Before joining WWE, Levesque began his wrestling career with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993, wrestling under the ring name Terra Ryzing and later as Jean-Paul Lévesque.[2] Levesque joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1995 with the on-screen persona of wealthy sophisticate Hunter Hearst Helmsley.[1] He later changed his name to Triple H and adopted an alternative image in the stable D-Generation X (DX). After the dissolution of DX, Triple H was pushed as a main event wrestler, winning several singles championships.[3] As part of a storyline, Triple H married Stephanie McMahon, who later became his real-life spouse. In 2003, Triple H formed another stable known as Evolution,[3] and in 2006 and 2009, briefly reformed DX with Shawn Michaels.[7]
Overall, Levesque is a thirteen-time World Champion having won the WWE Championship eight times, and the World Heavyweight Championship five times (Triple H is also recognized as the first World Heavyweight Champion under WWE's lineage).[8][9] In addition, Levesque won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 Royal Rumble, and was the second Grand Slam Championship winner.[3]
Outside wrestling, Levesque has made numerous guest appearances in film and on television.
Wrestling career
Early career
Levesque was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. In his youth, he was a fan of professional wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Ric Flair.[1][4] Levesque became aware of bodybuilding at the age of fourteen; after graduating from high school in 1987, Levesque entered several bodybuilding competitions.[10] He was crowned Teenage Mr. New Hampshire at the age of nineteen. During this time, he met Ted Arcidi and began to consider a career in professional wrestling.[4][10]Levesque enrolled at Killer Kowalski's wrestling school in 1992 after it was recommended to him by Arcidi.[4][10] He made his in-ring debut on November 1 of the same year wrestling against Flying Tony Roy.[11] Levesque joined the Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF), which used trainees from Kowalski's school in their promotion. Here, he became the IWF Heavyweight Champion and started using the name Terra Ryzing.[2]
World Championship Wrestling
In early 1994, Levesque signed a one year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW).[4][12] In his first televised match, He wrestled as a villain and defeated Brian Armstrong.[1] He continued using the name Terra Ryzing until mid-1994, when he was renamed Jean-Paul Lévesque.[1][13] This gimmick referred to his surname's French origins and he was asked to speak with a French accent, as he could not speak French.[14] During this time, he began using his finishing maneveur, the Pedigree.Levesque had a brief storyline feud with Alex Wright that ended at Starrcade 1994[1] with Wright pinning him.[15] Between late 1994 and early 1995, Levesque briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal, whose snobby British persona was a good match with his similar persona.[13] The team was short-lived, however, as Lévesque left for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in January 1995 after WCW turned down his request to be pushed as a singles competitor.[2][13][14]
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
The Connecticut Blueblood (1995–1997)
As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started his WWF career as the "Connecticut Blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley.[14] Levesque appeared in taped vignettes, in which he talked about how to use proper etiquette, up until his wrestling debut on the April 30, 1995 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge.[16]
On May 28, 1996, Helmsley appeared on WWF Superstars against Marty Garner.[21] When Levesque attempted to perform the Pedigree, Garner mistook the maneuver for a double underhook suplex and tried to jump up with the move, causing him to land squarely on top of his head and suffer neck damage.[21] Garner sued the WWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on The Montel Williams Show.
D-Generation X (1997–1999)
Main article: D-Generation X
Helmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the 1997 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Mankind in the finals.[22][27] Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude formed D-Generation X (DX). This stable later became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos—spawning the catchphrase "Suck It", using a "crotch chop" hand motion,[28] and sarcastically deriding Bret Hart and Canada. By that point, Helmsley had fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick, appearing in T-shirts and leather. During this period, his ring name was shortened to simply Triple H.[22] Even after the DX versus Hart Foundation storyline ended, Helmsley continued to feud with the sole remaining member Owen Hart over the WWF European Championship. This ended in a match between the two at WrestleMania XIV, with the stipulation that Chyna had to be handcuffed to then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Helmsley won after Chyna threw powder into Slaughter's eyes, momentarily "blinding" him and allowing her to interfere in the match.After WrestleMania, Michaels was forced into temporary retirement due to a legitimate back injury sustained at the Royal Rumble,[29] with Triple H taking over the leadership position in DX,[22] claiming that his now-former associate had "dropped the ball". He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with the New Age Outlaws.[22][30] As 1998 went along, D-Generation X became more popular, turning the group from villains to fan favorites. It was also during this time that Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF villain, The Rock.[10] This storyline rivalry eventually led to a feud over the Intercontinental Championship, which Triple H won in a ladder match at SummerSlam.[10] He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury.[10] When The Rock won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series,[31] the rivalry between the two continued, as DX fought The Corporation stable, of which The Rock was the main star. Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25, 1999 edition of Raw in an "I Quit" match against The Rock, but the match ended when Triple H was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane.[10] This began a new angle for Triple H, as Chyna betrayed him by attacking him after the match and joining The Corporation.[10]
As part of the storyline, at WrestleMania XV, Triple H beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX.[10] Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping Shane McMahon retain the European Championship and joined The Corporation.[10] After Triple H's villain turn in early 1999, he moved away from his DX look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks, and adopting a shorter hairstyle.[10] Levesque's gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot.[10] After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin to a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam, which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match by pinning Austin.[32] The following night on Raw, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.[10]
Triple H dropped the WWF Championship to Vince McMahon on the September 16, 1999 edition of SmackDown! before regaining it at Unforgiven in a Six-Pack Challenge that included Davey Boy Smith, Big Show, Kane, The Rock, and Mankind. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at No Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show at Survivor Series. Triple H then continued his feud with Vince McMahon by marrying his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. He then defeated McMahon at Armageddon. As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; together they were known as the "McMahon-Helmsley Faction".[33]
McMahon-Helmsley Era (2000–2001)
Triple H feuded with Mick Foley in early 2000 in a storyline that ended with a Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out that sent Foley into retirement.[34] Triple H pinned The Rock at WrestleMania 2000 to retain the title,[35] but lost it at Backlash to The Rock.[36] He regained it three weeks later, in an Iron Man match at Judgment Day,[37] only to lose it back to The Rock at King of the Ring.[38] Hunter then entered a storyline feud with Chris Jericho, which culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Fully Loaded.[38]
A later storyline feud between Triple H and Steve Austin started when it emerged that Triple H had paid off Rikishi to run down Austin at Survivor Series, causing him to take a year off. In reality, Austin's previous neck injuries started bothering him again, forcing him to have surgery. In 2000, Triple H and Austin had a match at Survivor Series that ended when Triple H tried to trick Austin into coming into the parking lot to run him over again, only to have Austin lift his car up with a forklift and flip the car onto its roof 10 feet high. Triple H returned a few weeks later and attacked Austin. The feud continued into 2001 and ended in a Three Stages of Hell match in which Helmsley defeated Austin. In 2001, Triple H also feuded with The Undertaker, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven.[39] The night after WrestleMania, Triple H interfered in a steel cage match between Austin (who had just won the WWF Championship) and The Rock where he joined forces with Austin and double teamed on The Rock,[40] forming a tag team called The Two-Man Power Trip. Triple H then defeated Chris Jericho for his third Intercontinental Championship on the April 5 edition of SmackDown!,[41] and won it for a fourth time two weeks later by defeating Jeff Hardy. Triple H then became a tag team champion for the first time at Backlash when he and Austin defeated Kane and The Undertaker in a winner-take-all tag match.[42]
During the May 21, 2001 episode of Raw, he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury.[1][43] In the night's main event, he and Austin were defending the Tag Team Championship against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in the Walls of Jericho. Triple H ran-in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle,[1][43] causing it to come completely off the bone.[4] Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match.[4] He even allowed Jericho to put him in the Walls of Jericho, a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps. The tear required an operation, which was performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. This injury brought an abrupt end to the McMahon-Helmsley Era, as the rigorous rehabilitation process kept Triple H out of action for over eight months,[1][4] completely missing The Invasion storyline.
Return from injury (2002)
Triple H returned to Raw as a fan favorite on January 7, 2002 at Madison Square Garden.[4] He won the Royal Rumble and received a WWF Undisputed Championship match at WrestleMania X8.[44] At WrestleMania X8, Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship.[1][44] After holding the title for a month, Helmsley dropped it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash.[44] Triple H then became exclusive to the SmackDown! roster due to the WWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with Jericho, culminating in a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day. On June 6, Triple H defeated Hogan in a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship at the King of the Ring against The Undertaker but was unsuccessful at the event.
Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels had made his return to WWE and joined the New World Order (nWo). Michaels and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple H over to Raw in order to put him into the group. Vince McMahon, however, disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as the Raw brand's new General manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and bring Triple H over to the Raw roster. Triple H did indeed go to the Raw brand, reuniting with Shawn Michaels, but on July 22, he turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion, becoming a villain again. The following week, Triple H smashed Michaels' face into a car window to prove that Michaels was "weak". These events led to the beginning of a long storyline rivalry between the former partners and an eventual "Unsanctioned Street Fight" at SummerSlam, in which Michaels came out of retirement to win. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Michaels was carried out of the ring.[48]
Before September 2, 2002, WWE recognized only one champion for both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. After SummerSlam, champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to SmackDown!, leaving Raw without a champion. Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H in the form of the old WCW Championship belt.[49] Triple H retain his title against Rob Van Dam at Unforgiven when Ric Flair hit RVD with sledgehammer, and against Kane at No Mercy in title unification match which Triple won the IC Title and unified with his World Title, but he eventually dropped the belt to Shawn Michaels in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series.[50] He defeated RVD for the title shot at Armageddon with Michaels as special referee. He regained the title from Michaels in a Three Stages of Hell match at Armageddon.[50]
Evolution (2003–2005)
Main article: Evolution (professional wrestling)
He then ended his feud with Michaels, defeating him in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood.[52] After another failed attempt, losing to Benoit at Vengeance, he focused on Eugene, beating him at SummerSlam.[53] Triple H then regained the title from former associate Randy Orton at Unforgiven.[54] Following a Triple Threat World Heavyweight title defense against Benoit and Edge on the November 29, 2004 episode of Raw, the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time.[55] At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won the Elimination Chamber to begin his tenth world title reign.[56] At WrestleMania 21, Triple H lost the championship to Batista,[57] and subsequently lost two rematches at Backlash and Vengeance.[58][59] Following this, Triple H took some time off from wrestling, suffering from minor neck problems.[11]
Triple H returned to Raw on October 3, 2005 as part of WWE Homecoming. He teamed with Flair to defeat Chris Masters and Carlito. After the match, Triple H turned on Flair hitting him with a sledgehammer, sparking a feud between the duo.[60] Flair defeated Triple H in a Steel cage match at Taboo Tuesday for Flair's Intercontinental Championship.[61] Subsequently, Triple H defeated Flair in a non-title Last Man Standing match at Survivor Series to end their feud.[61]
D-Generation X revival (2006–2007)
Main article: D-Generation X revival
Shawn Michaels returned on the June 12 edition of Raw and soon reunited with Triple H to reform D-Generation X, turning Triple H into a fan favorite once again.[7] DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance in a 5-on-2 handicap match.[64] They continued their feud with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and the Spirit Squad for several weeks. They then defeated the Spirit Squad again on the July 18, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event in a 5-on-2 Elimination match. They then again defeated the McMahons at SummerSlam, withstanding the attack of several handpicked WWE superstars by Vince McMahon.[63] At Unforgiven, D-Generation X overcame the odds once again, defeating The McMahons and ECW World Champion Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match. During the match, DX embarrassed Vince by shoving his face in between Big Show's buttocks, and DX won when Triple H broke a sledgehammer over the shoulders of Vince McMahon after Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on him.[65]
At Cyber Sunday during DX's feud with Rated-RKO, special guest referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a weapon to give Rated-RKO the win.[65] At Survivor Series, DX got their revenge when their team defeated Edge and Orton's team in an Elimination Match.[66] In January 2007, at New Year's Revolution, DX and Rated-RKO fought to a no-contest after Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps (similar to the one he suffered in 2001 but in the other leg) fifteen minutes into the match.[67][68] Surgery was successfully performed on January 9, 2007 by Dr. James Andrews.[67]
King of Kings (2007–2009)
On June 23, 2008 edition of Raw, Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown brand as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft, in the process making the WWE Championship exclusive to SmackDown.[78] After several successful title defenses against Edge, The Great Khali, and Jeff Hardy, Triple H ultimately lost his title to Edge at the 2008 Survivor Series pay-per-view. He then engaged himself in a feud against Vladimir Kozlov.[79] After qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match at the No Way Out pay-per-view, Triple H won the match to win his eighth WWE Championship, surpassing the record originally set by The Rock at seven reigns.
Feud with The Legacy and DX reunion (2009–present)
During the 2009 WWE Draft, Triple H was drafted from SmackDown to Raw; since he was the reigning WWE Champion during this time, he brought the title to Raw due to draft regulations.[84] At Backlash, Triple H lost the WWE Championship to Randy Orton after The Legacy defeated Triple H, Shane McMahon and Batista in a six-man tag team match. Triple H was taken out on a stretcher,[85] and did not return until the June 8 episode of Raw, when he confronted The Legacy.[86] On the August 17 episode of Raw, Triple H reunited with Shawn Michaels to reform DX,[87] and defeated Legacy at SummerSlam.[88] At WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13, DX defeated Chris Jericho and The Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.[89] On the February 8, 2010 episode of Raw, DX lost the Unified Tag Team Championship to the team of The Miz and Big Show.[90]
Acting career
Commercials
His commercial appearances include ads in May 2006 for Miller Lite in which he debates "Man Laws" with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Eddie Griffin and Jerome Bettis.[91] That same month, he also appeared in a commercial for USA Network with Anthony Michael Hall, which cross-promoted Raw and Hall's show, The Dead Zone. Hall's character, a psychic, touches Triple H while he lounges beside a pool and has a vision of him falling asleep in the sun, and fellow wrestler John Cena slapping Triple H's sunburned back and leaving a handprint. He has also appeared in commercials for bodybuilding supplements such as Stacker 2 and YJ Stinger. Levesque also appeared in a Wendy's commercial holding up a Triple Classic Burger calling it the "Triple H Burger".[92]Film
Levesque appeared in the movie, Blade: Trinity, as a vampire enforcer named Jarko Grimwood.[93]Levesque has also appeared in several WWE Home Video releases, including Triple H: The Game and Triple H: That Damn Good in 2002, D-Generation-X, a reissue of the VHS version, in 2006, and The New and Improved DX in 2007. Triple H: King of Kings, a DVD covering his career so far, was released on March 25, 2008.[94]
Television appearances
Levesque appeared in an episode of the USA Network series Pacific Blue on August 9, 1998.[95] In December 1998, he did a guest appearance in The Drew Carey Show as the Disciplinarian.[96] He was also featured in the August 14, 2005 episode of MTV's Punk'd in which he was led to believe that he had ruined a wedding by hitting the bride in the face with a door and damaging her nose until Ashton Kutcher and Stacy Keibler showed up. Additionally, his television appearances include guest spots as Triple H on MADtv and Saturday Night Live, and as a character on an episode of The Bernie Mac Show. Levesque also won the WWE edition of The Weakest Link, in which he and Stephanie McMahon were the final two contestants. Levesque has also been a guest announcer for the Mr. Olympia competition.[67] On September 19, 2009 he accompanied Floyd "Money" Mayweather to the ring as he faced off against Juan Manuel Márquez.[97]Personal life
Before marrying Stephanie McMahon, Levesque was in a relationship with Joanie Laurer (who appeared as Chyna).[33] They dated from 1996 until 2000.[1]Levesque married Stephanie McMahon on October 25, 2003. On January 8, 2006, WWE announced that McMahon and Levesque were expecting their first child, due on July 27, 2006.[98] Stephanie McMahon continued to work and travel with WWE throughout her pregnancy, giving birth to an 8 lb, 7 oz (3.8 kg) baby girl, Aurora Rose Levesque, on July 24, 2006.[99] The couple had their second child on July 28, 2008, a daughter named Murphy Claire Levesque.[100]
He has a sister named Lynn.[4] His in-laws are Vince, Linda and Shane McMahon.
In late 2004, Levesque released a book entitled Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body. Mostly devoted to bodybuilding advice, the book also includes some autobiographical information, memoirs, and opinions.
