He was in the right place at the right time.
But luck had nothing to do with it. Triple H also
happened to be the right guy for the job.
When injuries forced Stone Cold Steve Austin and
Undertaker into extended exile in 1999, a vacuum
Was created. To the surprise of some and the disbelief
Of others, in stepped Triple H. His rise to elite status
--He’s indisputably the best heel in the business today--
Has been a hot topic in the sports-entertainment world
For the better part of the year.
Triple H has elevated his game on every level imaginable
aside from his ring work, headlining television and
pay-per-view cards while creating one of the most hated
personas in recent memory, Hunter has made the transformation
behind the curtain from a smart-mouthed youngster with a
disruptive reputation to a well-respected veteran and leader.
Behind the anarchist character lies a serious student
of the business whose work has finally earned him some
long-overdue acclaim.
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Triple H mocking Kurt Angle |
Certainly there have been bumps along the way --
many admittedly by his own hand-- but his progression is striking. He is rapidly cementing his status as a heel performer for the ages, and has even been compared by Vince McMahon to the legendary "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.
He is-- as "the Game" is quick to remind packed houses of fans who revel in jeering and cursing him - that damn good.
One of two children in a close-knit family in Nashua,
New Hampshire, Paul Levesque's path to superstardom began early in his teens when he chose bodybuilding over team sports in high school. Rather than hanging out with kids his age, he spent most of the time at gyms and bodybuilding shows, and working out with a group of men seven and eight years his senior.
"I think they respected how much I was into [bodybuilding],
and how hard I worked at it," Hunter says. "It didn't
matter if I couldn't walk the next day. I did everything
they did. That's why they didn't look at me as a pain
in the ass or as a little goof who hung out with them.
I trained like they did."
Throughout his teen years, the gym was Hunter's home.
It was at the gym that he made his first connection
to the sports-entertainment business when he met
ex-federation superstar Ted Arcidi.
At first Arcidi, a powerhouse known as "The World's
Strongest Man" during his Federation tenure, discouraged
his young friend's interest in wrestling. Eventually,
Hunter's serious approach impressed Arcidi, who gave him
some phone numbers to get him on his way. Among those
contacts was the legendary Walter "Killer" Kowalski, who
ran a wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts.
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Triple H during his DX days with Billy Gunn, X-Pac, Chyna and Road Dogg |
Barely in his 20's, Hunter made an immediate impact on Kowalski when he walked into the school for the first time. "Walter had quite a troupe of 190-pound little guys and 230-pound fat guys," Hunter says. "I walked in there and here's this kid who was almost 6-foot-5 and into power lifting, and I was probably about 285 pounds."
Hunter made the drive down to Malden from New Hampshire twice a week, when his work schedule permitted. He immediately immersed himself in wrestling, most days being the first student to enter the ring and last to leave. Kowalski, who Hunter says usually maintained a distant relationship with his students, took a special interest to him, spending long hours with him and giving him individual instruction.
Within five months, Hunter was on the pro circuit.
He wrestled his first pro match in Burlington, Vermont:
"I remember getting [screwed] on the payoff," he says.
Kowalski dubbed his young student "Terra Ryzing," put
the belt of his small New England federation on him
and pushed him as a monster heel.
"Because I was so much bigger than Walter's guys...
he wanted me to be [like] the Road Warriors of old,"
Hunter says. "I was just killing guys. I can remember
Walter having me clothesline 160-pound kids as hard as
I possibly could and thinking it was the funniest thing
he'd ever seen."
As Terra Ryzing, Hunter quickly made a name for himself
as an up-and-comer in the business and began to draw
attention from the World Wrestling Federation. Pat
Patterson, says Hunter, came to a Kowalski show and
scouted him for the Federation.
Growing up in Nashua, Hunter was an avid fan of
the federation, going with his father to shows at the
Boston Garden and other arenas throughout New England.
Just one year into his professional career, his goal
was landing a job at World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
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Triple H and then Commissioner HBK |
"I didn't want to go to the World Wrestling Federation
at all. If they had offered it, I would have gone, but
I felt that would eat me alive. I wasn't ready," he
says. "But I felt like WCW, I could go there. Their
product was so cheesy and lame anyway, I wouldn't be sticking out in that crowd. And at the same time I could learn about TV, because I had no TV experience. I didn't know how to talk, I didn't know how to [perform before] the cameras, nothing."
Rather than wait for WCW to come knocking, Hunter
made his own break. Light on experience, Hunter came up with a creatively enhanced resume- claiming experience far beyond his own-- and some photos, and sent them to WCW offices in Atlanta in 1994.
Soon he was flying-- at his own expense -- to Atlanta
for a tryout. He worked two matches in any empty building,
which were taped ostensibly for WCW executives to evaluate.
Hunter was offered a two-year contract at a beginner's
salary. He instead asked for and received a one-year deal,
and went home to New Hampshire.
"I was in the kitchen getting something to drink,
and my girlfriend goes, 'Holy $&*@, you're on TV!'
I ran out and there I am, Terra Ryzing in WCW, wrestling
that job guy my first day there. I knew the cameras
were rolling because they were filming it to take a
look at it, but they told me they weren't going to use
it on TV."
His Terra Ryzing gimmick was short-lived, as his name
was changed to Jean-Paul Levesque, and he eventually
tag-teamed in a "Blue-bloods" gimmick with Lord Steven
Regal--foreshadowing the "Greenwich Snob" Hunter
Hearst Helmsley character he would adopt in the World
Wrestling Federation a year later. He kicked around from
program to program, receiving only a tepid push.
Feeling confident in his abilities after his first
year was up and eager to escape WCW, Hunter called
Vince McMahon and set up a meeting. After meeting with
McMahon, Hunter interpreted the Federation Chairman's
reaction as being lukewarm. He returned to work his one
and only WCW pay-per-view match at 1994 Starrcade,
putting over Alex Wright.
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Triple H at the video shoot of *The Kings* Video |
The next day, in his Chicago hotel room, Hunter received a frantic phone call from his mother in New Hampshire. Then-Federation official J.J. Dillon was urgently trying to reach him. Dillon put him in touch with McMahon, who immediately offered him a job.
"Vince got on the phone and said, 'It's not a matter
of would you like to come here, I want you to come here, I really do. I'm offering you a slot, a good slot in our company.' I replied, 'Well, you just hired a new guy then, because I went to get the [bleep] out of here anyway."
After arriving in the Federation in 1995, Hunter
found himself under the wing of Shawn Michaels, one of the Federation's hottest stars. They formed a close
friendship which still endures today, and Michaels
was instrumental in helping Hunter continue his rapid
progress as a Superstar. However, Michaels and his core
group of friends, known as the "Kliq," also had a
reputation for disruptive behavior.
Hunter was no exception. Only 25 at the time,
he embraced the bad-boy lifestyle and attitude and at
times it cost him dearly. He freely admits his mouth
as well as the company he kept landed him in trouble,
and hurt him when it came to receiving pushes.
"Sometimes I've made bad decisions business-wise, and
I've run my mouth," he says, "and a lot of times it was
because of the people I was around. A lot of my heat
came from that and all those things...a lot of times I
[screwed] up. I was a young and [impressionable] kid
who was just starting out in a crazy business.
"I don't drink and I don't do drugs, but I did a lot
of other stuff. And until you mature out of it, it's there.
There was a point in time a few years ago when I got
tired of all that and I started really focusong on
business."
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Triple H proving why he is the top heel. |
His rededication to the business paid off. He first
tasted Federation gold with an Intercontinental title
reign from October 1996 to February 1997 and won the1997 King of the Ring title.
It was in September of that same year when the
transformation of Hunter Hearst Helmsley, promising
mid-card talent, to Triple H, "the Game" and Federation Champion began. And its genesis came from the very things that held him back not long before -- his friendship with Michaels and their irreverent, rebellious attitude.
At the One Night Only pay-per-view, Hunter, Michaels
and Chyna introduced themselves as "Degeneration-X," smart-mouthed, wise-cracking heels who pushed the boundaries of good taste at every opportunity. The
reaction was instantaneous-- DX was a huge success with fans and rose to a dominant position in the Federation.
But the dividends didn't pay off immediately for Hunter.
His role within DX was seen by many as "Shawn's Boy," or
"Shawn's Caddy." Yet he was happier and more confident
than ever.
"Forming DX was like my emergence from being in [oblivion]
and getting a second chance," he says. "And yeah, I had
to be a sidekick to Shawn Michaels. Shawn was the
world champ."
Perceptions notwithstanding, Hunter's stature in
the Federation grew during his time with the original
DX. He held the European championship twice in 1998,
and his mic work within DX segments showed the sarcastic,
humorous side of his character. Then, suddenly,
he thrust into the main spotlight.
Michaels had been battling a severe back injury for
much of his title reign, and after he dropped the belt to
Austin at Wrestlemania XIV in March 1998, he disappeared
from TV and abandoned his role as an active superstar.
DX was Hunter's ball to pick up and run with, and he
eagerly attacked the role.
Now comprised of Hunter, Chyna, X-Pac and the
New Age Outlaws, DX went on a long successful run as
babyfaces. The irreverent humor was still their trademark,
and where he used to work as a straight man to Michaels'
jokes, Hunter was now the one leading the way on the mic
and in the ring.
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He is the Game! |
Then came the next step in his transformation --
Wrestlemania XV the following year, Hunter turned
heel and abandoned DX. He was now preeminent as the top heel in the company -- a role he has maintained ever since.
Despite subjecting himself to the jeers and taunts of
fans, and costing himself in the merchandising
department by abandoning the successful and lucrative DX babyface role, his role as top heel is the one he relishes most, is best at, and fiercely protects.
"The hardest thing in our business right now...
is to be a heel and not get cheered," he says. "It
actually bothers me right now as a heel when I see
signs in the crowd that say 'Triple H is God' or 'Triple
H Rules.' I go, 'Damn! I hate that!' I'm very conscious
of what I do and how people react to things.
"I can do the funny [stuff], I can come up with
catch phrases, I can cut great promos and all that. I
don't, and there's a very good reason, because that makes
you a babyface. When I cut a promo I listen for the
smallest reactions, like, 'People thought that was
funny, I've got to be careful.'"
He cultivated his role and soon had created one of the
most loathed and despised characters in many years.
Unlike the many "cool heels" in sports-entertainment
who earn the cheers of fans with their antics, Triple H
was just plain hated-- and he loved every second of it.
Midway through 1999, it was clear that there would
have to be changes atop the Federation's talent structure.
Due to chronic injuries which sidelined both Austin
and Undertaker, The Rock had catapulted into the slot
of top fan favorite. Mick Foley was not far behind. For
the role of The Rock's and Foley's foil and archenemy,
there was only one choice: Triple H.
He main-evented Summerslam in a three-way title
match in which Austin dropped the belt to Foley.
The next night on Raw is War, Hunter beat Foley to win
his first Federation title.
The skeptics went ape. They howled with derision
at the sight of Hunter wearing the greatest prize
in the entire industry. Although he was the Federation
Champion, they said he couldn't carry the ball. Yet
Hunter had already seen this reaction; it happened
when Michaels first won the championship. And those
same critics turned just as quickly on Michaels when he
became World Champion. Hunter saw this before and had
learned to ignore the critics.
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"I'd won them over pretty good in DX," he says. "I
turned heel and they were like, 'He sucks, without DX he's nothing.' When the decision was made and they were going to put the belt on me, nobody thought I could handle it. 'Oh, he's not a champion. He's not ready for that. He can't carry it. He doesn't have the personality.' And now here it is, many months later."
While the critics wailed, there was no such skepticism behind the curtain. Hunter's work ethic was paying off. He emerged as one of the premier leaders in the
locker room, and his relationship with management
changed from leery concern to solid respect and admiration.
Now Hunter was the first to enter the building and
the last to leave; he was the guy giving advice
and helping fellow workers with their promos. As the
Federation's roster got younger and younger, Hunter
gained in status.
"You can't just be a leader," he says. "People have to
put you in position to be a leader. Guys have to look up
to you, guys have to...look to you for things and look
to you as a role model. I think that I eventually
matured into that spot, and as it was offered to me. I
was ready to take it."
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"Triple H's rise to the next level is obviously there
for all to see," says Jim Ross, Federation Senior Vice
President for Talent Relations. "However, the leadership
he provides behind the scenes in our locker room may be
his greatest contribution to the Federation over the
long haul. He is a tremendous role model for all young
athletes who want to be players in our business."
Even the skeptics began to turn his way, and the buzz
about him being the best heel in the business gained
steam. To him that mattered little -- he didn't pay
attention when they were burying him, and he wasn't
about to now that they were saluting him.
"I'm more flattered when a guy I've never worked
with before comes up to me and says, 'You're the best guy
I've ever been in the ring with,'" he says. "Or when
a guy like J.R. [Jim Ross], who's seen a million of
them, tells me, 'Brother, when it comes to being a heel
you are the game.' Those are the people who are inside
the business, not fans watching from outside. Those are
the people -- it's having the respect of my peers.
"I'm glad the fans can enjoy what I do and that
they love hating me. The heat I generate is the ultimate
compliment. That’s the stuff that makes me go, 'Great!'"
credit: hhhlovers.net
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