10 Times Triple H Was Actually As Good As He Said He Was
2. Vs The Rock - SummerSlam 1998
This was the sh*t. Wrestling was the sh*t.
Presented as equals even if it was becoming clearer who would ascend to the top of the pile first, The Rock and Triple H's evocative Madison Square Garden Ladder Match at SummerSlam 1998 echoed some of the classics contested over the belt in a time where even the recent past might as well have been prehistoric.
The figurative became literal - Rock and Hunter were rapidly climbing the ladder in WWE, but they were in need of a match to signal it. Some prior pay-per-views had the opposite effect - the two looked like they were where they belonged rather than preparing to join Stone Cold Steve Austin changing the f*cking world atop a company that clearly couldn't be stopped.
Immaculately booked and performed, this was purposeful hard graft - the DX leader was a made-for-life babyface in the 'World's Most Famous Arena', while - thanks in part to his opponent's magnificent selling - 'The Great One' solidified a growing sense that he was about to become the biggest star in the world.