10 Wrestlers Who Killed Their Own Push
5. Triple H
Kayfabe is well and truly dead in 2017, but that wasn’t necessarily the case in 1996. Vince McMahon had blown it apart by admitting wrestling was fake a few years prior, but “protecting the business” remained a priority onscreen and throughout locker-rooms around the world, and particularly among those of an old-school mentality.
Unfortunately for himself, Triple H was at the heart of one of WWE’s most notorious kayfabe-breaking incidents that year, when, along with fellow Kliq members Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Shawn Michaels, ‘The Game’ took part in the infamous Curtain Call incident at a Madison Square Garden house show. The group hugged and embraced each other as an “farewell” to Hall and Nash, who were set to leave for WCW, and management were enraged.
Faces and heels just couldn’t be seen fraternising in such a way, but Hall and Nash were departing, and Michaels was WWE’s top star. This meant that the punishment fell solely on Triple H, who went from championship contender to borderline enhancement talent in just a few weeks. He’d eventually become one of the biggest stars of his generation, of course, but Hunter suffered in the immediate aftermath.
He took full acceptance of his punishment, and was crowned Intercontinental Champion five months later.