What would the WWE be like without..Triple H

[TheHammerMan]

Hello ladies and gentlemen of the IWC. I've decided to start a series "What would the WWE be without" and my first choice has to be The Game, Triple H.

Without a doubt Triple H has had an amazing career. Capturing every main championship in the WWE. Now my question is, what would the WWE be without him?

I think it would be a very different environment. Without him I don't think D-X would've taken place. There would've been a group that "challenged athority", but I don't think it would stand a chance. I also see The Rocks career taking a little bit longer to rise.

Another thing would be Evolution. I think that Ric Flair woulde started a group, sorta like Fortune. But they would be dominant, much like Evolution. I also see HBK's career being a bit different. A more serious career. Not a D-X HBK.

So the question is what would the WWE be like without Triple H?

 

[Kiefer-Zeus]

Well for one you wouldn't have the second closest man in World Titles to Ric Fliar, but thats another story!

You wouldn't have DX, Evolution and several eras including the McMahon Helmsley era!

To be fair its pretty hard to imagine WWE without Triple H since hes been such a big part of it for the better part of a decade an a half!

 

[MMK]

Interesting idea for a series.

What would WWE be like without Triple H? In a word: better. Much, much better.

I have never EEEEVER been a Triple H fan. The Attitude era died when the McMahon-Helmsley era began. His push led to the introduction of Stephanie in a major on screen role. Stephanie McMahon was one McMahon too many as far as Im concerned. I consider Triple H's elevation to main event status as the attitude era's jump the shark moment and the beginning of a decline for the years to come.

I know it's been said a million times, but that doesn't mean it isn't true, if HHH wasn't married to the boss' daughter he wouldn't be where he is. He would have still been a success, but no more or less than let's say Edge or Jericho. Both of whom are FAR SUPERIOR performers both in the ring and on the stick. Currently though, HHH is way ahead of those guys in terms of title reigns and his place in the history of wrestling.

While I'm not a fan of HHH as a singles wrestler, i admit that DX and Evolution were both interesting stables. But like most stables, no one performer is bigger than the group, and i think both of these groups could have worked without HHH.

The concept of Evolution was to take a wrestler who represented wrestling's past (flair), present (HHH), and future (Orton/Batista), and put them together as one unit. Anyone could have played these roles and the concept would have still worked. Lots of guys could have taken HHH's spot in that group if he had never married Stephanie and thus received a huge push. Kurt Angle would have been a much more accurate choice in the role as he truly was the BEST performer of his generation and the best at that present time in WWE. Jericho would have been another fine choice.

I can't really think of many classic "wrestling" matches Hunter has had over the years. He's been involved in lots of main events and big storylines, but no really classic wrestling matches. The only one that comes to mind is WM20 with Benoit/Micheals. But those two guys could work a match with just about anyone because they were both so good.

So if you really examine everything HHH has done, he's an easily replaceable guy. And a lot of other guys would have received much bigger pushes during his reign of terror over WWE from 2000 to lets say 2005, had he not been around wielding his backstage power over everyone.

 

[#hamler]

Damn, the WWE wouldn't be anything at all today. Think about it, without Triple H, we'd have no Evolution. That means we would've never have gotten Batista. Sure he might have made it to the WWE but what and who was the guy that got the big man over? Triple H jobbing to him at three PPV in a row. Next, no Ortonmania. No Randy Orton, no Viper. That means no Legacy and quite possibly no Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes. And the IWC loves their Cody. Think of the feuds that would've never occured. Then we have DX. They might have never formed. That means Shawn Michaels probably would have never gotten over as a huge heel and won the WWF Championship. Maybe he would've never came back to the WWE in 2002. Think of the guys Triple H put over. Randy Orton, Batista, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley, The Rock, John Cena, Jeff Hardy and last Sheamus. We would've never have gotten the huge Sheamus push to the main event. Triple H, like him or not, has done so much for this business. More then most people have. And to say "that's because he's the bosses daughter" is a stupid excuse. He works his ass off to deserve his spot in the company. We all have to thank the man because quite possibly, no Triple H, no WWE.

 

[natlee75]

The company would have been just fine without Triple H. While I agree to an extent that you have to give the man some credit and not rely solely on the "he's the boss's daughter" scenario, he's really not nearly as talented on the mic and in the ring as someone with his career accolades should be.

Ultimately, it's all about the push. It doesn't matter how talented you are - if the people in power don't decide to give you any chances, you're not going to succeed regardless. Obviously, the decision to push someone comes from upper management feeling that you have something special to offer in some capacity, but really there are any number of performers who could have done just as well and helped the company just as much as Triple H did.

I don't think it's a mere coincidence that he and Stephanie started officially dating only a couple months after Triple H got his first push to top championship status. Of course, like I said above, I have to give some credit to Triple H for having the dedication to "sports entertainment," for putting in the hard work to beef up to the size Vince seems to like his top guys, for really having the business in his blood as he says, but at the same time it's ridiculous to ignore the influence on his career that being in a relationship with Stephanie McMahon has had.

If he never got into it with Vince's daughter, there's no way in Hell that Triple H has as many World Championships as he does. There's no way he's one of the top dogs in the company for a good decade. He's good, but he's not THAT good.

 

[deadtaker]

The WWE would be in the exact same position it is in today. You could take almost anybody and push them to main event status so if it wasn't HHH it would have been someone else. He held back many people and used his power to his influence to ride others to maintain a top level. He pushed hard to start Evolution knowing full well that Orton and Batista were going to get big pushes. Then when Orton finally got to the top HHH knocked him back down and he had to struggle to get back to the top. Cena, the Rock, Mick Foley, were all over by the time HHH got to them.

He jumped from group to group since 1997. He was in DX, then straight into the Corporation, Then the McMahon-Hemsly-DX era, then a short period alone, then Evolution, then short period alone, then back to DX with Shawn.

If he was gone it would have been someone else to take his place. Wrestling can make stars of almost anybody in wrestling with the right gimmick. Only a few truly great wrestlers if that at all couldn't be replaced.

 

[ScruffDog]

You really think that HHH is that unrepeatable? With out HHH the WWE would be right were it is right now, which just happens to be HHHless. The WWE would still have made DX; it needed DX to compete against the nWo. DX didn't need HHH, HHH needed DX.

The only reason HHH got a great push is because of this best friend HBK, who as a mater of fact is unrepeatable. HHH is boring to watch on every level. He just filled a spot that anyone could have filled, and there are a few who could have done a better job if they were given the opportunities HHH was.

 

[Optimist Prime]

The WWE would be a lot different but I don't think it would be worse.

DX certainly would have still taken place. When the "Kliq" originally formed, Triple H was no more than a lacky and low on the totum pole. Shawn Michaels would have simply had some other guy there as his sidekick instead.

The only reason DX existed was for competition for the NWO in WCW that was literally bashing the WWF's face into the pavement. DX is a ripoff of the NWO...even containing original members of the same Kliq that also had 3 of them in the NWO (Nash, Hall, Syxx).

WWE would be different as instead of Triple H you would have somebody else in his role, perhaps not the exact gimmick and such...but another main eventer none-the-less.

I like Triple H, but I don't love him. I like him and hate him at the same time. I like that he played the game even deeper than anybody else...but I hate the fact that nobody ever gets on his case about it...when guys like Hogan, Nash, Hall, Michaels, etc. all get chewed out for playing the politics game. Triple H not only did the same as them...but then he married into the company on top of it haha. Hey, more power to him. I just hate the fact that he gets away with it.

And the quantity of title reigns can't be compared to the older guard of wrestlers like Ric Flair. Ric Flair was World Champion several times in an era when the World Title barely ever changed hands and there was like two main event guys over a 10 year span. Triple H has been a main eventer for like 10 years...and he already almost has as many as Flair who's been wrestling in 4 different decades? LOL Cmon. To put matters into perspective, John Cena won his first world title in 2005, 5 years ago. It's 2010, and he's a 9 time champion already. You just can't compare title reigns today with title reigns of yesterday. It's entirely different.

 

[Ferbian]

My my my all the hate. WWE most likely would've been the same. But Triple H certainly have been quite a mainstay of a character in WWE in the past 15 years. Triple H have been one of the best in the business for a long time. Producing great feuds and great high profile matches with various members.

A bunch of people back when I created a thread about the greatest enhancement talent listed Triple H. And they were absolutely right. Triple H have put over a long list of people, even if he held some down. He feuded with The Rock in arguably one of his greatest feuds, and one of those where both of them got noticed. He feuded with Randy Orton, Batista and John Cena in some of their premiere high profile feuds. As well as he has wrestled great matches with all of them, on normal Pay Per Views, and Wrestlemania's.

Triple H have quite a legacy in this business. And has been quite a draw, both as a heel where he was arguably one of the most despised men in the business, just getting pure hatred from the crowd back in 2000 with Stephanie McMahon. As well as getting GREAT reactions during his face periods.

Triple H is just overall one of the "complete packages" to the T. He can play face and heel greatly, great build, great in-ring ability and presence, and most noticeably a great microphone ability.

Triple H has often been regarded as a younger Ric Flair, Or Harley Race I believe. He brought back the style of wrestling old-school like Flair and Race did back in the 80's. And he does it to this day. While his moveset has become more limited due to 2 quad tears and other injuries, he is definitely among one of the greatest superstars to ever be employed in WWE.

But once again, WWE might very well have been the same without Triple H. But I for one would admit that WWE would be quite empty. And quite a bunch of years where Triple H ruled, would've been less spectacular to me at least.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

I don't care what anyone in the IWC says, HHH was/is a great heel. He's not the best mat technician or anything like that, but he puts on solid matches time in and time out. He also makes people look good when they face him. Even when they lose.

What gets me is some people on here hint at HHH only getting pushed because he married Stephanie. He had already become a top guy by the time that happened. And to anyone who might think that he married her to cement himself at the top, come on. She was a prime piece of pussy and hell she's still a milf.

I really though don't think it's appropriate to count how many times somebody wins the world title, it really doesn't matter. Sammartino held it for how many years in a single reign? The time span of the number of times HHH won the world title could mostly fit inside that. Not to mention the fact that there are PPVs every month now and title changes seem exciting means there will be more multi-time champs.

But to put it bluntly HHH is great and here is a testament to how great he is, you guys go to any WWF/E events while he was a heel? He usually would get more cheers than the faces.

 

[the420something]

If HHH wasn't invonlved in the WWE at all, I think the Monday Night Wars might have been a whole 'nother ball game. From what I understand, in the early to mid nineties there was a backstage entity unofficially refered to as, "the kliq." It featured HBK, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Pac, and HHH. I imagine if trips wasn't around, Chyna wouldn't have been either, so no DX, without that off in the distance. I think HBK would've followed his bro's over to WCW to form the NWO. I think the Rock would be still be a legend of the era, without getting pissed at the boss Bret Hart would've stayed around. Instead of the classic rivalry for the IC title with HHH, (the Dx Vs NoD was the feud that, IMO, that set the tone for DX) it would've been Owen Hart. and Test might've gotten his main event push.

 

[ForeverRKO]

without triple h , we wouldve had the original shawn michaels still , orton wouldnt have been the youngest world championship , flair wouldve retired long ago , vince wouldve been lookin for a son in law lol , basically the wwe wouldnt be great .

 

[The Pizzaman]

If HHH were not in WWE you would not have the most impressive duo in The industry. DX. Im not just talking about the wrestling but they were paramount to the WCW invasion storyline and as a consequence, one of the best storylines ever. He has held every championship in WWE amounting to 23 title reigns. The only other person who has more is Ric Flair. Love him or hate him, he has done so much for this company and hopefully will be back soon to continue his story.

 

[Chicago1989]

I could respect Triple H for his contributions and sacrifices for this business, but at the same time, his rise to the top is something that has always been debated. Back when he was in WCW, he was a jobber. At this time, WCW was known to not give anyone a chance to be successful but that's how Triple H started his career: as a jobber. Then in the WWF, he had this ridiculous gimmick as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He jobbed to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania and but again, that how he started his WWF career. Then he started riding Shawn Michaels' coat tails and was his stooge in D-X. Then when Shawn Michaels left, Triple H became a trasitional replacement for HBK. He then married Stephanie McMahon, which led to a lot of hate from the locker room over the years. Scott Steiner even said that guys backstage wanted to beat Triple H's ass for his backstage BS. He called him the Kevin Federline of Wrestling, which is arguable.

I also don't think that it's a coincidence that Triple H became a 14-time World Champion. Years of rumors of him having an influence backstage on who gets pushed and who doesn't and wanting to top Ric Flair's record of being World Champ is basically all you need to know about how he got to where he is today. He was never a draw, had the Austins and Rocks help him become a star, and looking at himself as the "Next Ric Flair" are shoes that a guy that depended on others to be a big star are too big for him to fill. Just like a poster said; he's good, but not that good...

Sure, his influence and accomplishments in the WWE won't be forgotten and they were a big part of the WWE's growth over the years, but at the end of the day, I don't think anyone will miss him.

 

[Nicole13Edge/HardyFan]

I think that if Triple H was to retire today not a lot of people would miss him. Right now I don't miss him then again I don't like him that much in fact I never have and never will be a fan of his. It's like my dad says whenever I'm sad about a person leaving he says there is always someone to replace them and the same is true with Triple H. However that doesn't mean that the wwe can replace a fan's favorite just like the wwe can't replace my favorites Stone Cold, HBK, Batista, Edge and Bret Hart.

Also if Triple H never did come to the wwe they probley still would have had dx and evolution just with a different person. However we never will really know what the wwe would have been like in the late 90's and early 00's without Triple H.

 

[Negrodamus]

Good Thread, the WWE without HHH would be on the same scale but different, I think most people who replied are only remembering his post Rock-Austin years where he ruled ( and he was boring as champ). But his feuds when he was the 3rd man of the 3 main event guys ( Rock, Austin, HH ) and was chasing the title I dont see anybody playing that role as well as he played it and at the time dont know who we would replace him with. Also with Austin and Rocks departure and Undertaker injured he carried the WWE even though in my opinion is when his character got stale ( Jarret had the same role in TNA and played it better)
WWE still would be big and I must say he had a hard era to follow but without him I think that period would have been just as stale just a different person in charge
Or maybe Shane might have stuck around or more stephanie it all would be the same because of the Rock/Austin hangover we all had

 

[The Crock]

Without HHH the WWE would be a far different place today. He's put over a ton of young stars, and he's won 13 World Championships... second to only Ric Flair. HHH is one of the most beloved stars of his generation, hell of all time. He's been involved in some of the most important angles, and storylines of all time. He was a staple in the late 90s - early 00s, and he was the Undisputed Champion for a long time.

I do believe that there would have been some newer, different stars though. Some other guys would have stepped up and taken up a big place in the WWE so that they had enough Main Eventers and such. On the flip side of that, we may have never seen the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Most of us on here know the story... HHH was set to win KOTR but got punished for the MSG incident so SCSA got the push and dropped that infamous Austin 3:16 promo.

Triple H has effected the wrestling business in a much more significant way than most people think. He's one of those guys that just doesn't happen every generation. He's a once in a lifetime superstar.

 

[Morpheus101]

Many hate Triple H, but I cannot help but respect the man and appreciate what he's given. He has been involved in virtually ALL of the most successful stables in WWE (DX and Evolution). He was involved in arguably the most successful feud (in terms of draw power) in WWE history with The Rock. He has put over god knows how many up and coming superstars. He's put on some amazing and varied matches and he has played both the top heel and the top babyface roles perfectly as and when required.

Triple H is a definite living legend of wrestling. The Rock was great, but if it weren't for Triple H being such a great heel, the Rock/HHH feud wouldn't have lasted for as long as it did. Like him or not, you have to admit that WWE has been at its best when HHH has been in the title picture.

 

[Narsat]

I dont think there are many big matches left in the WWE but if any match can be as anticitpated as Undertaker/HBK from WM 26 it woul dhave to involve HHH and somebody else...HHH has given a lot to the business and basically carried the company after Austin/Rock left until Cena/Batista/Orton all came along.