers, even back when he was in WCW and people saw a young Ric Flair in Triple H. And can you blame them? Cause I sure as hell can't, Triple H does scream a bit of Ric Flair, just bigger build.

And of course, let's not forget the microphone skills, because that would be quite a shame. Triple H have presented some great promos over the past 15 years even, going all the way back to D-Generation X where he'd be messing around with Shawn Michaels, leading into promos alongside Stephanie, and ultimately leading into the peak of his promo career (If you ask me) Evolution. There's many memorable promos from Triple H, as a heel as well as a face.

Triple H will most likely go down in this industry as one of the greatest to ever have stepped inside of the ring, not just because he's Vince's son in law, but because Triple H is indeed one of the greatest to step inside of the ring. A lot of people tend to cry out about the amount of title reigns he has held, yet I'll say they've all been warranted and been build as something he has deserved at one point or another. Be it through hard work, or a bit of a backstage pull - I don't care, because in the end, Triple H pulled the viewers back with Evolution, and Triple H was just overall hated to hell like few other heels could ever hope to brag about, and only to turn it around and see how greatly beloved he is as a face. You see? That's a superstar, that's a wrestler.. That is, Triple H.