10 WWE Wrestlers That Went From The Top To The Bottom Then Back Again

9. Triple H

Asuka Money In The Bank 2020
WWE

Much is made of Triple H's 1996 burial following the actions of himself, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall on the latter pair's final night with the company, but it's as much to do with what he lost than what he had to endure.

Revisit the year and things aren't that bad. He's back on pay-per-view by October (the Curtain Call was May), Intercontinental Champion a night after that and bouncing from story to story between then and the hug being realised in storylines courtesy of D-Generation X airing it on Raw in 1997.

But they were ready to make him 'The Game' long before he'd learned how to properly play. The King Of The Ring may have given him his dream series with backstage bestie Shawn Michaels had the pair managed to politic Vader out of the way, with the rehab job set to make up for his WrestleMania XII humiliation designed to be the push he'd have to sit on missing out on for another three years.

It was all a blessing in disguise - he was as ready for the second attempt as he wasn't for the first.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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