10 Fascinating WWE SummerSlam 1998 Facts
4. Triple H Worked The Ladder Match With A Severe Knee Injury
The true star-making performances of the night went to two Intercontinental-level guys that would end up as top dogs before long: The Rock and Triple H. After a so-so two-out-of-three falls match at Fully Loaded the previous month, Rock and Helmsley tore the Garden down with a ladder match for the ages. Amazingly, Triple H held up his half of it on one good wheel.
Helmsley had been hampered by a bad knee going back weeks before the pay-per-view. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the two were expected to have a "dry-run" ladder match at the August 16 house show in Columbia, MO, but were unable due to Helmsley's injury. Triple H's ensuing reign would be short-lived, vacating the Intercontinental belt in late-September, and not returning fro surgery until the end of November.