The 50 Greatest Wrestlers Of The Last 50 Years: Who Is #29?

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Updated: June 4, 2016

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#29 Triple H

Certainly one of the most controversial wrestlers who is going to be on this list, Triple H has had one of the most eclectic careers in wrestling history, one that has seen him endure equal amounts of praise and criticism from fans. Triple H was probably the hardest wrestler to rank on this list, as a good case can be made to rank him either much higher or much lower than where he ranks here.

There are a lot of valid criticisms for Triple H. He was a political player behind the scenes, who consistently secured important positions within the company, eventually marrying into the McMahon family and is now poised to control the wrestling universe. He probably had a couple too many world title reigns and he maybe won a few big matches that he probably should have lost and pushed himself as a top name a bit too long. With that being said, there is no denying the impact Triple H has had in the industry and his ability as a performer to draw money for an extended period of time. Like him or not, Triple H has secured an indomitable position within wrestling history.

Triple H was born Paul Levesque and grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire, a town near the Massachuetss/New Hampshire border. As a teenager Levesque became a competitive bodybuilder, eventually winning the title of Teenage Mr. New Hampshire in 1988. Interested in pro wrestling from an early age, Triple H enrolled in Killer Kowalski’s wrestling school in 1992 and began to tour the east coast under the name “Terra Ryzing”.

Triple H received his first big break in the industry when he signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1994. He eventually changed his name to Jean-Paul Levesque, and began to work a snooty heel gimmick where he spoke with a French accent. Eventually he formed a tag team with Lord Steven Regal before leaving WCW in 1995, citing a lack of upward mobility in the company.

Vince McMahon, who at the time was struggling to build new stars after having many talents defect to WCW, signed Triple H to a contract in 1995 and Triple H was given a new gimmick, that as the “Connecticut Blueblood” Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a wealthy aristocrat who looked down upon the working class fans who populated WWF arenas. Legend has it that the gimmick was developed because McMahon himself had recently purchased a home and moved into a wealthy neighborhood in Greenwich, Connecticut, where his neighbors looked down upon him for making his living through professional wrestling. As a reference to these neighbors, the Helmsley character was born.

Triple H made his WWF debut appearing in different vignettes where he gave helpful hints to fans about such things as fine dining etiquette. He defeated Bob Holly at SummerSlam 1995 before moving onto a feud with Henry O. Goodwin, who was working the gimmick of a hog farmer, leading to a Hog Pen Match at an In Your House event which Helmsley won. Helmsley would stay in the mid-card, wrestling a strange match against a returning Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII and engaging in a feud with Marc Mero.

It was during this period when Triple H began to make one of many political maneuvers towards the top of the card. Triple H had befriended Diesel, Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, who along with Sean Waltman composed the infamous “Kliq” of top wrestlers in the company. With the exception of Bret Hart and The Undertaker, The Kliq composed most of the top workers in the WWF and the idea was that through politics The Kliq would develop a tight control over the main event spots in the company by insisting on working with each other and nobody else. For those who were not in The Kliq, it was seen as an underhanded move to cut certain wrestlers out of the picture and lower the ceiling for rising talent. In May of 1996, Razor and Diesel had been lured away from the WWF by WCW, and during their final show at Madison Square Garden, Triple H, Michaels and Waltman all celebrated in the ring, in the now infamous “Curtain Call” incident where the wrestlers broke character. The incident would prove to be a pivotal point for Triple H and wrestling as a whole, as McMahon, who was livid at the blatant disrespect for kayfabe, looked to punish someone. He had no more authority over Diesel and Razor, and Waltman was soon off to WCW as well. He couldn’t bury Michaels because Shawn was the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at the time and McMahon and desperately needed top names with Diesel and Razor gone. Because of that, Triple H bore the brunt of McMahon’s rage and his role in the company was reduced. He was scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring Tournament, but that result was changed so that Steve Austin would win the tournament, which ended up being the launching point for one of the biggest box office runs in wrestling history.

Eventually Triple H recovered from the incident and would defeat Mero for the Intercontinental Championship in October of 1996. Triple H would onto the title until February where he lost it to Rocky Maivia, another young talent who was destined for great things. Helmsley would then go onto a feud with Goldust at WrestleMania 13, which would be notable for the debut of Helmsley’s new bodyguard, a former female bodybuilder who went by the name Chyna.

Triple H continued to climb up the card, winning the 1997 King of the Ring by defeating Mankind in the finals of the tournament. In August of 1997, Triple H’s career went from being promising midcarder to potential world champion when he, along with Chyna, Michaels and Rick Rude formed D-Generation X. Built out of the ashes of The Kliq, DX became a revolutionary group for the WWF, engaging in controversial promos and vignettes that pushed the boundaries of what could be tolerated on television. While still technically heels, their lewd and vulgar behavior began to get over with live audiences and DX became anti-heroes and began to feud with the Hart Foundation, culminating in the Montreal Screwjob that saw Michaels defeat Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in controversial fashion.

Triple H had now secured a role on the booking committee, and along with Michaels, they continued to accumulate power behind the scenes. After defeating Owen Hart at WrestleMania XIV, Triple H was forced to re-adjust his plans when it turned out that Michaels …

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