The Worst Year Of Triple H's WWE Career

Triple H Intercontinental Champion
WWE.com

Triple H has lived a charmed life, regardless of all the stories of how he was buried for a "year" after the Curtain Call, or how tough it was to be the guy getting pushed while dating the bosses daughter, especially when the boss decided you couldn't even be together anymore, or...

Well, that's it, isn't it? Those are the horror stories. Two of them. And let's unpick those for just a second, to try and work out which best fits the titular brief of "worst of his career".

The Kliq said goodbye to one another following that steel cage main event at Madison Square Garden in May 1996, and only lowly midcarder Hunter Hearst Helmsley was there to take the rap afterwards. Shame too, because was about to win the King Of The Ring and he had to wait until 1997's tournament to receive his cape and crown. What a hellish year for him afterwards - he lost on television repeatedly, if you even saw him at all! The whole year! "Platefuls of sh*t" his future father-in-law told him he'd have to swallow. 12 miserable months. He definitely didn't appear in a 15 minute match with Stone Cold Steve Austin at October's Buried Alive, or win the Intercontinental Title the very next night on Raw, or defend it at December's It's Time, or January's Royal Rumble, or work WrestleMania against Goldust, or...

And as for the Stephanie McMahon situation, forget about it pal. That rocket-strapping he received in 1999 was grounded by 2001. Vince had long decided enough was enough, and his main event aspirations had as much chance of blossoming as their star-crossed love. No belts for 'The Game' because he played and lost, pal. Must have really sucked to be Triple H in 2000, huh? Like Romeo & Juliet but the fatalities were worse because people dying ain't got sh*t on the demise of work-based relationships and title runs.

Smooth sailing once he escaped those stormy waters though, right?

CONT'D...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett