2. Triple H
Triple H is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of the WWE. No one can deny his talent or his perseverance. He came back from a large punishment in 1996 (after Curtain Call at MSG) and truly succeeded on his merit in the organization. Also nepotism, yup there was that too. Frankly, Triple H has never been one of my favorites. I've always felt he was extremely overrated. John Cena is a star. Steve Austin was a star. The Rock was a star. Triple H was a good hand who made it into the main event. And his BFF status with Shawn Michaels helped his career exponentially. In 1999, during the height of Attitude, WWE needed a large number of main event talent to toss the title back and forth like a hot potato (to give the you never know what's going to happen feel). With Foley basically retiring, Austin dealing with injuries and Big Show not really working out, Triple H stepped in. It's impossible to deny that he was a student of the business. He also worked really hard. His first and second title reigns, while unmemorable, attached him to a very important person in the WWF, Stephanie McMahon. And while Steve Austin was injured in 2000, Triple H was given the time to shine with the storyline focusing of the McMahon-Helmsley "Era". By the point, HHH was the Game ("tribute" to Owen Hart, who was originally supposed to get the gimmick) and the Cerebral Assassin. He moved into position three in WWE as the top heel. He reached the pinnacle as an unlikable heel. His Two Man Power Trip tag team with Austin was the closest Austin got to actually getting booed during Austin's terrible heel run after WrestleMania X8. It appeared that Triple H was going to be the top heel/close to top heel for another few years at least. And then the injury occurred. Triple H tore his quadriceps muscles in his leg. This injury has been ended the careers of many professional athletes and is very difficult to come back from. And to Triple H's credit he did work hard to heal and get strong again and come back even stronger. Why is Triple H so high on this list? Because during his long absence from television (May 2001-January 2002), his real life relationship with Stephanie McMahon flourished. They had already started dating. I am insinuating that this real relationship had something to do with Triple H's success. Wrestling is notorious for nepotism. It is accepted. (Greg Gagne, David Flair etc. etc.) During his time off, his relationship with Stephanie got stronger, and lasted. Now, do I mean that Triple H would not have gotten married to Stephanie if he hadn't gotten hurt? No, I still think they potentially would have. But as my uncle taught me, there is nothing a woman likes more than a wounded warrior. Triple H's mighty return in 2002 easily could have fizzled (especially after losing the Undisputed title after 30 days to Hulk Hogan of all people) but Triple H was in. By 2003, he was a McMahon, then literally handed the world title and started making up for all the WCW guys he couldn't squash during the invasion by squashing the careers of Goldberg, Booker T and Scott Steiner. And now he runs the company. Yay for you. Triple H. Huzzah.