10 WWE Superstars That Were Pushed And Then Punished

6. Triple H

In a modified version of his gimmick in WCW, Triple H started his WWF career as a Connecticut Blueblood as his in-ring prowess shone through. Ultimately however, it would be his backstage friendships that would be a detriment to his career... For a little while. He was pitted in a series of what were really nothing more than meaningless rivalries, but rivalries that built his character up. So much so that Hunter was hand picked as the man to take on the Ultimate Warrior on his return to WrestleMania XII. You would have to think that was like being picked as The Undertaker's Mania opponent today. Somewhat of an honour. Things were going swimmingly for Hunter Hearst Helmsley, right up until 1996 that is... First of all he had to deal with the Marty Garner incident, where he Pedigreed the enhancement guy on his head, and the now infamous Madison Square Garden curtain call. The combination of those two incidents saw his place on the card take a hammering. The Garner incident, which was settled out of court after the jobber tried to sue the then WWF, is lost in the midst of the furore surrounding the hug that was accused of killing 'kayfabe' and the art of professional wrestling. The Game, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Diesel took to the ring and hugged it out at a live event even though their characters were involved in conflicts with one another. Of course the two founding members of DX had to say goodbye to their pals. Triple H was reportedly in line to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament in a move that was intended to take his career into a completely new stratosphere. That honour was taken away from him and given to Stone Cold Steve Austin, as the 3:16 movement took its hold on WWF. Triple H was shunted straight to the bottom of the ladder and forced to climb it once again by Vince McMahon. Everything turned out OK for Triple H in the end...