Triple H was widely regarded as the best wrestler in WWE for the year 2000. As 2001 rolled around, he seemed destined to continue that legacy, putting in a hell of a brawl with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 17. Following that, Hunter continued his main event relevancy when he was paired up with freshly turned bad guy Steve Austin as 'the two man power trip' in May of 2001. It should have been a spot which elevated Hunter toward another WWF title run. Maybe he would have turned face and took on The Rattlesnake, or maybe Austin himself would have turned back to good and feuded with Hunter again. One thing for sure, the WWF needed The Game - Austin wasn't getting over in his new role and The Rock was taking time off to shoot a movie. You also had the influx of WCW stars adding huge instability to the entire company. Vince needed a constant, he needed Triple H. That wasn't going to happen. Hunter excruciatingly ripped his quadriceps muscle off the bone when his left leg fell awkwardly in a tag match with Austin against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. It's the kind of injury which ends most athlete's careers, but Hunter soldiered on through the match, even taking the Walls of Jericho in what was retrospect a stupid thing to do. He would end up out of action from May 2001 until January 2002. Some people believe he never full recovered, claiming he was simply never the same performer.
