One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every Year Of WWE History

30. 1995 - Triple H’s Problematic WWE Debut Opponent

WWE's Deepest Secrets Vince McMahon
WWE.com

The Hunter Hearst Helmsley gimmick was death. 

The core idea was a winner - the pro wrestling fandom has always hated a moneyed snob, and Helmsley wasn’t too far removed from Ted DiBiase, Jr. - but where DiBiase perfectly embodied the evils of Reagan’s ‘80s and was an all-too-familiar ghoul, Helmsley was an antiquated cartoon of a character. His in-ring was ponderous and tedious, too. He only approached being vaguely over when he was paired with good acts - Chyna and Shawn Michaels - after which pro wrestling changed forever. Triple H is WWE now, or at least that’s the intention of the intense drive to create a new “era” - which is basically TKO’s bid to exorcise Vince McMahon in order to disassociate the brand from him. 

Paul Levesque’s office career was spent, ultimately, trying to vanquish a monster and take WWE as his own. This wasn’t some benevolent act on his part. He loved that monster and married into that monster’s family. But if you take the most cynical view, he played the game to win WWE outright. 

He started as he meant to go on; in his very first televised WWE match, Helmsley defeated convicted sex offender Buck Zumhofe.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!