Ranking EVERY WWE Champion From Worst To Best
17. Triple H
Like everything to do with Triple H's career, assessing his WWE Championship legacy is complex. When he was good, he really was "That Damn Good". When he was bad he was hhhorid.
The belt was absolutely used to make the man in 1999 no matter what 'The Game' himself tells you, and the best thing about the industry's richest prize in the early 2000s was that it was on the opposite show to the one Hunter was stinking up with his sub-Harley Race/Ric Flair dirge. He was underrated as a stability champion on surprisingly solid SmackDown brand in 2008, but many of the plaudits seemed premature when a 2009 run with Randy Orton was boring enough to kill a WrestleMania main event as long as pay-per-views either side of it.
In spite of all of that though, his 2000 runs with the gold remain a monument to the brief period where he really was the best in the entire world. Business boomed in spite of Stone Cold Steve Austin's injury-led departure, and Triple H was perfect heel to oppose The Rock and Mick Foley as top babyfaces in 'The Rattlesnake's absence. So perfect in fact that fans wanted to cheer him, even though opportunities in November 2000 and April 2001 were squandered in order for Hunter to stay in his comfort zone.