1. The Degree Of Triple Hs Punishment For The MSG Curtain Call Was Severely Overblown
Part of the Triple H story was how he overcame a complete burial job from the WWF as punishment for the Curtain Call at Madison Square Garden where Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, both babyfaces, hugged Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Diesel, both heels, in the middle of the ring, breaking kayfabe, which was extremely taboo at the time. As the story goes, Diesel and Razor were leaving, so they couldnt be punished. Shawn was the champion so he couldnt be punished. Therefore, the only person who could be punished was Triple H, who was removed from being booked as King of the Ring that year, opening the door for Steve Austin to win. But what else exactly constituted punishment for Helmsley? Hunters punishment consisted of constantly losing to Marc Mero in house shows more than 30 times in a row over a three-month period. Keep in mind that Mero was a babyface and Hunter was a heel; it would make sense for the babyface to go over on a house show to keep the crowd happy. When WWF would tape its TV shows, Helmsley would still go over the enhancement talent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1vb2tN4XjQ In August, plans were already put into motion for Helmsley to win the Intercontinental title by teasing friction between Hunter and Mr. Perfect. By October, Hunter was champion. So yes, it was a demotion. Yes, he was originally scheduled to win the King of the Ring and was taken out of the booking (he would win a year later). Yes, somebody might consider constantly losing to Marc Mero to be hell on earth. But one might also argue that Hunter had to do nothing as degrading as the Hog Pen match, which took place in 1995, months prior to the MSG Curtain Call Incident. His punishment wasnt nearly as bad as the history books make it out be. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @PocketSeagull
