10 Incredible Transformations From Jobbers To WWE Champions

4. Triple H

Kokina Yokozuna
WWE

It almost never comes up, but did you know that Hunter Hearst Helmsley was told to "eat sh*t and learn to like the taste of it" by future Father-In-Law Vince McMahon back in 1996 after breaking kayfabe at the end of a Madison Square Garden house show?

Indeed, Triple H's enforced sentence as a jobber-to-the-stars that summer has been needlessly well-documented over the years, but it's with some irony that his most famous humbling came two months before the fabled Kliq "Curtain Call".

A humiliating WrestleMania XII defeat to the Ultimate Warrior followed a routine Raw loss to Bret Hart in the build to the 'Show Of Shows'. This too after being backdropped into pigsh*t by Henry Godwinn at the prior December's In Your House and working two straight pay-per-views with Duke 'The Dumpster' Droese at the start of 1996.

It's funny; 'The Game's period in the sin bin is somewhat overstated (Helmsley was "buried" from May onwards, but back on pay-per-view and winning the Intercontinental Championship by October) but he spent as long before that in the doldrums when he was still technically in the good books. At least that rollercoaster readied him for life as the face of WWE's black (and gold) sheep on Wednesday Nights.

In this post: 
Yokozuna
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett