10 WWE Storylines That Saved Wrestling Careers

5. Becoming A Degenerate (Triple H)

D Generation X
WWE.com

Road Dogg and Billy Gunn weren't the only ones struggling before degenerate swagger saved them from the wilderness.

If you've ever wondered why WWE refrain from shining a spotlight on Triple H's career pre-DX, it's because there wasn't much going on. Still working the tired "Greenwich snob" character that had been sucking hard since 1995, Trips needed a fresh injection of charisma and a ticket out of mid card hell.

He got it when real-life friend Shawn Michaels, along with Chyna and (briefly) Rick Rude saved the day. D-Generation X was born, and it became one of the era's defining gimmicks. Plucked from a dead end run and placed into a group that mixed frat boy humour with HBK's fan credibility, Triple H finally had purpose.

Before that, he was working decent-to-good matches against Goldust and Mick Foley without really convincing anyone he was top line material. Not even a 1997 King Of The Ring win could help when the privileged blueblood guise was so one-note.

DX changed everything.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.