Ranking Who Was Really The Man In Wrestling Every Year 1990-2020

21. 2000 - Triple H

Austin Jericho
WWE

It's closer than even the faint praise suggests - his critics enjoy pointing out that Triple H was only ever not the B+ Player he denies himself to be for one calendar year - but even The Rock's record of most 10,000+ houses drawn in a single year cannot deny the Game's polymath brilliance.

Triple H was the perfect nemesis to the Rock - you can't draw gates like that with Billy Gunn or the British Bulldog - and he entered incredible in-ring performances that, in tonal range, were Gary Strydom flexes. Triple H ascended to Ace status in a fiercely competitive era with blood-soaked wars against Cactus Jack and precision-balanced TV mini-triumphs with Taka Michinoku.

When he finally rose to the main event, he elevated all around him to it.

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!