The Rise Of Triple H | Wrestling Timelines

May 14, 1994 - First Day In WCW

Terra Ryzing
WWE.com

Levesque is still luminous green, but in the wake of the territory system collapsing, there’s a dearth of talent in the United States. Levesque is a body guy who boasts a good look and good connections, and receives a contract offer from WCW. Levesque subsequently claims that he is offered a multi-year deal, but asks for one year. The money is terrible and does not cover his road expenses. Moreover, Levesque wants to bet on himself.

He believes that he’ll show enough aptitude for the big time that he’ll quickly earn a better payday; if he turns out to be terrible, he says when sat at the negotiating table, WCW is rid of a worthless investment.

In his mainstream debut, he beats journeyman Jim Steele. Levesque is billed in WCW as ‘Terra Ryzing’. The pun is risible, and Levesque is quickly renamed Jean-Paul Levesque: a French snob drawing on the origins of his real surname. He is French despite not being from France because WCW, and his accent is laughably bad. Most people are bad at first - you only become good at things through hard graft - but Levesque is comically bad.

He’s not winning Rookie of the Year awards. He is not a prodigy. He’s a smart guy with a good look who is savvy enough to know which tapes to watch.

This is foundational.

This middling level of natural talent informs the drive within him to succeed at all costs, but also shapes a defensiveness that will see him get in his own way.

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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!