10 Reasons Why 1997 Was WWE's Most Important Year Ever

7. Hunter Hearst Helmsley Gave Way To Triple H

The Hunter Hearst Helmsley gimmick was very limited. We all knew that. As Paul Levesque got comfortable in WWE, he likely did everything he could to get rid of that character. The gimmick of a rich guy from Connecticut may have got over huge in the late 1980s or early 1990s, but it wasn't going to thrive in what would become known as The Attitude Era. To Triple H's credit, he knew he had to make changes and he did. Not only did he join Shawn Michaels in the Degeneration X stable later in 1997, he was also smart enough to bring in Chyna as his female bodyguard. Who has a female bodyguard? Nobody. Hunter thought it would allow him to stand out and get heat from the crowd. It worked. As mentioned when discussing Mick Foley, the feud was big for Triple H too. He morphed from the degenerate blue blood to the ass kicker Triple H during that rivalry. It's amazing to see how he changed from when he won King of the Ring 1997 to their awesome cage match at SummerSlam 1997. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9xuY1InRrA Following SummerSlam, Hunter really found himself as he joined up with his real life best friend Shawn Michaels to form Degeneration X. Two years after that he was a top guy in the company and the rest is history. Without 1997, Triple H isn't the star that he is today. It was a breakout year for him.