It's hard to think of Triple H ever being in WWE or Vince's bad books, but the most infamous case of a wrestler's push being stunted happened to the COO himself on May 19th, 1996. That night, at Madison Square Garden, was Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's last matches at the venue before going to WCW. Nash, Hall, and Triple H, along with Shawn Michaels and X-Pac, made up the backstage group known as The Kliq, and after Michaels and Nash's main event steel cage match, Hall and HHH (who had wrestled each other earlier in the night) came down to the ring so the group could have one last goodbye. This infuriated a lot of WWF management, and although Vince McMahon was said to have okayed it, it was deemed repercussions were necessary. Hall and Nash were expempt as they were leaving, and HBK was their biggest star, so the brunt of the punishment fell on Triple H. What's interesting is the effect this had on wrestling history, as Triple H's punishment included not winning the King of the Ring, which led to Steve Austin winning, Austin 3:16 being born, and the upswing of momentum would eventually lead WWF to victory in the Monday Night War.
What's interesting is the effect this had on wrestling history, as Triple H's punishment included not winning the King of the Ring, which led to Steve Austin winning, Austin 3:16 being born, and the upswing of momentum would eventually lead WWF to victory in the Monday Night War.