10 WWE Stars Loved For The Wrong Match
6. Triple H
Loved for: Triple H Vs. Cactus Jack, Royal Rumble 2000
This was the match in the immediate aftermath of which Triple H, undisputedly, emerged as bonafide main event material. Balancing selling with viciousness like a magician, he both put himself and the violent premise over. Easily, this could have translated as an exercise in egotism - as if Triple H was suddenly great because he inflicted unspeakable damage upon himself. This wasn't the case; he survived the match more than he revelled in its easy crowd-popping shortcuts. The match he deserves more credit for, however, cemented him as something even more prestigious than that...
Deserves as much, if not more credit for: Triple H Vs. The Undertaker, WrestleMania XXVIII
A superb, classic match in itself, the achievement of End Of An Era reaches beyond simply stealing the show from The Rock and John Cena. The shortcuts of the stipulation and the weaponry notwithstanding, when Trips - having performed perhaps the most heart-stopping near-fall in the history of the company - retreated to the staging area arm-in-arm with Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker, he brilliantly positioned himself, literally, in their company.
This was Triple H, the worker, allied with Triple H, the wrestler. He doesn't call himself The Game for nothing.