How Good Was Triple H Actually?
5. Rivalries
Triple H’s feud with the Rock was both fascinating behind the curtain and compelling onscreen.
Iron sharpened iron. The Rock was priceless when he ripped the piss out of Triple H and his growling, pretentious vocal tics, but he wasn’t so cocky when they shared the ring. They tried to eat each other alive. They were intertwined throughout the entire Attitude Era, and they always worked together like the other was capable of taking the top spot for good. The fierce spirit of competition underpinned every big match, even if the content was hardly groundbreaking.
Triple H had great chemistry with Steve Austin (when Austin started taking him seriously). Hunter’s big match series with the Undertaker was wildly uneven. They approached the five star, categorical classic a couple of times. They also sh*t the bed to dull or hilarious results. Conversely, Triple H and Mick Foley created magic together every single time. Foley was more giving than any wrestler ever, and smarter than most, so he knew how to go about it. He cast Hunter as a killer, and it suited him. The Batista feud was nothing less than one of the best WWE storylines ever.
Hunter and Shawn Michaels had it once, but since they always thought they were the greatest and coolest guys to ever do it, their series was mostly an excessive, masturbatory mess after SummerSlam 2002. The Triple H Vs. Randy Orton programme might be remembered as the most interminable, uninspiring long-term story WWE ever told, were it not for the fact that Orton’s feud with John Cena lasted even longer. Given how long the storyline lasted, and how quiet the one match was, Triple H Vs. Seth Rollins was a monumental waste of time.
In what is becoming a theme, this category is mixed, which is probably bound to happen when you’re as pushed as Triple H was over the years. There’s a solution in that sentence if you look for it.
7/10