Would HHH be where he is now if he hadn't married into the McMahons?

[Piss Bucket]

Topic.

I personally don't think so, sure he might have won the World title at least twice, but not had the third highest number of reigns after Ric Flair and John Cena (in that order).

I also don't think he would've become arguably the second most powerful man in wrestling after Vince himself.

Anyone care to discuss this?

 

[Azane]

This topic comes up like every 2 weeks, the general consensus is usually that he would of been a champion, but with only a couple reigns, not Teens.

and obviously, if he didn't Marry into the McMahons he'd have no authority (no pun intended) in wrestling, He'd basically be Mick Foley right now, giving his 2 cents on everything in WWE, and nobody would care.

 

[rmp0012002]

Hunter is a solid wrestler and he would have been champion but being part of the Cliq and marrying Stephanie allowed him benefits someone outside that circle never would have obtained. He achieved a lot that someone that was the face of the company would achieve and he was never that guy.

 

[Dysturbed]

He was already a 2 time champ before he even started dating Stephanie or being involved with her on television so he likely would have hypothetically won the title at least a few more times and been a top star to some degree, due to Vince obviously thinking highly of him and him being good at what he was doing.

Like some others (who aren't married to Stephanie) he'd have probably still have had decent amount of backstage influence and things of that nature, but not as much as he actually had/has, for obvious reasons. Some storyline or match dictated decisions that worked in his favor in reality, might not have in a hypothetical reality where he wasn't with Stephanie, but it's hard to know every specific.

It's safe to say that he wouldn't be the second most powerful man in wrestling, but at the same time he very well could have eventually ended up with some sort of power position, just not the one that he actually has.

 

[Grizzly0u812]

I think Triple H with his work ethic would of achieved a lot on his own, John Cena is a multiple time champion, Undertaker is a Multiple time Champion they are not married to the McMahons, sure being married to the boss's daughter brings him some perks like having the opportunity to run NXT and probably his input is listen to more then others would be, if you follow what Triple H was when he started in wrestling, if he did not work hard he probably would be like others get let go but he put himself over by re-inventing himself over the years, even if people created ideas for him he would still have to make people believe it which he has so I think he would of gotten pretty far in the business with out being Married to Vince's daughter.

 

[Piss Bucket]

The thing that did HHH a LOT of good early in his career was when he was iN WCW as Terra Ryzing, he knew to suck up to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, as they were the guys with all the power Backstage, so like I said in a HHH related thread last week, I don't particularly like the guy, but I admit he's not daft when it comes to the Business.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I think who you marry has a huge impact on anyone's life. That being said there is no reason HHH could not have become a big time player in WWE's organization without his relationship with Stephanie. Vince knows he will not be around forever, Shane left, Stephanie may not have the ability or desire to deal with the talent. Someone had to get the job HHH is doing at some point. Why not him?

I don't know, this sliding doors stuff is silly.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

Triple H said in an interview once that he would be exactly where he is (a vp in the company) even if he hadn't been involved with Steph. I want to say it was either one of those Michael Cole sit downs or an Austin podcast.

The fact that he was allowed to say this suggests that he and the Mcmahons all believe that he would be where he is. Otherwise Vince wouldn't have approved the answer. I believe though that the truth is generally somewhere in the middle. He had to be interested in being a suit backstage to become one. If all he wanted to do was wrestle and nothing more, then he could have easily done that as Steph's husband.

Many of his multiple title reigns were justified, some were gratuitous. WrestleMania 16 was long before he was involved with Steph offscreen. He shouldn't have beaten Booker at WM 19. The reign of terror from 2002 to 2005 went on too long. After that, most of his runs were as a babyface and made sense. You could argue against the No Mercy where they hot potatoed the title.

At the end of the day, who cares? What's done is done. We can only learn in order to build a future. If NXT is what a Triple H controlled WWE will look like, then I'm sold. If Triple H had to play some modern day pro-wrestling game of thrones to get there, then he played it well.

 

[Piss Bucket]

My only problem with a HHH controlled main roster, would be his friends, such as Seth Rollins, being handed 2000 World title runs just for being so far up HHH's arse it's not funny, and by the same token, anyone HHH doesn't like would get buried the heck out of.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

There literally was a thread like this last week. I will never stop feeling the need to defend Paul Levesque though, so I'll throw in some facts and call it a day:

-HHH was a 3-time WWF Champion before his first date with Stephanie

-HHH was inarguably the most over heel of the Attitude Era, but arguably all time

- Of the 3 top Attitude Era stars (Austin, Rock, HHH) he is the only one who continued wrestling a full-time schedule past 2002, which he would actually continue to do through 2010.

Those 3 facts alone should be enough to prove to you that his personal life had very little impact on his professional achievements. Marriage or not, why do you people think he suddenly would've randomly stopped winning titles in 2001 despite being in the prime of his career? What did being married to Stephanie have to do with Evolution (which in hindsight is really the main era where he accumulated all of those reigns)? He was a top guy in wrestling, the fans loved him or hated him depending if he was heel or face, and was one of the few guys on the roster who was capable of delivering 5 star matches. Please tell me, what about those things were affected by Vince's daughter?!?!?!?!?!?

This will always be the most ridiculous topic. Yes, politics are definitely an issue in WWE and will continue to be in the future. But actually believing that HHH's personal life had any impact on his hall of fame career is completely asinine and misguided. The fans made Triple H a hall of famer, not Stephane not Vince or anyone else.

 

[EastCoastFan]

Triple H would have still been a multi-time WWF/E World Champion, but he probably would not have made the top guy after Rock & Austin left, and he definitely would not have his current job (and be the on-screen boss) without marrying into the McMahons.

 

[dsotm5150]

Considering Triple H and Vince McMahon have always been relatively tight and his work ethic I would imagine Triple H would have still pretty much been the fact of WWE during the 2000s. He's a smart guy when it comes to the industry, politics and marriage aside, hes probably one of the most knowledgeable guys in wrestling. Would things be different if Triple H and Steph never got together? Of course they would, but I think Triple H still would be the major player he is.

 

[rbv13]

My only problem with a HHH controlled main roster, would be his friends, such as Seth Rollins, being handed 2000 World title runs just for being so far up HHH's arse it's not funny, and by the same token, anyone HHH doesn't like would get buried the heck out of.

It is always difficult to tell if you are trolling or being serious (seriously ill informed). This statement confirms you are trolling and just out for a personal biased. Triple H isn't randomly pushing guys out of personal friendships. He looks for certain personality traits when determining who is worthy of a push. He may very well develop closer relationships with some individuals but thats because of common professional interest. The fact is Triple H is and has always been a dedicated student to the entire pro wrestling industry. From the early stages of his career he had shown an eagerness to continually grow. It is almost like he knew management one day awaited him. Do a little homework and you will find out there is much more to the dog than where he buried his bone.

 

[johnbragg]

HHH would have almost as much in-ring success. He was the survivor of the Rock/HHH/Austin trinity, so he would still have dominated RAW from 2002-05.

"Vince knew he wasn't going to be around forever, and Shane was gone." If HHH isn't Vince's son-in-law, I don't think Shane goes off on his own.

Without Stephanie, HHH is Mick Foley or Undertaker--a respected veteran, a legend, a Hall of Famer, but not next-in-line to run the company.

PAranoid thought--Did HHH engineer the kidnapping-turned-romance storyline with the intention of getting close to the Billion Dollar Princess?

 

[Darkshadow1234]

HHH would not be where he is right now if he hadn't married Stephanie or sucked up to the kliq. That's a fact, anyone who denies it is stupid and delusional.

HHH would probably have one or 2 world titles. Not over 10.
HHH would probably be in Mid-card/ occasional main event. Similar to what kane and big show are doing. That's where HHH would be doing.

The god honest truth, I never liked HHH. Ever since his short wcw run.
To me he is nothing special in the ring, the mic, or anything else.
He isn't innovative or a draw (unless he is working with someone who is a draw: Like Jim Cornette said).
Too me he is a generic wrestler. He reminds me alot like Jeff Jarrett. Both shouldn't be in the position they are in.
Both are in the position due to who they know or who they marry or suck up too. Not based on Hardwork.

BTW people HHH started dating stephanie in 1999. Before his first world title. IJS

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Pretty much where he is now. He'd made it before Stephanie came about. The only thing that would chance would be some of the questionable decisions that have happened because of him.

And maybe no Authority.

 

[Ryan1025]

I think he'd still be at least a 10 time champion.
Backstage, he'd be in a powerful position running things but I don't think he'd be second in charge like he is now. It's quite possible he would be though.
He and Steph were married on screen before they even dated off screen so I think the current Authority angle could still be happening.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

HHH would have almost as much in-ring success. He was the survivor of the Rock/HHH/Austin trinity, so he would still have dominated RAW from 2002-05.

"Vince knew he wasn't going to be around forever, and Shane was gone." If HHH isn't Vince's son-in-law, I don't think Shane goes off on his own.

Without Stephanie, HHH is Mick Foley or Undertaker--a respected veteran, a legend, a Hall of Famer, but not next-in-line to run the company.

PAranoid thought--Did HHH engineer the kidnapping-turned-romance storyline with the intention of getting close to the Billion Dollar Princess?

There's an element of truth to the storyline they are playing out now. There likely WAS a deal of sorts in place - Shane would go and "prove himself" outside of WWE as a business man, as it's clear that when Vince DOES go, Linda does too thus, they need someone with experience outside "the wrestling bubble" as the danger would be Trips and Steph don't have that wider knowledge. I've long suspected we'll see Shane take Vince's role as Chairman, Steph taking Linda's role and Trips remaining COO in charge of Talent and "the show" itself.

Shane has contacts at major talent agencies from his board membership on one, he has the China contacts to help WWE get into a notoriously difficult country and let's not forget that Vince had to "buy" WWE from his dad. Due to the public ownership that's not an option, so this could have been the compromise - "Let Steph and Hunter learn the "show" and you go and prove you can run a company..."

Shane sold out all his stock remember and now has bought shares back (remember when Steph was shipping stock a couple of years ago at a seemingly alarming rate?) much is made of alleged favouritism but remember Shane KNOWS the WWE inside and out from being everything from a wrestler to a ref to running the media side... he didn't need any more seasoning on running a wrestling show, but if he was ever gonna be "the Chairman" then he needed to know the corporate world outside of WWE.

Steph is likely to either want to be a mom one last time or as her kids grow up want to spend a bit more time with them, so Linda's role makes a lot of sense for her. Less time onscreen, working in the background and a lot of what she is doing with Connor's Cure etc is along those lines.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There literally was a thread like this last week. I will never stop feeling the need to defend Paul Levesque though, so I'll throw in some facts and call it a day:

-HHH was a 3-time WWF Champion before his first date with Stephanie

-HHH was inarguably the most over heel of the Attitude Era, but arguably all time

- Of the 3 top Attitude Era stars (Austin, Rock, HHH) he is the only one who continued wrestling a full-time schedule past 2002, which he would actually continue to do through 2010.

Those 3 facts alone should be enough to prove to you that his personal life had very little impact on his professional achievements. Marriage or not, why do you people think he suddenly would've randomly stopped winning titles in 2001 despite being in the prime of his career? What did being married to Stephanie have to do with Evolution (which in hindsight is really the main era where he accumulated all of those reigns)? He was a top guy in wrestling, the fans loved him or hated him depending if he was heel or face, and was one of the few guys on the roster who was capable of delivering 5 star matches. Please tell me, what about those things were affected by Vince's daughter?!?!?!?!?!?

This will always be the most ridiculous topic. Yes, politics are definitely an issue in WWE and will continue to be in the future. But actually believing that HHH's personal life had any impact on his hall of fame career is completely asinine and misguided. The fans made Triple H a hall of famer, not Stephane not Vince or anyone else.

Like I said last week, his rise had more to do with his tightness with Nash and then Shawn than anything Steph ever did. When Nash was "the man" and Hall number 2 and it was a little like the "Maverick and Goose" scenario... Nash and Hall were number one and number two...jumped ship... you're number one and number two.

His "depush" was nothing to do with a hug but as a message to the rest of the roster and Shawn in particular who might be thinking about leaving... that he took it without issue proved what Vince already knew and got him his push... that he was the only guy who could keep Shawn sensible enough to do business also helped him.

Once he got with Steph it DID affect him and other guys... Jericho and Booker T in particular "lost out", but then got make-ups later in their careers and arguably it worked out better for them. Had they gone with Jericho and not had him "give the belt back" then it might have been too soon, without that first loss to Trips for the title then his subsequent reigns wouldn't have been as good.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I would not say he would be as powerful on TV or behind the scenes but he was world champ before he even dated Stephanie. And nobody can question how good he was in 2000 - that was his break out year and he was the very best WWE performer by some distance that year. He has put some big stars over such as Cena, Lesnar and Daniel Bryan. He would still be a highly regarded performer as he has been dedicated to his craft through his entire career.

 

[duckbutter]

I don't think he would be exactly where he is now, but I believe he still would have had great success and would have a high-ranking position behind the scenes. There's no doubt he works just as hard or harder than everyone else.

You look at a guy like Pat Patterson, who is not married into the family, but has been Vince's go-to guy for several decades. I would put HHH in that category, as well. A guy with vast knowledge of the genre who has a lot to offer in terms of development and advice for the younger generation. And Vince trusts him. Has for years.

Like him or not, the guy is smart. NXT is proof of that.

 

[nwocongo]

....This topic already had a thread on the first page from less than week ago, come on.
As I said in that thread, HHH's relationship with the Kliq and Vince along with his talent (and roids) are what made him a main eventer. His relationship with Steph probably made things very awkward between him and Vince at its inception, but since things worked out in the end between them he is now in an untouchable spot at the top.

So long story, short no. Although he was a talented performer who knew how to play the backstage political game, he probably wouldn't be a 14 time champion and future top guy in the office but he would have had a decent career with at least one title run and he would probably still work for the company.
Maybe someone else can make this thread again next week and we can all bash or praise HHH some more.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

It has been discussed lot of times, not just last week. General consensus is that he would still be Champion lots of times and HoF material but wouldnt be near Flairs record like now and woulnt have that much influence and role he has right now. He would still have influence but he would probably be someone like Regal and not somebody who would call all the shots within the company.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Nepotism can only carry you so far, it'll open doors for you but it won't keep them open if you don't have the ability. If you want some good examples of that in pro wrestling, just check out Greg Gagne, Erik Watts, Garret Bischoff and Brooke Hogan as all of them got by at one point on their familial connections. Triple H is a student of politics, he's freely admitted it and he's proud of it. Just about every major name in pro wrestling has played the politics game to help further their careers and Triple H has done it better than most, so I can't hate on the guy for doing what everyone else does or for being more skilled at it. Triple H also has the talent to warrant the pushes he's received, he's proven that countless times since the early 2000s; some fans aren't into Trips and that's how it is for every other wrestler, but the guy's good and I don't think that can be denied by anyone and retain a shred of credibility after saying it.

Could Trips' courting and marriage of Stephanie be part of some master plan of his? I suppose it's possible but, at the same time, you can't help but notice how saying that out loud sounds like some paranoid conspiracy theory. Even if it isn't, however, so what? Maybe her wealth and power are part of what attracted him to her in the first place and, if so, so what? I mean, look at how often you hear about women dating men because of how much money they make, what their job is, the house they live in, the car they drive, etc. For God's sake, do you think Melania Knauss would have given Donald Trump the time of day if he didn't have so much money that he couldn't, literally if he wants to, wipe his ass with $100 bills? Have you ever seen his wife? She's a former and still drop dead gorgeous model nearly a quarter century younger than he is. I know that's not a very romantic way to view courtship but it's a true one despite whatever the various fairy tales and romance novels might otherwise suggest.

 

[MartialHorror]

I don't care for this topic because it's too speculative, with answers that are probably based on individual opinions on Triple H. Who knows where Triple H would be if he didn't marry Stephanie. Where would Sting be if he signed with WWF instead of WCW? Where would the Big Show be if he never jumped ship to WWF? Pointless questions because you never know.