10 Times Triple H Was Actually As Good As He Said He Was
8. Vs Cactus Jack - Raw, September 22nd 1997
Long before a returning Cactus Jack made Triple H, Hunter Hearst Helmsley made a returning Cactus Jack in an unexpected Madison Square Garden Monday Night Raw classic.
It's hard to think about the company in such wonderful form during a time where they're...less than that, but just about everything about this breathless brawl speaks to an organisation getting every last detail down.
The Jack persona was the last of Foley's "three faces" to appear in WWE, having been the one he'd used in WCW and ECW before his 1996 signing. It was also the perfect one, having been carefully explained and introduced in some exceptional sit down interviews between Jim Ross and the warped Mankind earlier that year. Mankind and Dude Love had gone through the ringer with Hunter, leaving him confident enough to take on a No Holds Barred match in the 'World's Most Famous Arena' to pay the summer-long series off.
He got the sh*t beaten out of him for underestimating the monster he'd unleashed. More back-and-forth than it was ever destined to be remembered as, Triple H got his fair share of shots in, but never over-egged his offence. This was an exhibition for both the 'Hardcore Legend' and hardcore wrestling in general. WWE were poaching plenty and presenting it as their own on a mainstream stage, but the future 'Game' was a spot on selection to play the Sports Entertainment outsider to it all.