Triple H Recalls How His Romance Started With Stephanie McMahon

– During a recent appearance on the Flagrant podcast, WWE Chief Creative Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque recalled how his romance with Stephanie McMahon began, starting with a storyline between the two in WWE that started in 1999. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Triple H on the storyline with Stephanie McMahon: “Originally, it’s just supposed to be a one-off thing. It’s supposed to be this one-off thing that makes us have the match. I go over. I get my world title shot, she moves on, does the rest of the stuff with the Test thing.” Additionally, Triple H recalled how much heat Stephanie got for the angle, with fans in the audience chanting “slut” at her whilst she was supposed to be a babyface, but all Vince McMahon saw was the money in the angle.

On Vince McMahon pitching Stephanie’s heel turn: “Vince comes to me and he’s like ‘What if she, like, what if the worst possible thing happens, is like she turns on me?’ We have this match at pay-per-view, right at the moment where holy s**t, Vince might actually do this and beat Triple H, and who turns on him but his own daughter to join his worst enemy at the time?'”

On how Stephanie adapted to turning heel: “As this happens, I don’t know Steph at all – sort of. I don’t, and the thing is, she’s a sponge for the business, right? Steph is like, she wants nothing but to be in this business, right? When I make that small list of people on one hand, that get it? She’s one of them.”

On how a relationship blossomed between the two: “I’m talking to my mom one day on the phone and she’s like ‘What’s going on between you and that Stephanie?’ I said ‘What are you talking about?’ and she’s like ‘I don’t know. Like, you’re not that good of an actor.'”

On how they adjusted to dealing with Vince McMahon: “We try, and I honestly think at that point…is he just saying this to try and see what we’ll do? For me, at the time, I’m sort of gambling everything…If this doesn’t work out, I’m f**ked. I’m done. But at the same point in time, it’s like, you know, when you meet the right person? You meet the right person.”