8. Coming Out On The Losing End Of The Brock Lesnar Feud
Though Triple H won the Wrestlemania 29 encounter between himself and the Beast Incarnate, he came out on the losing end of the first match of the feud at Summerslam 2012, as well as the rubber match at Extreme Rules in 2013. What's important to note with his matches with Lesnar is that Triple H was playing the good guy the whole time, and traditionally would've come out on top at the end of it all whilst Lesnar received his comeuppance. While he ultimately did get some revenge, Lesnar ultimately came out victorious overall. He got to Hunter on a personal level by (storyline) breaking his arm, injuring his friends (breaking Shawn Michaels' arm, attacking the New Age Outlaws) and family members (namely his father-in-law, Vince McMahon), and managed to get both a pinfall and submission victory over The Game. In terms of sports-entertainment tradition, it would've made sense for the babyface Triple H to send the heel Lesnar packing. But at the end of the day, it served Lesnar better to come out on top here before going on to work his way through other big names on the roster like CM Punk and the Big Show, ahead of conquering both The Undertaker's streak and WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena.
