The 411 Wrestling Top 5 01.07.09: Week 4 – HHH Moments

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. At the end, based on where all these matches rank on people’s list, we will create the 411 Wrestling Top 5 list. The scoring is very similiar to the Wrestler of the Week as it looks like this:

#1 Choice – 5 points
#2 Choice – 4 points
#3 choice – 3 points
#4 Choice – 2 points
#5 Choice – 1 point
Honorable Mentions will break ties, but get no points.

Also, in the case of a tie, the most votes win, regardless of where it is listed in the individual Top 5. I will also use this rule in the event that one match is mentioned more often, but is one point behind. For example, one second place vote and two Honorable Mentions will defeat simply one first place vote.

So, on to this week’s topic…

THE TOP 5 TRIPLE H MOMENTS

Triple H is by far the most decorated superstars in wrestling today, with 12 World Title reigns, multiple Intercontential Title reigns, Royal Rumble Winner, and he is one of only six WWE Undisputed Champions. As the heir apparent to Shawn Michaels after his retirement, Triple H has taken the WWE by storm, on the screen and off. So I told the staff of 411 Wrestling to choose any HHH matches, promos, skits, whatever he has done and give us there Top 5 Triple H Moments. And this is a perfect week to do it as this week is the fourth anniversary of Triple H’s 10th World Title reign and it is also the fourth week of the 411 Wrestling Top 5!

So what did our great group of writers select? Let’s find out…

Andy Clark

HONORABLE MENTIONS

For the Haters Pt. 1- London & Kendrick– I’m not filling up my list with anti-Triple H stuff because I’m sure others will focus on that, but in my opinion the ultimate Triple H power stroke was the completely unneeded burying of London & Kendrick after they saved him on Raw.

For the Haters Pt. 2- Katie Vick– I can’t really fault Triple H for this as this sits squarely on the shoulders of Vince McMahon and creative, but this is one of the key images of Triple H’s “reign of terror” from 2002-2004.

WrestleMania 22 vs. John Cena– While this wasn’t the best show of workrate, this was one of the best pieces of wrestling as theater that I’ve ever seen. Triple H was great in his role, from the Conan the Barbarian-like entrance, to the way he played off the Chicago crowd, to planting the seeds of the DX reunion, to doing the right thing for business and putting Cena over.

5. 3 Stages of Hell– This is probably the height of the “IWC Hero” phase of Triple H’s career, and quite possibly the best match Triple H has ever competed in. While his run in 1999 and 2000 really helped establish Triple H as a main eventer, this match probably helped cement him as one of the top top guys in the business. Beating Stone Cold one month before he competed in the biggest main event in WrestleMania history was one hell of an accomplishment, especially when done in such impressive fashion.

4. The Return– There are a few moments in wrestling that come to mind when you think of all time great pops. This is one of them. Triple H left WWE as a heel, but somehow when he returned he was greeted as the second coming of Hulk Hogan. Triple H’s return goes down as one of the all time great MSG moments and blows his comparatively lame SummerSlam 2007 return out of the water.

3. “I am the Game…”– How weird would it be if Triple H wasn’t known as “The Game?” It was a sitdown interview with Jim Ross on Sunday Night Heat right before Fully Loaded 1999 that gave Triple H that moniker and even served as Triple H’s catchphrase for a while. That interview really showed the world that Triple H was destined to join the main event and one month later he was in the main event of the second biggest show of the year.

2. One Tough Bastard (Parts 1 & 2)– Triple H injured his quad twice in major tag team matches and twice managed to finish the match with that injury. It’s hard for me to determine which one was more impressive. The first time saw him put in the Walls of Jericho after the tear which was surely excruiating. The second time saw Triple H actually move around for a good while before heading to the back. Say what you will about Triple H’s politics but he showed in these two instances that he is one tough bastard.

1. WrestleMania XV- The Heel Turn– And this is where Triple H’s legacy really begins. Turning on X-Pac at WrestleMania XV during his European Title Match was the defining moment in Triple H’s career and really set him on his path from being a midcarder to a main eventer. That moment was the “turn heard round the world” and was personally rewarding for yours truly, a Corporation fan that had ordered his first PPV and was destined to be disappointed in the outcome of the main event.

Rob McNew

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Street Fight with Cactus Jack-Royal Rumble 2000 – Unquestionably the match that cemented HHH as a main eventer.

The Return at MSG – Probably the loudest sustained pop you will ever hear.

5.Wins Wrestlemania 2000 Main Event becoming the first heel to leave Wrestlemania as WWF Champion -This was probably the most shocked I’ve ever been watching a wrestling match. It was largely shit on at the time it happened, and still is by some to this day, but this moment was great for me in reterospect, because it showed that you probably should pay attention to the Wrestlemania main event. Until 2000 we had always seen the babyface holding the belt high. That all changed on one April night in Anaheim.

4.Crashes Test and Stephanie’s wedding to reveal that he had already married her – The angle that started it all. Triple H drugged Stephanie McMahon and married her in Vegas, which led to her aligning herself with him in kayfabe. Which led to her aligning herself with him in real life. Which led to their real life marriage. Which led to the longest sustained main event push since Hogan. Who says life doesn’t imitate art? This is the event that got the ball rolling.

3.DX Reborn: Night after Wrestlemania XIV – The 2006 reunion of the original DX has seemed to skew peoples view of the 1997 version. Most seem to think it was always Shawn and Hunter, when in reality back then it was Shawn with Hunter. Most people saw HHH as nothing more than HBK’s lackey. However with Shawn out of the picture HHH took the reigns brought in X-Pac and The Outlaws, and began his rise towards the top of the card.

2.DX Reborn Part Deux – It was kind of one of those either you loved it or hated it things. Count me in the “loved it” group. Shawn was fresh in the middle of a bitter feud with The McMahon’s while HHH’s evil bad ass heel character had become staler than month old potato chips. HHH decided to join forces with HBK to take on the McMahon’s and reform DX. Hilarity ensued. Not the edgy hilarity of 1997, but still harmless campy fun. More importantly Triple H had once again reinvented himself. DX ended as a regular attraction at the right time and now HHH can be a hybrid version of the “Game” character that made him a star and the DX character that made him beloved.

1.Defeats Mankind to win first World Title: Raw 8/23/1999 – The single most important moment in any wrestlers career. When you win the World Title for the first time, you’ve truly made it. For HHH that moment came one day late in the eyes of many the night after Summerslam 99 on RAW at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA. Sure it wasn’t all that memorable of a match. Sure it wasn’t all that memorable of a reign (losing the title just a few weeks later to Vince McMahon of all people), but it was the first of what will likely end up being a record number of World Title reigns. That alone makes this an easy choice for number one. It also doesn’t hurt that I was in the building that night.

Jarrod Westerfeld

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Triple H’s undefeated streak gets slopped – I promise that my actual list will be positive, something that’ll probably cause me to have an aneurysm considering I don’t normally do positive, but I loved that Triple H’s hype engine in the early 90’s was stopped by Henry O Godwin. Of all the people Triple H had to lose to, Godwin?

Triple H crashes Test and Stephanie’s wedding – For some people, this was the moment to start caring about Triple H, for others, this was the note that Triple H was coming up from under the shadow of the Clique (namely Shawn Michaels) and becoming a bigger player in the WWE. For me it was the moment that drastically changed the course of the WWE’s Attitude Era to include other stars not named Austin or The Rock, and it was a welcomed introduction.

5.Triple H’s endurance test (all injuries) – There almost isn’t an instance where Triple H’s injuries occur in the middle of a match, and in those moments there almost isn’t a passing thought pulsating through his mind that he should stop the match right there and then. The man knows pain but always puts the good of the crowd and the match over his own being.

4.Triple H and Shawn Michaels saga – I don’t think there was ever a dull moment in this feud for me, and I enjoyed everything about it. I especially loved the playing up of their past, something that the WWE tends to avoid as it means stepping over some old burnt bridges, or mentioning some rather embarrassing things that the company would like to erase from history all together. It was a feud that really began the night after Wrestlemania XIV that festered and brewed just based upon the building of Triple H’s legacy in Shawn’s absence. It was truly a well built feud that just transcended time to tell a worthwhile story.

3.Triple H undercuts Ric Flair’s legacy – For those of you who have forgotten the amazing feud that Triple H and Ric Flair had in 2005, or simply were unaware of it, let me remind you of this hidden gem: Triple H believed that Ric Flair had sold out his legacy for the chase of cheap thrills by pandering to a crowd too ignorant to understand the greatness and the legacy of Flair. He singled out his former Evolution buddy mostly because of his alliance with Batista, the man that Triple H couldn’t contain once Evolution crumbled, and out came this beaut of a promo explaining away the hatred Triple H had for the new Ric Flair, while still expressing admiration and love for the Ric Flair hero he grew up watching and wanting to be. It was an amazing feud, with some amazing promos and some surprisingly brilliant matches.

2.Triple H vs. Steve Austin: No Way Out 2001 (Three Stages of Hell) – This still stands out as being one of my favorite matches of the decade, though it always has some tough competition. The story, the emotion and the drama leading to this bout once again showcased the under rated abilities of Triple H outside of a ring, but this match elevated him once again by stating he is good enough to play with the main event players of the Attitude Era, namely the biggest star in the WWF at the time. There isn’t a single bad thing about this match – well, except for the beer can finale (something I still laugh about and despise at the same time, to this very day).

1.Triple H vs. Cactus Jack: Royal Rumble 2000 (Street Fight) – This match solidified Triple H’s place as a main eventer and showed that he was more than just an image that the WWE had fallen in love with all those years ago when they first signed him. The man showcased his ability to tell a story and to sell emotions, and this was the match that proved that he was truly one of the best wrestlers in the industry today, whether you love or hate the man.

Robert S. Leighty Jr

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Botched Pedigree – The spectacularly fucked up Pedigree on Superstars that looked like it killed some poor jobber.

Tough Enough – HHH appeared on the 1st season of Tough Enough and gave the want to be wrestlers of the most passionate speeches you will ever hear.

Iron Man – Nobody thought HHH and The Rock could pull off the Iron Man match, but they busted their ass and put on a wrestling clinic back in 2000.

5.WrestleMania 2000 – HHH becomes the first heel to ever leave WrestleMania with the WWF Title. It was a shocking moment, and by the reaction of the crowd one they did not want to see. I actually cheered like crazy because I firmly behind HHH after his heel turn at WM XV.

4.The Return – HHH’s return from a quad injury at MSG had one of the loudest roars you will hear in any form or sport or entertainment. In the WWF’s top market where the crowd’s usually turn on everyone, they were nothing more than marks once his music hit, and nobody’s else return has compared to it.

3.The Injury – Injuries happen, and while a quad tear is quite a serious injury, stuff like that always happens. What was exceptional was HHH continued the match and even let Jericho place him in the Walls on the announce table. Nobody can ever excuse HHH of not being a tough bastard.

2.3 Stages of Hell – An absolute hate filled, blood bath with Austin that cemented HHH’s spot as a Main Event star in the WWE. Just an insane brawl with 2 characters that hated each other. Now WWF may have botched things with them joining forces later, but that’s another story.

1.The Wedding – HHH crashes the Test/Stephanie wedding (and gets a face pop from the crowd) and reveals himself to be Steph’s husband after having her drugged. This one moment started a chain reaction that put HHH in the McMahon family and as an heir to the WWE Empire.

Damian Braun

HONORABLE MENTIONS
vs. Cactus Jack (MSG RAW 1997) A pretty good match that was more about Foley than HHH, but HHH’s temper tantrum before the match is hilarious (as good as Mick’s TitanTron video). Plus, it was HHH that drove Mankind and Dude Love crazy all summer long, so of course Cactus Jack had to come back to help his buddies. So really, HHH is the catalyst of hardcore wrestling in WWE.

HHH turns on Flair, plus ensuing feud HHH’s best feud in a long time, and to top it off, it was actually believable. We knew HHH idolized Flair for years, so when he returned from a brief hiatus only to turn on the then IC Champion, it was all very mysterious. The explanation though, that Flair had gone soft and consequently tarnished the image HHH held dear, was shockingly logical. The ensuing matches were awesome, reinforcing HHH as the unstoppable, heartless, mega-heel and gave Flair one last great feud in an illustrious career.

WrestleMania XII OK, so HHH loses to the Ultimate Warrior in less than two minutes. Sure its not a great moment per se –perhaps one of HHH’s worst – but its also a moment that demonstrates how you can do the j-o-b at the biggest event of the year, yet essentially run the company ten years later. I can’t think of another wrestler who recovered so well after such a high profile squash (though, I’m sure someone in the comments will remind me).

5. HHH pins HBK, wins Euro Title This was just about the funniest thing ever when I was thirteen. DX (version 1) was hilarious in their antagonistic, anti-establishment skits, but this match between the two members, hyped throughout all of Monday Night Raw, could have been the demise of DX itself. Instead, this epic match bolstered the two as thumb nosing miscreants and elevated HHH with a win over the then WWF Champion.

4. Wins WrestleMania 2000 Main Event Watching this live, I was dumbstruck. Of course Rock was going to win, there was no way would WrestleMania end with a victorious heel. I even mentioned this to my friends once Mick was eliminated – Rock was the assured victor. Well, HHH proved me wrong and effectively changed how future WrestleMania’s would be anticipated. No longer was the main-event face guaranteed a WrestleMania moment. After retiring Foley the previous month, HHH was on a roll, and really beginning to look like the unbeatable Game.

3. HHH marries Steph behind Test’s back – Its weird that this was before Steph and HHH were a real couple, but their Vegas wedding portrayed HHH as the conniving, manipulative, upwardly mobile competitor that would do anything to one up Vince. Of course, then he really married Stephanie and made himself the (seemingly) permanent title holder ever since. Anyhow, this is the moment that brought the two together and ushered in the McMahon-Helmsley Era (real and kayfabe).

2. DX Army invades WCW I was tempted to add the re-formation of DX the night after WrestleMania XIV, but these series of vignettes were really their crowning achievement. In 1998, the DX Army morphed from a band of snotty degenerate brats into anti-heroes catering to the smark fans. The Invasion of Monday Nitro and the CNN Tower were some of the ballsiest move of the Monday Night Wars. WWF/E was ready to fight directly and aggressively for smart fans, and HHH was given the opportunity to shine in the lead role (instead of HBK’s second fiddle).

1. HHH pins Cactus Jack in MSG — Royal Rumble 2000 This was the moment that made HHH the Game. In one three count, HHH solidified himself as a bonafide champion who could keep up with the internet’s favorite wrestler. Not only one of the best matches of the 00s, but in pinning Mick Foley (after giving him a thumbtacked pedigree), HHH transformed from annoying, Steph stealing heel to a dominant, heart-crushing, MEGA heel. After Have a Nice Day and “Three Faces of Foley” made Mick into every smarks’ favorite hard-core underdog, HHH’s win in Mick’s specialty match was all the more gut wrenching. Sure, HHH retired Mick a month later, but this event was the one that established Triple H as the Game.

Stephen Randle

(DIS)HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Triple H handed World Title for being “that damned good”, 2002 – Okay, I have to get the hate out somewhere, might as well do it in the part that doesn’t count for points. This pretty much marks the point where HHHate (patent pending) became popular, as he pretty much stopped even pretending that he wasn’t essentially running Raw as his own little playground. I think we could have even forgiven him if he had spent the next year having good, or even decent matches, but he didn’t.

Triple H defeats the World Tag Team champions by himself, then Pedigrees the #1 Contenders., 2007 – Just a real class move that buried the entire Raw tag division further in the muck, and reminded everyone that no matter how happy-go-lucky his character may be most of the time now, underneath beats the heart of the same guy who spent 2002 burying the entire roster.

Okay, I’ll play nice.

5. Triple H vs Shelton Benjamin, Raw, week after the first Draft – Sure, the story that is currently accepted is that Triple H’s series of losses against Shelton Benjamin was punishment for Triple H wanting to be traded back to Raw after the draft, but the matches, especially the first one, were excellent, and really showcased Benjamin’s abilities. They also served to show that Triple H really can help create a new star if he wants to (Benjamin’s inability to capitalize fully notwithstanding), which gave a lot of people, myself included, a hope that he might continue to do so. Which he has, when you think about it.

4. Triple H gives a speech on Tough Enough 1 about the business – I think I’m one of maybe fifty people who owns the DVDs for the first season, and as intimidating as the Triple H speech is in the edited version, it’s even better when you see the full version. Essentially, he basically tells everyone that wrestling, as a career, is damned hard, and don’t you dare do it if you’re not fully committed, like he is. And sure, it’s a promo, but it’s a masterful one, and more importantly, you can tell that he believes every word of what he’s saying. Hell, it moved one of the contestants to drop out that day, fearing that he couldn’t be committed enough to appreciate the prize, which is something you never see in reality game shows.

3. Triple H vs Shawn Michaels, Summerslam 2002 – Triple H’s best match since he returned from the first quad injury (and who ever imagined we’d have to clarify between his first and second quad injuries?), and it had the added benefit of bring Shawn Michaels out of retirement and back into the hearts of every non-Canadian wrestling fan for the next six years and counting. Just like later with Benjamin, it proved that Triple H could actually still go in the ring, which admittedly made most of the next year hard to figure out.

2. Triple H vs Mankind/Cactus Jack, early 2000 – Pretty much the peak of Triple H’s early career, where he was completely injury-free, plus was in the process of becoming a massive main event star. Then Mick Foley decided he needed to retire and wanted to have some huge matches and put over some people on the way out. That Mick, he’s a giver, even if the retirement thing hasn’t yet stuck. Anyway, this led to a classic feud where Triple H and Stephanie picked on poor Mankind until he snapped and became nasty Cactus Jack in an unforgettable moment on Smackdown. Then we got the big matches at the Royal Rumble and No Way Out, and would you believe that the matches were so good that nobody made an issue of the fact that Mick lost them both and actually never really got revenge on Triple H for all the mockery and stuff. But I guess he went on and made fun of them for the rest of the year as Commissioner, so it works out in the end. And as a bonus, Triple H was now a genuine main eventer, and would spend the next year having some damned good matches with all sorts of people.

1. Triple H assumes control of D-X, night after WrestleMania XIV – I’m sure it’s been brought up before, but prior to this, Triple H was actually nothing more than a low midcarder. Sure, he hung out with Shawn Michaels, but other than being gifted with the European title, all it did was get him on TV more often, standing besides Shawn and occasionally contributing to his promos. But with Shawn officially retired as of WrestleMania, and big plans in the works involving the return of Sean Waltman, someone had to assume control of WWE’s increasingly popular D-X faction. Ultimately, Triple H took the reins, and in the space of one promo asserted his place in the upper card. The rest, as they say, is history.

Owain J. Brimfield

HONORABLE MENTION

Motorhead performs ‘The Game’ live at WM21 – Gotta love Lemmy.

5.Triple H’s entrance at WM22 – Sure, the Cena/HHH match itself wasn’t all that great, but the grandiose pageantry of Hunter’s ‘Conan’ entrance was pure Wrestlemania. Plus, Cena needed to go over and it’s nice to see H doing something good for the business, unlike his frequent outings as the Bar-berrior.

4.Triple H bones the boss’s daughter – Well, it led to as much bad stuff as it did good, but it has to be up there on H’s own personal greatest moments list. Was the power trip pre-meditated, or does he simply not realise how much of a game-player he comes across as behind the scenes? Not that he cares, I’m sure.

3.Triple H vs Undertaker at WM17 – or more precisely, the chokeslam off the platform spot, which had the distinction of being memorable first as a killer bump, and then a killer production gaff when the cameras revealed the padded floor below. The match itself was pretty decent too though, and it’s a wonder these two haven’t feuded more extensively. Coupled with the kudos of appearing on the “best PPV ever”, that’s enough for this one to earn number three.

2.Triple H vs Cactus Jack at Royal Rumble 2000 – even if the match hadn’t been as brilliant, the simple fact of HHH causing Cactus to be reborn in the WWF was a thing of wonderment for fans of the soon-to-be Hardcore Legend. Seeing the flannel shirt and barbed wire on WWF TV was weird at first, but Cactus was a natural fit and this classic match proved it. A terrific effort by both men to highlight a great PPV.

1.Triple H vs. Warrior at WM12 – I’m sure this extended squash won’t have quite the same resonance for most normal people, but Wrestlemania XII was the first wrestling tape I bought and I was young enough to be into Warrior’s schtick and despising the Connecticut Blue Blood himself. The H always carried some great snooty facial expressions and bumps well for Warrior. And besides, the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

Jeremy Thomas

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The (first) D-X reformation – Everyone was wondering what was going to happen with D-X after Shawn got beat at WrestleMania XIV and was (at the time) retiring. Out comes Triple H, who reformed the group and made it stronger then it was before. B.G. James, Kip, and Waltman should still be worshipping Hunter for their careers.

5.Three Stages of Hell – This was one of those matches I remember so well. ‘H and Austin just beat the ever-living shit out of each other through three great matches on one night, and the Game’s main event status was well and truly set from this point out. That ‘H beat Austin only made it so much better for him, as people were begging for him to lose, and this just got Hunter that much more over.

4.“It was me, Austin…it was me ALL ALONG!” – Everyone was wondering who had run down Stone Cold in November of 1999. When it was revealed to have been Rikishi upon Austin’s return…well, let’s just say that was REALLY underwhelming. On November 6, 2000 Austin was competing in a handicap match against Kurt Angle and Rikishi when ‘H ran down to the ring, Sledgie in hand. Everyone thought he was going to help Austin, but instead he shocked us all by hitting Austin with the hammer. While Stone Cold was on the ground, he got down there and revealed that he was the true mastermind. It was one of those great moments I’ve never forgotten that made the Game the unbelievably uber-heel he remained for a year and a half.

3.Triple H puts over Shelton Benjamin – Hunter was well-believed by the IWC to be a guy who held other people down by 2004…well, before then, actually. When was the last time he’d really put someone over, after all? So when Shelton Benjamin of all people scored a major upset win on the March 29, 2004 edition of Raw, we were all surprised. When he did it again the next week, we were amazed. ‘H really did everything he could to put Shelton over, and it gave us all hope that he was finally starting to give more back to the company and the younger generation.

2.The Vegas Drive-Thru Date Rape Wedding – Aww, look at that, Stephanie’s marrying Test in the ring on Raw! Yeah, we all knew this was going bad…it was a wrestling wedding, after all. But I don’t think anyone believed it was going to be quite as nuts as it was. ‘H showed up and played a home movie where he’d drugged Stephanie McMahon and driven her through a Vegas wedding “chapel” to become a McMahon. It was amazing, hilarious, offensive and awesome all in one, and was the beginning of the infamous McMahon-Helmsley Era. Brilliant.

1.Hell in a Cell vs. Cactus Jack – February 27, 2000. No Way Out. Cactus Jack was on his last legs and had one last shot at the world Title. If he couldn’t beat the Game, his career was over. They had just had an AMAZING street fight at the Royal Rumble; how could they possibly top it? Well, they did. The Hell in a Cell match was brutal, bloody, and one of the greatest Hell in a Cells ever. Cactus busted out all the stops, including the old chair elbow off the apron, the flaming barbed-wire wrapped 2×4…everything you could think of. Still, this was not a night of miracles, and it ended with Foley taking a backdrop through the cage to the ring, which collapsed, and then ‘H pedigreeing him for the win. It was one of the great moments of the new millennium and no matter how many times Foley comes back, ‘H will always be the man who retired him for me.

Larry Csonka

DX Impersonates the Nation – I am sorry, that shit is still funny.

I AM THE GAME – It had to start somewhere…

HUNTOR THE BAR-BERRIER~! – …

Yeah, sorry, but he DOES deserve this.

5. HHH vs. Mick Foley – The HHH vs. Mankind/Cactus Jack/Mick Foley feud, which had the great MSG street fight and the Hell in a Cell that “retired” Foley was what REALLY put HHH on the map as THE GUY. Foley did everything on his end to put HHH over like a million dollars, and HHH carried the ball and hasn’t let it go since. While I always had the feeling, since WM XIV, that HHH would be a “main guy,” these matches solidified that.

4. HHH Takes Control of DX After WrestleMania XIV – And speaking of this event, with HBK gong on the shelf, for what we all thought was for good, we knew that Austin would run on top, but also that things would be in flux. The night after WrestleMania XIV HHH took control of DX, brought back the kid, enlisted the NAO as full fledged DX members, destroyed Cactus and Funk and SHIT WAS ON. While it took some time, and injuries slowed him down at the beginning, this was a sign that HHH was going to be one of the top guys, a real beginning after Michaels’ departure.

3. HHH Defeats Ric Flair – May 19th, 2003 – We all know that HHH worships the ground that Flair walks on, and rightfully so. On this night in Greenville, HHH and Ric Flair had an outstanding match at a time where Flair, in real life, was still doubting himself. I give HHH a lot of shit, and I feel for the right reasons at the right time, but on this night, he did everything to make Ric Flair believe that he could still be Ric Flair. A great match and a great moment.

2. Quad Tear #1… – In no way am I celebrating the injury here. Instead, I am celebrating a moment. As I mentioned above, I give HHH a lot of shit, and I feel for the right reasons at the right time, but on this night, he suffered a devastating injury (it sucks I know) but gutted it out and in the end, the tag match with he, Austin, Benoit and Jericho went down as a classic. Say what you will about the mistakes he does make, but you cannot question his love for the business. OH NOEZ I SAIDZ BENOIT!

1. The Return… – MSG has some good memories for Hunter, from the great street fight with Foley to one of the biggest pops you will ever hear. After the quad tear I mentioned at #2, HHH had the long road to recovery to face. He did so, the videos for his return were great, and the pop from the MSG crowd was one of those things that you don’t forget. The only thing bigger than the pop was HHH himself…Jesus he was ridiculously jacked when he returned. Thank God for prescriptions…

Michael Bauer

HONORABLE MENTIONS

DX sends Spirit Squad to OVW – My Honorable Mentions are all about my favorite moments, even if they aren’t the best. And one of my favorite HHH promos has to be when he and HBK BURIED the Spirit Squad by throwing them in a dumpster and sending them off.

DX impresenates the Nation – Dude, how funny was that promo? I mean, he just came from the bathroom… you should have smelled what the Crock was cooking!

HHH puts over Shelton Benjamin – It was one of HHH best televised matches ever and the fact he also lost to Shelton showed that Triple H does have what it takes to put over talent.

5.Triple H finishes a match after tearing his quad… TWICE! – If I knew nothing else about Triple H other than he tore his quad and finished a match, I would be impressed. To know he did it a second time and I would have to clean my ears out to believe it. Triple H is as tough as nails and these matches proved it beyond any doubt.

4.Triple H rules DX – It was the night after WrestleMania XIV and Shawn Michaels had what we all thought was his last match after his back injury. HHH opened up Raw the next night going one of his best early promos, getting rid of the jokes and going all serious. HBK has dropped the ball and it was time to came back and build an army. By the end of the night, he led an army of four and started the path towards one of the greatest careers in WWE history.

3.Triple H vs. Cactus Jack – At the beginning of 2000, Triple H would go head to head with the most deranged version of Mick Foley. It started as Mankind, but two weeks before the Royal Rumble he turned into Cactus Jack thanks to one of the greatest sell jobs of all time. The two matches that followed were pure gold as Triple H would defeat Cactus Jack in a Street Fight at the Royal Rumble and then inside Hell in a Cell at No Way Out. Some consider his feuds with HHH to be more epic, but for me, there was no greater feud than this series that would end the great career of Mick Foley.

2.Triple H returns in MSG – The Rock’s promo for McMahon vs. Trump… John Cena returning at the Royal Rumble… CM Punk in Chicago as World Champion… These are three of the loudest pops I have ever heard on television in the last two years. None of them even came close to the pop Triple H received when he came back from his first quad injury and a nine month absence. Triple H’s return was classic as it led him on the road to the Royal Rumble, winning the rumble, and becoming the 2nd Undisputed Champion.

1.Triple H crashes the Test Wedding – Triple H was getting more and more up the ladder and had a huge rivalary with a heel DX against a rare face McMahon. Test was set to marry Stephanie and join the McMahon, but then fiction became reality. Triple H showed the clip of him marrying Stephanie and becoming a kayfabe part of the family. Who would known that it wasn’t just kayfabe then? This started the great Triple H heel run, which went into the great feud with Mick Foley.

So with all said and done (and a shit load of calculations), here is the 411 Wrestling’s Overall Top 5 Triple H Moments.

5. Triple H Delievers the Rebirth of Degeneration X after Wrestlemania XIV: 12 points (1 1st place vote, 1 3rd place vote, 2 4th place votes, 1 Honorable Mention)

T-3. Triple H Finishes not one, but two Matches after Tearning a Quad: 13 points (2 2nd place votes, 1 3rd place vote, 2 5th place votes)

T-3. Triple H Returns from his First Quad Injury at MSG: 13 points (1 1st place vote, 1 2nd place vote, 2 4th place votes, 1 Honorable Mention)

2. Triple H Reveals he is Married to Stephanie McMahon, Ending Test’s Dream: 21 points (2 1st place votes, 1 2nd pace vote, 1 3rd place vote, 2 4th place votes, 1 Honorable Mention)

1. Triple H Feuds with Cactus Jack to Begin 2000 and Give us two Instant Classics: 27 points (3 1st place votes, 2 2nd place votes, 1 3rd place vote, 1 5th place vote, 1 Honorable Mention)