Was Triple H Ever the #1 Guy in WWE?

[pepentorresHHH]

After HHH promo and Y2J ( and many others) claiming that Triple h was never the #1 guy it got me thinking..... Was HHH ever the man during his run?

He was in te midcard from 95 to early 99 but his main event and champion role took off in mid 99.... Feuded and beat the best and biggest stars of his day in Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane among many others.
But we can agree that both Stone Cold and The Rock were bigger stars from 99 till 02

But in 2002, Stone Cold Left and retired the next year after WM 19 and the rock left for Hollywood full time. HHH was left as the world champion in Raw from 02 till 05 almost non-stop. He was the champion and main eventer of Raw for 3 years. Brock Lesnar was champion from 02 till he left in 04 but he was main eventing Smackdown.

In 05 Batista and more importantly, Cena took off and he became the face of the WWE till today. HHH was champion again multiple times but he stopped being a constant in the title picture although he was always booked strongly being one of the few people to actually pin Cena repeatedly during his time as face of the company.

So the question is simple.... Was HHH Ever the Man/#1 Guy in the WWE?

IMO yes he was the man from 02 till 05..... He was main eventing most pay perviews, held the raw belt non stop and people were paying to see him get beat from where I stood at the time.

Discuss

 

[berlinbrawler]

Good question. If he ever was "the face of the company," as they like to call it these days, it would have been that period you mentioned between 2002 and 2005, when the Rock and Stone Cold had left and the WWE was desperately searching for the next big thing, which eventually turned out to be Cena (and Batista).

Supposedly the next big thing was Brock Lesnar, but he carried the Smackdown brand, whereas Triple H was the main man of the flagship show. Which of these guys was the face of the company is debatable, especially since they took the brand split somewhat seriously at the time. Come Wrestlemania time it was Brock who closed the show, but as far as overall high profile screentime was concerned I think Triple H was more the WWE's go-to guy.

His value as a performer was, kinda like the Undertaker, more in his longevity than in his drawing power. A solid, but not a great draw. Triple H was never that super draw. He could work with the super draws just fine, but he himself never drew, not in the way Stone Cold, the Rock or even Cena or Lesnar did.

In that sense Triple H is on a similar level as Edge or Jericho. Neither of them ever was "the man." Trips came closer than Edge or Jericho, though.

 

[Pedigree1]

I would say most definitely he was the man in 2002-2005! After SCSA,and the rock left WWE was without the No1 guy aka face of the company.. I dont think Trips ever drew that well,but his memorable feuds with Mick Foley,Taker,Jericho list goes on and on.. In a sense whether we like it or not HHH had a point in what he was saying.

He wasnt tearing down Edge or Jericho,he simply pointed out in saying that they were never the NO1 guy in the company and well its true. Edge and Jericho while very good HOF wrestlers (Jericho will be in the HOF i know he isnt its a given he will be)were never on the levels of Cena and Brock and Taker! We all glamored in wanting HHH to be the coperate bad guy the badass heel that he is. I am loving this angle,truly I am!

 

[strongbad]

I thought he was pretty much the #1 guy in 2000 when he was feuding with Rock and Foley. He was headlining multiple PPVS and got another rub by being behind the whole Stone Cold hit and run incident.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I wouldn't say so. The problem is, when he was pushed heaviest he was a heel and I don't think that heels are ever the #1 guys. Certainly not in the modern era.

The problem was, when he went on a significant run as a face, Cena was the top guy. Where he's been since 2006-ish.

If he's ever been the #1 guy, it's been for a few months at a time. Which don't count really.

 

[closet_fan]

I wouldn't say so. The problem is, when he was pushed heaviest he was a heel and I don't think that heels are ever the #1 guys. Certainly not in the modern era.

The problem was, when he went on a significant run as a face, Cena was the top guy. Where he's been since 2006-ish.

If he's ever been the #1 guy, it's been for a few months at a time. Which don't count really.

And that's the answer. Vince has always pushed a face around his company. Rock, Stone Cold, Hogan, Cena. The top babyface is always the IT guy. Edge was a big star yes, but it was when he was a heel and playing second fiddle to Cena.

HHH was never the TOP BABYFACE, always playing foil to the top baby faces in the company.

Like Jim Cornette once said: HHH is the guy who builds the programs with the "money guys."

HHH will be a Hall of Famer. But if he was ever a top baby face, I don't see him as someone they would have been able to build the company around. He just wasn't that popular.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

At most he was a transitional top guy, he would be on top for a month or 2 only to hand it off to someone else. In essence Triple H was WWE's backup quarterback when it came to being the top guy, he wasn't required to turn any heads but when he was called upon to play a game or 2 his job was to simply not fuck up too bad.

When he was in DX he was behind Austin, when he was a top heel he was behind Austin/Rock, when he was a face it looked like he was gonna get the ball but Hogan got popular again and it was cut short, when he went on his heel run on Raw he was the top guy on Raw but it was apparent that their face at the time was Lesnar, when Lesnar left it was Benoit for a bit, back to Triple H for a bit (while they were building Cena, Batista and Orton), to Cena/Batista which is where its pretty much been ever since minus Batista.

I'm hard on Triple H so I'm trying to be unbiased here but that's the way I've always seen it. He's good enough to work with the top guy, he's just not the top guy.

 

[Matty~!]

I voted no..

Reason being is HHH has just never been that guy that your mind springs to when it comes to the WWE. I think he had the chance to become the man but a combination of his body breaking down and the business going down the toilet, pretty much simultaneously meant he never felt like the MAN!

In the years 2002 - 2005 he may have main evented a lot however, 2002 most definitely was not his year the biggest stuff that year centred around Rock and to a lesser degree Hogan. Then you had Brock come in who main evented Summerslam and Wrestlemania XIX not to mention winning the Royal Rumble so I would say it's pretty accurate to assume he was the next in line to be the guy had he not wound up leaving, and whilst he was there they put a hell of a lot of effort into him.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Triple H was not the number one guy.

He was a stop gap the same way Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were between Austin and Hogan.

Unlike Hart and Michaels, HHH filled in during the brand split, where he was the temporary focus of one half of the roster (back when smackdown was not only equal, but arguably the flagship show). In my opinion, Brock Lesnar was the true face of The WWE at that time.

 

[DexVendetta88]

I voted "No" on this because the whole time Triple H has been there, I never saw this guy as the #1 guy in the company. Bear in mind that he's a product of the Attitude era when it was clearly that the 2 biggest stars were The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, and he was just the guy playing 2nd fiddle to them just like how Edge played 2nd fiddle to Cena. Plus as someone here has pointed out already, the #1 guy is typically never a heel since the purpose of the heel is to make the #1 guy (a face) look good. And since Triple H has been in that position on numerous occasions, there's no way this guy would've ever become the face of the company. Plus Triple H is a guy that not a lot of people who don't watch wrestling know. When you mention pro-wrestling in general, you think Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin etc. But when it comes to Triple H, he's never the 1st guy anyone thinks about. What I hate is how the WWE tries to push Triple H as the #1 guy in his era. Sure he headlined many PPVs, and many championship runs, but he was never truly the face of the company.

 

[Emmet]

The closest he came to be the top guy was in 2000, when he was at the peak of his career and was main eventing more or less every PPV, but still then he wasn't. Rock as we all know was THE guy.

 

[MCMG]

I voted yes because briefly he was the number one guy in the company. After The Rock and Austin left there was obviously a void. Now, John Cena is the man but in-between they had to build John Cena and Randy Orton and at this time Triple H was the main guy in the company. Evolution was a very good stable and Triple H was the number one person in that stable. He was a fantastic heel and a popular face.

From about 2003 to 2006/07, I think it is fair to say Triple H was the guy. Some might argue there was little competition but there was a lot of talent on the roster. They were building the likes of Cena, Batista, Edge and Orton but there was still Kane, Jericho, Benoit, Eddie, Mysterio and most importantly, The Undertaker. Triple H was clearly ranked higher than all of them and that was because of his talent, NOT him being married to Steph.

 

[Kidpolean]

Triple H was not the number one guy.

He was a stop gap the same way Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were between Austin and Hogan.

Unlike Hart and Michaels, HHH filled in during the brand split, where he was the temporary focus of one half of the roster (back when smackdown was not only equal, but arguably the flagship show). In my opinion, Brock Lesnar was the true face of The WWE at that time.

Yurnewhero, I know this is your opinion but this has to be one of the dumbest posts ive ever seen on here. HBK and Hart weren't number one guys? Are u serious? Did you even watch WWF back then? Those guys had to carry the company similar to the way Hogan had to. I know they didnt bring in as much money as he did but they had to work just as hard. Guys like Austin and Rock had it easy. They had so much back up and help. Rock and Austin could take time off and the WWF could easily put someone else in the main event picture. HBK and Hart didn't have that same help. They had to wrestle every night and put on 5 star matches just to keep the company from going out of business. The roster was so bad they had to wrestle for over an hour at WM. HBK and Hart didnt bring in the money but their job was much much harder than Austins or Rocks.

Either you guys are idiots or just HHH haters. Of course he has been the top guy. In 2000 he was in every main story line, Main Evented Mania, Had the best fued of the year with Mick Foley, opening and closing segment on almost every raw and smackdown, and a picture of his face was a part of the stage. He was also the top guy in 2002- 04/05

 

[T2KFreeker]

I gotta' begrudgingly go with Yes. The thing is that it wasn't about talent or how much the fans were over on Triple H, it was all about The need to have a guy on top and the dictation of Politics. I like Trips, don't get me wrong, but the fact that he considered by many to be a top draw just never made sense to me. Not saying he should be a midcarder either, but not the top Dog in the house. Point being, he's sleeping with the Boss's Daughter and engaged to hyer and that's pretty much what made him what he is today. Again, I'm not saying he sucks, just not the big deal he has always been made out to be. He's a Ego Maniac too. The fact that during his several tenures as Champion there were people he Refused to Job to was just, ludicrous. You give the fans what they want, not tell them what they want. I understand there is timing and all that jazz, but the two that come to mind are Booker T and Scott Steiner. Not saying they should have been Champion, but not even real wins against them without the title at stake. maybe on RAW or Smackdown, but not at a Pay Per View. Was just crap. So sad they had to move Booker T to Smackdown so he could have a title reign in the WWE because Triple H refused to give up the title. Not to mention the supposed tantrum he supposedly threw when he found out that he would have to drop the belt to Goldberg. Point is, I know he's not the only guy in the industry that has done this, but if you are the face of the company, you always need to do what is best for business, as he loves to say these days. H isn't that guy and has proven time and time again that it's about him, not the business.

 

[justtxyank]

Yes, even if he wasn't the most popular. From 1999 on with the DX (heel version) reunion and McMahon-Helsmley era, etc., HHH was really the man the company was built around. The Rock was more popular, Austin was more popular, but HHH was the man. It was his heel heat that made all the faces work.

 

[Matty~!]

Yes, even if he wasn't the most popular. From 1999 on with the DX (heel version) reunion and McMahon-Helsmley era, etc., HHH was really the man the company was built around. The Rock was more popular, Austin was more popular, but HHH was the man. It was his heel heat that made all the faces work.

I'd disagree with with this due to the fact Austin and Rock were going to draw regardless of who the heels were and for the latter part of 2000 and early 2001 HHH did somewhat drop out of the title picture, more of a periphery player than a central figure. It's not like this it was mid 1980's and you had a cast of faces bouncing off Ric Flair.

 

[Kris Benwa]

I said yes because from the time that Rock and Austin left until after Vengence of 2005 he was the #1 guy and one of the only heels to be that way. in fact his only competition during that time Brock Lesnar and I'd say they switched places ever now and then and even then during DX they had the top story and they were the guys to beat they were undefeated for a large while during that period and took up nearly the whole of RAW that whole time.

 

[SkyCommanderWinky]

There was a very short time after the invasion angle when he returned that he was the face of the company, around the time he was feuding with Jericho I believe. After that Brock Lesnar became the face of the WWE.

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

And that's the answer. Vince has always pushed a face around his company. Rock, Stone Cold, Hogan, Cena. The top babyface is always the IT guy. Edge was a big star yes, but it was when he was a heel and playing second fiddle to Cena.

HHH was never the TOP BABYFACE, always playing foil to the top baby faces in the company.

Like Jim Cornette once said: HHH is the guy who builds the programs with the "money guys."

HHH will be a Hall of Famer. But if he was ever a top baby face, I don't see him as someone they would have been able to build the company around. He just wasn't that popular.

LOL LMAO LMMFAO!!! I am not one to say that its ridiculous to say that a heel cant be your top guy but GOD IS IT RIDICULOUS TO SAY THAT!!!

Does anyone remember RIC FLAIR and the 4 HORSEMEN through the 80's? RIC FLAIR WAS ALMOST ALWAYS A HEEL AND UH DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE NWO.... They also were always heels. Uh does anyone forget that SHAWN MICHAEL and TRIPLE H as DX were also the TOP GUYS and uh well they were HEELS. Look TRIPLE H made a valid point but of course the IWC sheep miss MAJOR POINTS. For a guy to be a successful main eventer he has just one actual job (I know that U guys are gonna say that it is to sell merchandise but in all honesty that is a sub division of the actual task) and that job is to bring attention to the product from sources outside of thefan base it already has. Sorry Triple H did do that. Yes SHAWN was the Man at first with DX but when TRIPLE H took it over people who were not even wrestling fans started doing the DX sign that was STOLEN by the NWO! When TRIPLE H got the ball he ran with it. You can say what U want to but people who do are not major wrestling fans have heard NEVER heard of EDGE but during their heyday People did know of TRIPLE H. Yes he was the Man from 02-05. Its just he had started to earn his stripes beforehand. Oh and Jericho was NEVER as visual of a person until he started wrestling part time. It was AFTER his runs were up that he performed on DANCING WITH THE STARS and started touring with FOZZY. So sorry but TRIPLE H was correct with what he said.

 

[DarksideEric]

Either you guys are idiots or just HHH haters. Of course he has been the top guy. In 2000 he was in every main story line, Main Evented Mania, Had the best fued of the year with Mick Foley, opening and closing segment on almost every raw and smackdown, and a picture of his face was a part of the stage. He was also the top guy in 2002- 04/05

As many people have pointed out there's quite a difference between just being in lots of angles or having face time and actually being the "top guy."

Many people have pointed out, and it's hard to argue, that generally throughout the history of the WWE, the "top guy" has been the top babyface and you only back that angle up with your portion about Bret and Shawn.

More often than not, the "top guy" wears the white hat... or at least burns it for the crowd's enjoyment.

 

[Kidpolean]

As many people have pointed out there's quite a difference between just being in lots of angles or having face time and actually being the "top guy."

Many people have pointed out, and it's hard to argue, that generally throughout the history of the WWE, the "top guy" has been the top babyface and you only back that angle up with your portion about Bret and Shawn.

More often than not, the "top guy" wears the white hat... or at least burns it for the crowd's enjoyment.

HBK was the top guy and was a heel at one point...So was Austin when he turned. You could even argue that Angle was the top guy and a heel. Hogan in the NWO was the top wrestler on the planet and was a heel. I don't understand why people say a heel cant be the top guy

 

[thecobracommander]

McMahon Helmsley Era Was all HHH from the date rape marriage till DX 2000. He was of course the main villain and he got a huge push.

 

[Da Solo]

HHH was never the top guy, but the question depends on what you mean by "top guy".

If by top guy you mean #1 face, no. HHH was never the #1 face. Came close in 2002, but we all saw how WM 18 ended, and it certainly wasn't in HHH's favor, regardless of whether or not he won the match. If you mean #1 heel then yes. From 2003-2005, he was the top heel in Evolution, but I doubt that anyone considers being the #1 Heel to be the #1 guy.

And if by #1 guy you mean the main attraction, the guy who the company is centered around, then no. Try as he might and try as WWE might with their flashbacks, HHH was never that dude. Never. With or without banging the boss's daughter, he couldn't do it. In his defense, that list of superstars who did it is a very short list indeed (Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Flair, HBK, Bret, Austin, Rock, Brock, Taker, Cena, Batista, in the upcoming years maybe Bryan and Punk and upon reflection, one could argue for Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy or Angle).

And here's a myth buster: the guy in 2000-2002, no matter how hard HHH got that push, was The Rock, period. WM2000 should have ended with Rock on top, and 99% of wrestling fans will agree with that. WM 18 a few years later had Rock taking HHH's shine right from under him. And then there's Backlash 2000, and if you hear how that crowd exploded for The Rock, you knew who the guy was.

As for 2003-2007, that's more tricky, but HHH wasn't the guy. 2003-2004 was still Brock. Now from 2005-2007, Cena and Batista were still getting there feet wet in the headliner department, so while it's easy to point at HHH based off name value, I'd argue it was Taker. Honestly, from the end of Evolution to the DX face turn, did HHH really do anything relevant? Sure he had a good couple of matches with Flair, but he was definitely not the focus of the show. Taker, on the other hand, was still going strong as a full time performer. If anyone was tiding the time over, it was him. Besides, he was a heel at this time. No heel was ever the top guy in WWE except McMahon himself, Punk in the latter half of last year w/ Cena's injury and mid-turn Austin/Rock (and maybe, maybe Orton in the off periods where Cena/Batista was injured)

Furthermore, for those that argue who the guy was during those off periods of Cena/Batista injuries, it still wasn't HHH. Those placeholders really aren't considered top guys, but still, those guys were Orton, Punk and Jeff Hardy. And still I wouldn't call them #1 because of that.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Well the question is if he was "The Man" and answer is yes. He was that after 2002 till 2005 when Batista and Cena emerged after "Wrestelemania 21". I could even argue that he was "Face of the company" in real keyfabe face sence in 2008. After "Wrestlemania 24" he won Championship from Orton and then even go over Cena at "Night of Champions" before he was drafted to "Smackdown". Where he was pretty unbeattable and where he refused to Jeff Hardy go over him so they needed Edge in order to do that...

 

[Da Solo]

Yes, even if he wasn't the most popular. From 1999 on with the DX (heel version) reunion and McMahon-Helsmley era, etc., HHH was really the man the company was built around. The Rock was more popular, Austin was more popular, but HHH was the man. It was his heel heat that made all the faces work.

...No. Rock, Austin, Taker and all the other faces would have got over regardless of HHH's heat (case in point: Invasion angle). And 9 times out of 10, if the man who you build your company around isn't the most popular guy, then the most popular guy instantly becomes the guy you build your company around (case in point: Austin/Bret WM 13)