10 Biggest Regrets From Triple H's WWE Career
3. Headlining WrestleMania X8
Triple H’s 2002 headline match is less egregiously bad in the ring than the two ‘Mania closers previously mentioned. It’s prime Hunter vs. Chris Jericho, and both work as hard as they can to give the crowd something to remember.
The problem is that the crowd’s capacity to make new memories has been frazzled by Rock vs. Hogan, icon vs icon. Never has an audience given so much to a match before, lifting an adequately worked bout into transcendence by sheer fan excitement. Needless to say, by the time the main event rolls around, they’ve had their fun.
Unlike the ‘Mania XXV debacle, they really should’ve seen this one coming. Hogan’s first WrestleMania in eight years, facing off with The Rock, was always going to be the biggest match on the card, and it wasn’t even close.
What’s more, inaugural Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho played third wheel in his own title match to the marital strife of Helmsley and Stephanie McMahon. Unsurprisingly, this is not a fondly remembered WrestleMania closer. It’s no dud, but it’s the wrong match at the wrong time.