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Triple H Announces His Retirement


Jazzy G

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Absolutely. I should be clear that I meant that it was confusing because of how he was presented in his very first moments in the WWF, and then how it immediately proceeded to go completely downhill. But, even then, he was still presented as one of the Alliance's big names, even if that didn't count for that much in the end. It just struck me as odd that they would waste someone who was more or less "oven ready" in a main event severely lacking in star power, ironically after the biggest acquisition the company had ever made. Obviously, we all know why that was, but, given how crap and injury prone Triple H was during that period, it seems weird that they'd expect him to carry the company until the emergence of Orton and Cena.

Naturally, hindsight tells us that what they did with Booker, pairing him up with Goldust for some of the most memorable angles and sketches ever, was probably better for him in the long run, as he ran with the ball he was thrown and got massively over with it. It just didn't make sense at the time, though.

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1 minute ago, BomberPat said:

the absolute worst of babyface Triple H.

I'd say HHH was at his worst as a face, he was never that likable and adept to playing a face in my opinion. The one time he seemed to genuinely be embraced as a face and could have done it (forgetting the "haven't seen you in a while" return) was 2000 but he bottled it because he didn't want to be 3rd player to Rock & Austin. 

A lot is made of his 98 dx bit but he was the lamest of the lot, pac was the cool one, Dogg was the fun one and hhh was the one making fun of a blokes turban outside a shop. He was better than Billy Gunn though. Not to knock his work bell to bell but he flourished as a heel. 

As a heel he was great when he tried to build the face up, but as has been said the time he was was a smaller chunk of time than when he wasn't. 

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My least favourite example of Triple H's politicking has to be the shitty pay off to the otherwise excellent Angle and Stephanie romance angle. The change benefited nobody, particularly the fans, but it did hurt Angle and that helped only Hunter, because Kurt with Steph, would've been a threat to his spot.

Similarly, Jericho and Stephanie having a purely business relationship in 2002 was shite as well. Them being a couple was such an obvious way to go and could've solidified Jericho as a top guy. Instead the feud basically became HHH vs Stephanie with Jericho carrying her bags and looking out of his depth. Again it benefited nobody.

Thinking about it though, The Authority might be the worst of the lot. He was semi-retired by that point, and well-established as an Executive. He had no spot to protect anymore but that's all the booking did: Underline that he was a PROPER star and no one else was on his level. Even Rollins, his supposed ally, would look like a total loser every time he was on screen with HHH and Steph. What was the point?

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In my opinion he was a relentlessly over pushed guy and I cant imagine anyone except the most loyal diehard WWE weirdo genuinely considering him to be one of the best all time.

He had his high points but for me he only ever truly excelled in gimmick matches (Cactus Jack feud) or if he was in with super workers like Michaels, B3noit and Danielson.

When I think of HHH, the first place my mind goes to is his absolutely cringe inducing WrestleMania entrances and the second thing is his long list of incredibly long and indulgent promos and matches. 

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51 minutes ago, Ironic Indie Lad said:

He had his high points but for me he only ever truly excelled in gimmick matches (Cactus Jack feud) or if he was in with super workers like Michaels, B3noit and Danielson.

Triple H is actually a pretty great brawler and I'd argue what he's best at. All his best matches were brawls. Sadly he seems to think of himself as a technician like Flair so instead of a career full of great brawls most his matches were boring as sin rest hold fests. It's why in ring he excelled in the Attitude era as matches were brawling/signature spots focused, once they moved away from that he was dull as dishwater.

Edited by LaGoosh
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18 minutes ago, LaGoosh said:

Triple H is actually a pretty great brawler and I'd argue what he's best at. All his best matches were brawls. Sadly he seems to think of himself as a technician like Flair so instead of a career full of great brawls most his matches were boring as sin rest hold fests. It's why in ring he excelled in the Attitude era as matches were brawling/signature spots focused, once they moved away from that he was dull as dishwater.

Which was completely at odds with his obsession with bodybuilding and being portrayed as an unshakable cool hardman.

 

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2 hours ago, unfitfinlay said:

My least favourite example of Triple H's politicking has to be the shitty pay off to the otherwise excellent Angle and Stephanie romance angle. The change benefited nobody, particularly the fans, but it did hurt Angle and that helped only Hunter, because Kurt with Steph, would've been a threat to his spot

As I've eluded to before I was always led to believe it was because he didn't want to turn face and be 3rd in the pecking order rather than seeing angle as a threat. I always thought he loved guys like angle and Benoit because they made him look great but he didn't see them as a threat to his spot. 

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2 hours ago, BomberPat said:

It might have even been in the same promo that he said that Booker T holding the WCW Title didn't matter because "everybody gets a turn", and buried Booker T (and DDP for good measure) as being no better than David Arquette. 

I’m going to give them a pass because “the guy from Scream, the dog from Married With Children” was hilarious to me at the time.

I think it may have been post-SummerSlam, in which case no damage was done because the Alliance was already fucked.

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Two of the worst things Triple H ever did, in my opinion.

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The little tweaks to his look were almost always fucking rotten. Especially in that 2002-05 period when he was also proper shitting it up with his never ending matches and promos. These two looks above were awful though. That ‘colourful pants’ phase he went through in 2003, I don’t know if it’s because I associate it with those turds against Steiner or what but it was crap. Didn’t help that it was coupled with him going clean shaven and rocking the double chin. Someone mentioned him basically trying to be a NWA tribute act and I always thought him adding the red and purple trunks was him trying to be a bit more Ric Flair-ish. Similarly, the old handlebar moustache, it was likely a nod to Lemmy but at the time I always saw it as him going for more of a Harley Race look. Especially with all his knee-based offence and him upping the growly voice in interviews. Surprised he didn’t just go the whole hog and perm his hair as well.

Don’t get me wrong, he was far from shit. But whereas Steve Austin and The Rock felt fresh and unique when they rose up to the main event, Triple H often felt like he was forcing it and cosplaying someone else to me. He was the least cool or interesting one in both versions of DX for me as well. Shawn was obviously the main man in the original group. Chyna didn’t do that much back then but she was unlike anything I’d seen in wrestling before. And Rick Rude, even as a ‘mute in a suit’ was way cooler just playing bodyguard than any of them. I didn’t buy Triple H as authentic at all at the time. He went from snooty snob to that weird period where he was still talking in kind of the posh voice and wearing the same gear but was suddenly crotch chopping and trying to be funny. I don’t think he fully shook that feeling of fakeness for a couple of years.

All that said, he did have a fair few matches I loved. The Foley and Jericho matches in 2000, basically anything he did with The Rock, some of the matches with Shawn, the series with Batista in 2005. Even a bunch of the TV matches he had with Taka, Rikishi, Bob Holly etc I really enjoyed.

All in all, I’d say he was a solid 4/10.

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Had a laugh reading that he made John Cena into a star. Cena became a star despite HHH. Cunt did everything he could to undercut him.

He's mostly boring shite but has had some great runs. 2000, vs Batista, vs Bryan and with Steph vs Ronda/Angle. The blue blood stuff was good fun and probably his best fit.

The Succssesion style political maneuvering thats led to his downfall is fascinating and absolutely hilarious,  although I do feel sorry for him. Seems like a decent bloke truth be told and you know there's a lot of broken hearts in that locker room now that Ace and Brother Love are in charge of their destiny.

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5 hours ago, Ironic Indie Lad said:

In my opinion he was a relentlessly over pushed guy and I cant imagine anyone except the most loyal diehard WWE weirdo genuinely considering him to be one of the best all time.

The person a lot regard as the greatest of all time in Stone Cold Steve Austin regards him as one of the best of all time so I’m not sure this is accurate at all.

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