What was Triple H's best match?

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

So the other day I posted the "What was John Cena's bet match?" thread and it got a great response so I figured I'd follow it up with another. The subject of this poll will be Triple H, who has also competed numerous classic matches over the course of his incredible career. But which match was his absolute best? I'm really interested to see what will win out.

Once again, I tried to make as comprehensive a list as possible, but it's very likely I will forget something since Triple H has had such a long career. If I leave a match out, vote other and let me know in a post. It was tricky with some feuds, like his feud with HBK, where they had some many gimmick matches that they all started to kind of blur together. I ended up including their first match (Street Fight) and the final blow-off to the feud (HIAC). Also, I decided not to include huge multi-man matches he was a part of like the Armageddon HIAC or first ever Elimination Chamber, since those weren't really as focused on Triple H.

My personal vote went too the Street Fight against Catus Jack at the 2000 Royal Rumble. The Ladder Match with Rock is a close second for me.

I DUN GOOFED: Herpderp I forgot to post the actual poll, can a mod please delete this thread so I can re-post with the poll.

 

[WWE4EVA!]

My favourite Triple H match was his Street Fight against Cactus Jack with the WWE Championship on the line, it was just an all out brutal war with Triple H winning and solidifying himself as a top contender.

Following second is The No Holds Barred Match he had with The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVII, that match was brilliant both men put it all on the line and it truly was the End of an Era.

 

[CM Steel]

S.O.S. Either you must be really feeling yourself right now or you ran out of thread idea's. Next subject please! But to answer your question, Triple H's greatest match was against...The Rock in 2000 in an iron man match! Not just anybody can wrestle for 60 minutes in a iron man. Only a very few can and both Triple H & the Rock put on one hell of a match that night in May 2000.

So that would be my answer to that thread question. But just step it up S.O.S. okay?

 

[SportsNation2K7]

I have to go with Triple H vs HBK at Summerslam 2002. HBK came back after 4 years, Triple H fooled him into thinking that they were going to reform DX only to get a pedigree.

 

[zhaff2004]

my opinion may be slightly biased but i'll vote for his ironman match vs Rocky from judgement day 2000... I guess being 13 years younger and being 100% behind Rocky made it more epic... re-watching it, it comes across, at least to me, as being a classic in timing, story telling and in-ring psychology

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin 3 stages of Hell 2001 I believe No Way Out or Fully Loaded. Match was awesome and pushed both to their limit and Trips got the lucky win after being exhausted and falling on Austin for the last 3 count

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Since this section apparently has no moderators I'll just post the lsit of matches I would've included in the poll for Triple H's best match. I think they are all worthy contenders and were all phenomenal matches.
vs. the Rock in a Ladder Match at SummerSlam 1998 (showed the true main event potential of Triple H, MSG crowd was hot, the ladder was used strategically and a good story was told)
vs. Cactus Jack in a Street Fight at Royal Rumble 2000 (the match that made Triple H THE top heel)
vs. Cactus Jack in a Hell in a Cell Match at No Way Out 2000 (Triple H "retires" Mick Foley)
vs. The Rock in an Ironman Match at Judgement Day 2000
vs. Chris Jericho in a Last Man Standing Match at Fully Loaded 2000
(Triple H was the fucking MVP of the WWF in 2000)
vs. Steve Austin in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match at No Way Out 2001
vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 17
vs. Shawn Michaels in a Street Fight at SummerSlam 2002
vs. Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 20 (probably the greatest Triple Threat Match of all time)
vs. Shawn Michaels in a Hell in a Cell Match at Badd Blood 2004
vs. Chris Benoit in an Ironman Match on an episode of RAW in 2004
vs. Batista in a Hell in a Cell Match at Vengeance 2005 (a stacked PPV overall, you should really check it out if you haven't. Also, Triple H's first loss inside Hell in a Cell, really put over Batista)
vs. Undertaker in a No Holds Barred Match at WrestleMania 27 (overrated match in my opinion, but here it is)
vs. Undertaker in a hell in a Cell Match at WrestleMania 28 (what I believe to be the best of the Triple H/Undertaker matches)

 

[kidmetal24]

has to be any match with Shawn Michaels. Triple H and HBK in the ring was a thing of beauty. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses and played off of them so well. Never ever fast forward through any of their matches.

 

[Irishock]

Hunter/HBK/Benoit. Best triple threat ever. Perfect finish, too. I had a feeling Benoit was gonna win but had no idea Hunter would be the tapper.

 

[MWRedskins]

wow, there are some good ones, but i have to go with his match vs. Cactus Jack. that match had some brutal spots, he was a heel champion/boss and you wanted to see him lose and he won it which only made the fans want to see Cactus Jack get his payback and he did before the end of the show when he grabbed the stretcher he was on and hit him with the barbed wire again. that match put him at the top of the heels in WWE at the time and of course it was a great match.

 

[LSN80]

You don't have to win for it to be your best match.

[YOUTUBE]esiYHjubVGA[/YOUTUBE]

I'm a huge HHH fan, and respect the contributions he's made to the industry, including putting far more people over then he's given credit for. For someone who's ragged on quite a bit by the IWC for 'burying talent', he put over Chris Benoit, Batista, and John Cena at Wrestlemania 20, 21, and 22 respectively, two of them by submission. And in the first, he had what I would regard as his best match, and perhaps the best triple threat match in WWE history.

This match truly set the template for how to work a triple threat match. Instead of working the tired 'two men fight, one man sells', the three of them(HBK, HHH, and Benoit) found unique ways to incorporate three man maneuvers that left the outcome in doubt up until the very last moment. I'm not even someone who's a fan of triple threat matches, but felt this one was brilliantly executed, hard-hitting, and with flawless counters, reversals, and near-falls. The psychology in it was textbook on how to work a match.

Honorable mention goes to his Street Fight with HBK at 2002. Michaels hadn't wrestled or done anything in the ring, in what, five years? And the two of them were out there beating the crap out of each other. What made this match so special was that it felt personal. It gave off the impression of two men who couldn't stand one another, and was one of those occasions where blood was fitting and almost necessary in an era when blood was used far too often.

It's very close between those two, and you could throw in the HBK/HHH/Benoit match at Backlash 2004 as well if you wanted, as it was nearly as good as the WM match. But for me, HHH submitting after rolling through right back into the Crossface was the perfect ending to a near-perfect match. I'd go ****3/4 for the WM match, and ****1/2 for the other two.

The WM 20 match it is.

 

[The Eighties]

I still think the Street Fight with Cactus Jack at Royal Rumble 2000 was his best match, intense brutal brawls are what he is best at and that one was just so personal, so nasty and it was in MSG which just added to the spectacle.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

S.O.S. Either you must be really feeling yourself right now or you ran out of thread idea's. Next subject please! But to answer your question, Triple H's greatest match was against...The Rock in 2000 in an iron man match! Not just anybody can wrestle for 60 minutes in a iron man. Only a very few can and both Triple H & the Rock put on one hell of a match that night in May 2000.

So that would be my answer to that thread question. But just step it up S.O.S. okay?

Why are you asking him to "Step it up"? Plenty of threads are part of a series, so what if he asked the same question about John Cena in the past? This is a good thread, about a man who has had numerous classic matches over the years.

Anyway, my pick has to be the Street Fight with Cactus Jack at the 2000 Royal Rumble. I rewatched it recently on the Tagged Classics DVD "Mick Foley- Hard Knocks & Cheap Pops", and it still blew me away.

There are so many great spots in the match, it showed HHH had the guts, toughness and ability to compete in that kind of match with a Hardcore legend like Mick Foley, it definitely solidified him as a top heel, and the Pedigree into the thumbtacks, leaving Foley with tacks in his head is absolutely brutal. Also, respect to The Game for taking the barbed wire 2x4 to the face on numerous occasions.

In my opinion Triple H is unfairly criticised on these forums. Yes, he probably did use his political power backstage to help keep himself on top, but plenty of other big names have done that over the years. The fact is, the man is the total package. In ring talent, the look of a champion, top class mic skills and capable of playing a great Heel and a great Face. HHH is one of the best of all time.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I thought his best match was actually 5 matches he was "forced" to wrestle one night in 1999. I place the word "forced" in parentheses because even before Stephanie, he was presumably one of the stars of the company who enjoyed privileges that many on this forum have noted (and not always in a favorable manner). However, the privileges weren't apparent that night as he had to extend himself to participate in the following:


"September 23, 1999 - Smackdown!: Vince McMahon said Triple H had to win 3/5 matches to enter the Six-Pac Challenge Match..
~~~The Big Show defeated Triple H in a Chokeslam match | Triple H defeated Kane in an Inferno match...
~~~Mideon & Viscera defeated Triple H in a Casket match | Triple H defeated Mankind in a Boiler Room Brawl...
~~~Triple H defeated The Rock in a Brahma Bull Strap Match (Thus HHH will be in the Six Pack Challenge at Unforgiven)"


(I took this from a site named "Obsessed with Wrestling.")

WWE didn't need to schedule Trips to win all the matches, which belies the idea he enjoyed such privileged status that he could leave the dirty work to others and come out on top in everything else he did. I was watching that night and was more impressed with him than ever before.