Inducted by LWO4Life
Some careers are so long that it becomes pointless to post the highlights. Instead, it’s more important to focus purely on the impact. One of those careers is Triple H. You see, Paul Levesque has been a lock for a Hall of Fame spot for at least 20 years. From the time he became the first “bad guy” to leave WrestleMania as World Wrestling Federation (WWF) champion to leading Evolution, to his multiple World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World title runs, Triple H has solidified himself as a top wrestler long ago. And while his controversial marriage to Stephanie McMahon causes many to say he took advantage of the system, the reality is that Triple H is a true student of the game. Even more importantly, he lives a very clean life which has allowed him to be trusted with loose cannon talent over the years.
To start, Paul trained under Killer Kowalski in the early ’90s. In 1992, Paul made his debut match for Kowalski’s promotion. Almost immediately, he began touring the New England area, gaining experience. It was in 1994 that he was able to get a tryout match with WCW. Right away, Eric Bischoff wanted to sign Paul on the spot. After negotiating a contract, Eric had Paul go to Atlanta to tape WCW syndicated programming. It was here that Paul met two very important people for his development: Dusty Rhodes and Steve Regal. The story with Dusty is funny because when Paul knocked on the door and Dusty answered, Dusty looked at Paul and said, “well, it’s not your fault. Come in.” Yeah, WCW would be like that.
As Terra Ryzing, Paul would catch the eyes of members of the Kliq in WWF. But just as soon as Terra Ryzing got on TV, WCW would change his name to Jean-Paul Levesque, using Paul’s real name (plus adding Jean) and made him into a French snob. Then he would be teamed with Regal, and the rest as they say, is history. Learning under Regal, they would build a friendship which Triple H has still stayed loyal to. One theme that has come up with Paul over the years is he is loyal to the ones who helped guide him. Regal would help him in the ring, learn the technical aspect of wrestling. Dusty helped him with his character, promos.
Paul would sign with WWF and would now become Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Instead of being a Frenchman, Vince wanted him to be a Connecticut Blueblood. This fit his gimmick better, as he didn’t need a fake accent anymore. Immediately, he found the Kliq backstage. They needed a sober driver, and the now Hunter never drank or did drugs. Over time, he became Shawn Michaels’ babysitter. But under Shawn, he learned so much. As Kevin Nash would say, being part of the Kliq meant you talked the business every single day. It would also be Shawn who shortened Hunter’s name to Triple H.
The career of Triple H is a true testament to being a student of the game. Stay sober, listen to those with more experience, and know where you are at on the card at all time. Vince once had Hunter pinned as a babyface, to which Hunter saw the Rock and Steve Austin and realized that he would make more money being their villain rather than trying to be a favorite. This was genius, as he became the Roddy Piper level villain in the Attitude Era. Hunter would then have Ric Flair join Evolution, which gave him another voice of experience to listen to.
To be sure, Triple H’s ring work is top notch. One of the best mechanics in the game, Hunter focused on getting it right, not being flashy. Hunter was able to work with any style, and had the best reactions to get the other wrestler over. Learning from all these people meant Triple H had a large toolbox to pull from with different wrestlers. The one problem with that was he was so good, the fans started to cheer him. And trust me, after his long reign of terror from 2002 to 2005, I didn’t think anyone, including myself, would cheer him. But Hunter, if anything, is smart, and he realized it was time to step back. Of course later one with his feud with Randy Orton, he knew when to step up as well to create a great story (granted, boring WrestleMania match) as well.
It is fitting now that Triple H is the one in charge of WWE. Forget that he’s Vince McMahon’s son in law, and he learned so much from Vince as well. The reality is, of that era, he soaked in so much information from different sources. Unlike Vince, he didn’t only have a WWF view of the world. Unlike Dusty, he saw the bigger national picture and embraced it. Triple H’s career was int he modern era, meaning he knows what a modern audience wants first hand and isn’t beholden to old territory philosophies. The most sober wrestler, who is is student of the game, who was the number 1 villain in the business’s most profitable time, is now running the largest company in the world.
And with that, it is my honor to induct Triple H to the Wrestling Headlines/LOP Hall of Fame class of 2025!
