10 Wrestlers Who Got Smaller To Get Bigger

9. Triple H

Akira Tozawa Transform
WWE

Yes, we notice the eyes of the entire room rolling: Triple H, quite obviously, absolutely ballooned in body mass ahead of his actual advancement to the main event stratosphere. Shredding faster than a tax cheat following a tip-off about an IRS visit (or perhaps more relevantly, a steroid distributor after sniffing the FBI) wasn't necessary in 1999, but it was at the forefront of the agenda for Paul Levesque in 1995, were he to land a dream job not too far from his native Nashua.

Vince McMahon had been down to Atlanta to scout Levesque, performing in WCW as the villainous Terra Ryzin'. A man of, um, Terra's vascular girth couldn't really fit into WWE's slimmed-down New Generation, and it it was only when the rookie dropped the mass in keeping with his new blue blood gimmick, Jean-Paul Lévesque, that Stamford offered terms. The relatively lissom thoroughbred was added to WWE's stable, repackaged as Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He'd never be this small again - in any way.

In this post: 
Akira Tozawa
 
First Posted On: 
Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.