The Rise Of Triple H | Wrestling Timelines

January 23, 2000 - Achievement Unlocked

triple h cactus jack royal rumble
WWE.com

At the Royal Rumble, Triple H finally arrives as a hulking, dynamic mega heel. Echoing recent history, Triple H is assisted by a valet in Stephanie McMahon: the owner’s innocent daughter turned bratty wildchild.

He is incredible at controlling the flow of the action and selling for the violent insanity of Cactus Jack in an iconic Street Fight. With his World Bodybuilding Federation physique and powerhouse spin on Jim Crockett Promotions ring work, Triple H masters the balance of kicking ass and showing ass. Foley is often credited for elevating Triple H, and that is very fair, but Levesque is incredible.

Triple H, on the night, is that damn good - and one of the best and most brutal matches in WWE history is the catalyst for his greatest ever year in the squared circle. He follows the Street Fight with a sequel against Cactus Jack inside Hell In A Cell. He’s so over that he can get away with retaining the WWE Heavyweight title at WrestleMania in a Fatal 4-Way match also involving Mick Foley, the Big Show, and the Rock - and is such a draw that, until InVasion 2001 shatters it forever, Triple H and the Rock break the buy record for a B-level pay-per-view at Backlash (675,000).

Beyond his incredible big match record - Triple H and the Rock contest an amazing series on pay-per-view - he proves his worth as a World champion Ace in the classic vein. On TV, he convinces the crowd that of all wrestlers Taka Michinoku takes him to the limit in April.

With key political enemy Austin on the shelf with a career-threatening neck injury, Triple H is a bonafide megastar.

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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!