That Time Triple H Got His Hand Caught In The Cookie Jar

Having risen higher up the card as the new leader of the now formalised DX in 1998, displaying comedic chops in a breakthrough babyface role, Triple H still came unstuck at times. Very keen—too keen—to maintain his self-anointed coolest kid image, he famously said, during a guest commentary stint, “I’m bi a lot of things, but lingual ain’t one of them.”

Triple H was over in 1998. Be that as it may, there was something forced about his act. He was the obstacle on his own path to true superstardom.

Triple H turned heel in 1999 as his main event mega-push loomed, and defeated The Rock in a Strap Match, at Fully Loaded, to prepare for his SummerSlam showdown with Stone Cold Steve Austin…

…and Mankind. Either fearful of his own spot or in earnest protection of the wider business he had painstakingly rebuilt, Austin was not altogether keen to put Triple H over big, and thus politicked to instal Mick Foley as the designated jobber. Perhaps that is because Rock had incinerated Triple H throughout their verbal jousting. Austin didn’t fancy losing to the guy who to him merely played an elite, headline talent.

Triple H was no joke, but he was d*mn sure ripe for parody-uh, because-uh, he adopted an inflection-uh, in which he would be add the weird sound “uh” after every word-uh, and scream at the top of his lungs-uh about THIS BUSINESS-UH!”

CONT'D...(2 of 5)