Triple H interviewed by The Masked Man

[Overly Critical Man]

HHH is burying HBK so hard in that poster.

[MORELOCK]

 

The thing where Val went heel on Foley and actually beat him in a ppv match happened in 1999. That angle was spun off the Rock N Sock Connection when Foley gave Rock his own personalized Mr. Socko (Rock-o) and Val stole it and wouldn't give it back because he liked stuffing it down his trunks.

 

I had completely forgotten that angle.  Foley selling absolute horror as Mr. Rock-O was snuggling Val's johnson was patently absurd.  Thank you for reminding me how ridiculous 99 Russo WWF was

 

Val going over Foley happened at No Mercy 1999. Russo jumped a couple of weeks before that, so he may not have been responsible.

[Kuetsar]

Owen, (RIP), was responsible for any main event blacklisting, after the Owen Driver. He shouldn't have died, and deserved alot better than that, obviously, but I can see why no big star would want to risk themselves after that. . .Brock and Rock leaving kept the HHH show going alot longer than it might have, in regards to not having many credible alternatives, same with Austin as his injuries. Great interview, and he seems to have some good ideas to keep the business going. If only they can purge some of the damn sports entertainment bullshit after Vince croaks. . .

[Victator]

Owen was not going to work with Austin. That was strictly Michaels and Triple H. There was no reason he could not have had a good run as European Champion. Instead they decide to over push Chyna and kill off at least two long time gimmicks. 

[Matt D]

I think Triple H '95-'97 or maybe '98 got a fairly normal WWF "young guy we have faith in" push, overall.

 

In '99, they pushed him way beyond where he was at, but, as mentioned, there really wasn't another choice.  He had the look, the size, and the in-ring skill to get in the ring and go, Austin was breaking down, Foley was out of shape, Big Show wasn't really clicking, and they had nobody to step in against Rock except Triple H.

 

The latter half of '99 stuff is fascinating, because Trips is being pushed as hard as any heel (other than that brief bit where Show had the belt that got dropped in a hurry) and he is absolutely working his ass off in the ring, but it's not quite clicking.  The Foley feud and the Mania win combined to make him the most hated guy in the business, in the good way.

 

Does Steph impact this?

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

 

I think Triple H '95-'97 or maybe '98 got a fairly normal WWF "young guy we have faith in" push, overall.

 

In '99, they pushed him way beyond where he was at, but, as mentioned, there really wasn't another choice.  He had the look, the size, and the in-ring skill to get in the ring and go, Austin was breaking down, Foley was out of shape, Big Show wasn't really clicking, and they had nobody to step in against Rock except Triple H.

 

The latter half of '99 stuff is fascinating, because Trips is being pushed as hard as any heel (other than that brief bit where Show had the belt that got dropped in a hurry) and he is absolutely working his ass off in the ring, but it's not quite clicking.  The Foley feud and the Mania win combined to make him the most hated guy in the business, in the good way.

 

Does Steph impact this?

 

Why would you ask that? It's like playing the Dragonzord song, except instead of a badass giant Dragon robot, Phantom Lord rises from beneath a sea of neckbeard.

[Victator]

You got one more time to compare Dragonzord to Phantom Lord. 

[username]

It has been many years so I may be very off on this, but didn't Triple H's contract come due shortly before he got his big push to the heavyweight title?  I recall rumors at the time that he was promised a title run as part of staying, god knows how legit they were, but if true it would explain in part why they go so strong behind him at that particular moment in time.

[Matt D]

 

 

I think Triple H '95-'97 or maybe '98 got a fairly normal WWF "young guy we have faith in" push, overall.

 

In '99, they pushed him way beyond where he was at, but, as mentioned, there really wasn't another choice.  He had the look, the size, and the in-ring skill to get in the ring and go, Austin was breaking down, Foley was out of shape, Big Show wasn't really clicking, and they had nobody to step in against Rock except Triple H.

 

The latter half of '99 stuff is fascinating, because Trips is being pushed as hard as any heel (other than that brief bit where Show had the belt that got dropped in a hurry) and he is absolutely working his ass off in the ring, but it's not quite clicking.  The Foley feud and the Mania win combined to make him the most hated guy in the business, in the good way.

 

Does Steph impact this?

 

Why would you ask that? It's like playing the Dragonzord song, except instead of a badass giant Dragon robot, Phantom Lord rises from beneath a sea of neckbeard.

 

It was a stimuli. She was part of the act just as he was getting over bigger than ever. People remember her very unfondly but early in the turn i do think she helped his act. I refuse to go back and watch this stuff to find out though. She certainly helped Jericho turn face since the crowd hated her so much.

[Victator]

I think Stephanie helped at first. But by Wrestlemania 2000, she wore out her welcome. Getting hit by the Rock Bottom should have been the end of her on TV. By then it signaled she was not going anywhere. I think that was the problem with Vince as well. Wrestlemania 15 should have been his end as a regular character. But he kept coming back to mixed results. He always produced good matches, but his character was never consistently entertaining. Then Austin disappeared and WWE became a power fantasy for an elderly rich guy. 

[Petey]

It has been many years so I may be very off on this, but didn't Triple H's contract come due shortly before he got his big push to the heavyweight title?  I recall rumors at the time that he was promised a title run as part of staying, god knows how legit they were, but if true it would explain in part why they go so strong behind him at that particular moment in time.

 

I've heard this recently although I'm also unsure if it's true. However, it's funny to think how different things would have turned out for Triple if he jumped to WCW. WCW still dies and he probably never gets the opportunity to shine like he did in WWF and winds up being treated by Vince like another Jeff Jarrett.

I think Stephanie helped at first. But by Wrestlemania 2000, she wore out her welcome. Getting hit by the Rock Bottom should have been the end of her on TV. By then it signaled she was not going anywhere. I think that was the problem with Vince as well. Wrestlemania 15 should have been his end as a regular character. But he kept coming back to mixed results. He always produced good matches, but his character was never consistently entertaining. Then Austin disappeared and WWE became a power fantasy for an elderly rich guy. 

But if Stephanie leaves after WrestleMania 2000, we never get the awesome love triangle with her, Triple H and Kurt Angle (and the stuff with Trish Stratus). I think Steph should have stayed on until HHH went out with the quad injury. She was mostly useless in the Alliance angle (not counting that fun segment where Rock and Jericho ran her down) and was horrible when Triple H returned and she aligned with Jericho.

[Victator]

I could live without that love triangle never happening. 

[Jiji]

Let's be real here, that was pretty great. "Where is it written that a guy and a girl can't be just friends?"

[Domino_Not_Deuce]

Let's be real here, that was pretty great. "Where is it written that a guy and a girl can't be just friends?"

 

Was Kurt's abstinence promo around that time?

 

"Join me in Olympic Heros for Abstinence. The best sex is no sex."

[Matt D]

The boom ended the second they botched the Angle payoff. 

[Petey]

I could live without that love triangle never happening. 

 

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't want to live without that love triangle happening.

 

The boom ended the second they botched the Angle payoff. 

There's a lot of truth to this. It felt like the first time in the Attitude Era they decided to tell the fans, "no, we're not gonna give you what you want and you're gonna like it!"

[Newb82]

Without the HHH-Steph-Kurt triangle, WWE has to figure out how to kill 15 more minutes during SummerSlam 2000 instead of showing THE KISS 30 times.

[JohnnyJ]

The sad thing about HHH is that you can honestly tell that he means well. And he may be an excellent talent scout. And he may be a champion of workers we want to see pushed. However, whenever you hear him talk, he comes off as delusional regarding his place in history and his current ability as a draw. He also can't help himself but bury a fellow worker (Foley) and crap on the skills of Indy workers.

 

Every single thing HHH has touched since the summer of punk has turned to crap moments after his involvement. And since the guy and his family run the entire company, he can't blame bad booking or creative. He may try to paint a picture that he wants to be in a non-wrestling role and Vince pushed his hand to face Lesnar at mania but does anyone honestly believe that for a second? HHHs involvement with Lesnar was a 6-month blackhole which by the time mania came around got little to no reaction. It took Punk and Heyman 5 minutes to turn Lesnar back into money.

 

I also found it amusing that his shots at Foley about not being realistic involved him plotting out his match against his non-wrestler brother in law and his 60+ year old father in law. It has always bothered me when non-wrestlers are even allowed to get a single move or punch in against a pro. It's not realistic.

 

And HHH can crap on the skill set of indy talent all he wants, it's not a coincidence and it's not because of wwe developmental that two of the biggest indy names of the last ten years are at the very top of the card.

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

Punk and Bryan's success was with WWE, not in spite of it. The amount of nerds whining about Team Hell No being a burial blew my mind.

[Cristobal]

Team Hell No was a moderately stupid gimmick that worked because intense, pissed-off Bryan is best Bryan, and Kane actually does good comedy when he's got good material for it, and the Dr. Shelby skits somehow got the best writing WWE's ever had.

[JohnnyJ]

Punk and Bryan's success was with WWE, not in spite of it. The amount of nerds whining about Team Hell No being a burial blew my mind.

It seems to me that in order to make your point you created a straw man who was anti-team hell no. When the team was put together bryan was already well on his way to earning the rep as being someone who could work with anything handed to him and it was comedy gold from day one.

[Petey]

What's your point Vanessa?

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

 

Punk and Bryan's success was with WWE, not in spite of it. The amount of nerds whining about Team Hell No being a burial blew my mind.

It seems to me that in order to make your point you created a straw man who was anti-team hell no. When the team was put together bryan was already well on his way to earning the rep as being someone who could work with anything handed to him and it was comedy gold from day one.

I guess you don't stray far from the walls of DVDVR, because nerd whining was prevalent.

[The Man Known as Dan]

 

 

Punk and Bryan's success was with WWE, not in spite of it. The amount of nerds whining about Team Hell No being a burial blew my mind.

It seems to me that in order to make your point you created a straw man who was anti-team hell no. When the team was put together bryan was already well on his way to earning the rep as being someone who could work with anything handed to him and it was comedy gold from day one.

I guess you don't stray far from the walls of DVDVR, because nerd whining was prevalent.

 

 

To be fair, the internet is a scary place outside of here.

 

That's not even a joke. I almost drove myself insane trying to talk reason into fans at other boards, and I avoid wrestling fans I don't know like mad now a days.

[Reggie20x6]

 

Let's be real here, that was pretty great. "Where is it written that a guy and a girl can't be just friends?"

 

Was Kurt's abstinence promo around that time?

 

"Join me in Olympic Heros for Abstinence. The best sex is no sex."

 

 

And he delivered his message at Penn State.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7hcde_kurt-angle-funniest-moments_sport

 

I'm always partial to his disgusted response to HHH's rehab time. "I tear my quadriceps all the time. I tore it this morning - I'm fine. I'm here, I'm jumping around."