10 WWE Careers That Were Transformed In One Year

6. Triple H - 2000

Cm Punk 2010 11
WWE

Triple H was far from a one-year-wonder in his quarter of a century career, no matter how cynical your writer or others reviewing his life's work may get during periods of particular praise for the 'Cerebral Assassin'.

But he was only 'The Game' in 2000.

It's just another piece from the puzzle that is his extremely complex legacy. He worked his way to over-pushed upper midcarder in 1999, but the following 12 months saw him walk, talk and wrestle like the main eventer he'd obviously always been in his head. He may have managed to carry that form on had he not be struck down by the quadricep injury in May 2001, but the guy that returned in 2002 wasn't it to such a degree that his own security helped tank a product for a generation of fans that never came back.

He's never deserved all the plaudits heaped upon him by a company he's had a hand on the wheel of for well over a decade, and if anything, the perpetual praise undermined the actual good he did in the role. At his commercial and critically acclaimed peak, "That Damn Good" was an understatement.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett