On April 2, 2000, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, better known as Triple H, achieved what no other heel in the history of Wrestlemania
had ever done before- he walked away with the belt as the WWF World Heavyweight Champion. He had showed millions of people that
good guys do finish last.
Throughout his tenure as a WWF badass, Triple H has leaped over all the hurdles and opponents thrown his way, proving once and
for all that he is wrestling's all-time greatest heel.
Ever since its inception in the '80's, Wrestlemania has not only been the Super Bowl of professional wrestling, it has also been
the gauge to judge whether or not a particular wrestler had what it takes to be over with the audience, especially the Worl Heavyweight
title holder. Vince McMahon will not hand over that belt if he's unsure of the talent winning it. After all, the WWF champ is the main
personality by which his federation is judged, so he's not going to let jusy anybody win it!
But this time the decision wasn't going to be that easy. Yes, he was still owner of the federation, but now every member of his family
had a say in the outcome of the matches, especially this one. This was going to be a Wrestlemania where the family was divided. Vince
would have the WWF's meal ticket, The Rock, in his corner. His wife, Linda, had the WWF crowd pleaser, Mick Foley, in hers. Shane
sported the federation's giant, The Big Show, on his side, and Stephanie was 100 percent behind her husband, Triple H.
But was the family really that divided on this night? For the millions who tuned in, it made good Tv, or Pay-per-View in this case!
Helmsley's talents and mettle were reallygoing to be tested on this night as he was pitted not only against 3 of the toughest grapplers
in the history of the federation (The Rock,Mick Foley,and The Big Show) at Wrestlemania 2000 in a Fatal Four Way Elimination match, but
more important, his in-laws.
In the week leading up to the event, no one was giving Triple H a chance of keeping his title. The Rock was the fan favorite and most
logical choice as Hunter and "The People's Champion" had been bettling throughout the year with one another, and it would have been
only fitting for the good guy to unseat the bad guy for the heavyweight strap. Also, with the Rock being the WWF's most popular wrestler
and a babyface, it just seemed too perfect a situation to ignore. Oh yeah, and as I mentioned above, he also had the WWF owner on his side.
The next logical choice was Mick Foley, Foley and Helmsley have badass history behind them, as each of their matches was one slugfest
after another, with Hunter usually coming away with the victory. This would have been sweet revenge for Foley to beat his nemesis in front
of millions of his loyal fans. He was also on the verge of retirement and what better for the WWF to pay homage to a grappler who put his life
on the line each night for the federation. Foley was the underdog everybody was rooting for and had a chance of going out on top.
No one was really giving The Big Show any chance either, but he had an ace in the hole in having Shane in his corner. With Shane "O Mac by his
side nothing was beyond the realm of possibility. Shane was the type of guy The Big Show needed watching his back, as the boss's son had the
reputation of doing whatever he had to do in order to get the victory--even if it meant going against his family.
So the deck seemed stacked against Helmsley that April night in Aneheim, but Hunter proved to everyone that he was up for the task. The knock-down-
drag-out, no-holds-barred war saw The Big Show get knocked out of action first, followed by Mick Foley, leaving good versus evil, The Rock against
Triple H, to duke it otu for the right to be called champion.
In a shocking turn of events, when it looked as though Hunter was going to fall to The Rock, Vince turned heel on the popular wrestler and assisted
Helmsley in getting the pin and win. McMahon cited that he did it for his daughter and family's sake that night, but the guess here is that Mr. Mac
thought that Triple H was deserving of the honor.
But Hunter didn't become the greatest heel by being good in the ring. He got his name because he has proven throughout his career that he will stop
at nothing to achieve his goals. He likes to kick ass, not kiss it. He also has the uncanny ability to hook up with the right people at the right time.
This is especially true when it comes to his female partners in crime. His first piece of arm candy was the ninth wonder of the world, Chyna. The
fearless lady had Helmsley in all his shenanigans, and if anyone tried to get in hius way, she would be there in a moment's notice.
Together they helped form one of the most lethal posses in the history of wrestling in D-Generation X. This wouldprove to be a very important association
for Helmsley in his career, as DX , known for their rude behavior, was over big with the fans and this put Triple H constantly in the limelight. So having
Chyna by his side hepled get him over with the fans and also helped him get by certain opponents on certain nights.
The other arm candy in his life that helped Triple H get to where he is today is none other than Stephanie McMahon. Although the legitamacy of their
"marriage" is still a topic of discussion, what with the video clip of him and a passed-out Stephanie riding througha drivethrough wedding chapel in Vegas
is still fresh on everyone's mind, there's no doubt the Stephanie will stand by her man through thick and thin.
A perfect example of that fact came right after the showing of that clip when Hunter introduced the wrestling world to his new wife, and Vince vowed to
get revenge on the sneaky villain. Hunter agreed to square off with Vince in a matchthat, if he lost, he would have to divorce Stephanie, and the match
would speak volumes about Hunter's influence on his now-wife. During the December 1999 Pay-Per-View show, when Vince was about to strike his son-in-law
with a sledgehammer, Stephanie ran into the ring and stopped her dad from slugging Hunter, claiming that she wanted the pleasure of doing it herself.
But the daughter of the boss dropped the hammer and Triple H picked it up and nailed her father for the win. Just when it looked like Helmsley was going
to strike his wife also, he stopped and smileed and the 2 lovebirds gave each other a beautiful hug, right after they had double-crossed the elder McMahon.
With his 5 chasmpionship belts, and surely more to come, triple H has reinvented the role of the heel in wrestling and has gone on to become the best bad
guy to ever grace the mat. he is the villain the fans love to hate, and just remember, without heels like Triple H, there are no heroes.
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