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The Game. The Blueblood. Degenerate. Outlaw. The King of Kings. There are a number of names that have followed him throughout his career and surely there will be plenty more to come. Triple H…Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He will go down into the record books as one of the most successful superstars in the history of the wrestling business. The Intercontinental title and the European title and the WWE title and the World Heavyweight championship; he’s won them all. And a lot of them he’s won on numerous occasions. Triple H has come a long way in this business and strives to be the best every single time he is out in the ring. When he proves it to the world, the words on the cover of this DVD ring true for there is only one.
WWE is great about putting together DVDs that showcase some of the greatest stars to ever walk down that aisle. Some of them have passed on, others have retired, and then there are those still holding strong everyday in the squared circle. Triple H started off small just like everyone else did and you’ll witness that firsthand by seeing a totally different looking person then the one coming out as Motorhead sings in the background. Triple H wasn’t known by that moniker just yet and started out signifying what all three “Hs” stood for. He was the blueblood from Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the elegant and proper Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
As the years went on and Triple H developed a friendship and partnership with the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels, he began to show a different side of himself. The snobbish attitude and nose pointed to the sky look had disappeared and a playful yet cruel side started to peek through. He began not to care what anyone else thought and played pranks, cracked jokes, and did whatever he pleased. Together with HBK and the “Ninth Wonder of the World” Chyna, Triple H became a full blown degenerate. It was merely appropriate that the trio take on the name that suited them best and became one of the most well-liked stables ever in wrestling, D-Generation X.
Over time, Triple H began to become his own entity and bigger then almost anything and anyone that crossed paths with him. Feuds with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the New Age Outlaws, Stephanie McMahon, the Rock, Vince McMahon, and numerous others filled his dance card out for months and years at a time. And then there were other instances where alliances with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the New Age Outlaws, Stephanie McMahon, the Rock, Vince McMahon, and numerous others simply meant Triple H would have an even stronger presence throughout the company. He would never actually need the assistance of anyone else, but if it was the right place and the right person, he’d align himself with them. Of course, these partnerships would last only as long as Triple H wanted them to and when they were over, said partners became mortal enemies.
Love him or hate him, Triple H has been around for over a decade and will be around for many years to come. He’s going to make you laugh or cry or smile or frown. Some days you are simply going to despise him and hope that he gets every breath beaten out of him by somebody because he’s just so smug and cruel. Then there are those times he’ll make you crack up laughing by shilling merchandise with Shawn Michaels that is available, “only on WWEshop.com!” He’s been around for almost fifteen years and for those that can’t stand him; I’m sorry, but he’s probably going to be around for many more. He’s accomplished almost everything and is perhaps the top star in the WWE right now no matter what anyone else can say about it. He is the king.
~ The King Of Kings – Simply a short music video with the “King Of Kings” song playing as a lot of Triple H highlights roll on by.
~ Getting Started – Triple H begins it all by saying he has wanted to be a wrestler since he was five or six years old. He started his training with Killer Kowalski and was seen at a show by Pat Patterson. Patterson told him that he’d come back in about six months and see how he’s improved, and if enough, then they’d bring him up to the World Wrestling Federation. He ended up getting hired by WCW first and after about a year, he had a match with Alex Wright at Starrcade.
A couple days later Vince McMahon called him, offered him a spot, and Trips gave his notice to WCW calling it the “best decision he ever made.”
~ Raw May 22, 1995: Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. John Crystal – This is Triple H’s debut in WWE(F) and is against a virtual nobody. Here is an early version of Hunter Hearst Helmsley that is a ponytail (with ribbon) wearing, skinnier, more technical version of the guy who would eventually go on to become one of the biggest superstars in WWE history. His original gimmick was that of a blueblood guy full of manners and etiquette. He even bows randomly throughout the match. Hmmm, he finished off John Crystal with an RKO/Diamond Cutter looking maneuver.
~ Pressure – It’s All On You & The Workhorse Title – Triple H gives some good information here talking about his first few months put a lot of pressure on him. He worked with a lot of local guys in matches and you never knew if you were going to go out there and be in the ring with an okay wrestler or a horrible one. And if the match was bad, it was all on him because the other guy was a local and didn’t matter.
He actually goes on to say that he learned a lot from Marc Mero. Triple H says this begrudgingly of course, but his matches with Mero forced him to be a ring general. Then he goes on to say the Intercontinental Title was the “Workhorse Title” back in the day won by guys like Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, and Shawn Michaels. I love this quote.
“While Hogan was putting in four minutes of posing, those guys were putting in thirty minutes and wowing people with their matches.”
~ Raw October 21, 1996: WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Hunter Hearst Helmsley Vs. Marc Mero – Hunter Hearst Helmsley was set to take on a returning Mr. Perfect here who had a bit of a limp thanks to Helmsley. Gorilla Monsoon stepped in and won’t let Perfect wrestle by what the doctors have said, so Mero is stepped up and offered to wrestle in his place.
This was a great match even though Marc Mero just incredibly sucks. It built up Hunter has a true heel here by getting help from another one of the greatest heels of all time, Mr. Perfect. Hunter got his first ever title in this match and it only made way for many more.
~ Chyna, Curtain Call, & The Crown – Trips said he and Shawn were on Vince’s case to make a group for a long time but he wasn’t up for it. Trips also was looking for a bodyguard type gimmick thing at the time. It’s a funny story though as to how they met Chyna. After an event, he and Shawn were walking through the hotel lobby and went to go say hi to Jack Lanza in the back who was talking to a huge bodybuilding chick. They went up to say hello and Jack said, “Oh hey hi, this is Joanie!” and he left. Both of them thought she was the bodyguard Trips had been looking for. When they took the idea to Vince, he just shot it down right away and hated the idea. Eventually though they got their way and it was huge.
Hall and Nash were Shawn and Trips’ best friends and when they got hired by a strong and fast moving WCW in 1996, and it wasn’t an easy thing to take. At their last show in Madison Square Garden before going to WCW, Shawn had asked if he and Trips could go out to the ring after the match for a goodbye. Vince was against it at first, but Shawn convinced him it’d be alright. The little curtain call ended up being caught on film with the four of them hugging and by the time Trips had gotten home, Vince’s secretary had called. HA! Hall and Nash were leaving and Shawn was champion so Trips thought this was it. Vince told him if he wasn’t where he already was, then he would have let him go, but he was going to have to be punished for a while.
By mid-1997, Hunter was back on the right track and had the Intercontinental Title back and was in the finals match with Mankind (Mick Foley). Vince was rather adamant about Hunter wearing the crown when he won, but he took it and smashed it on Mankind after the match. The next night on Raw, he was given another crown which he also smashed to pieces on Mankind. The third crown given to him was treated the same way showing Vince that Hunter just really did not want to wear it ever.
~ King Of The Ring June 8, 1997: King Of The Ring Final Match: Mankind Vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley – This was their first match together and it certainly would not be their last. Mankind had defeated Savio Vega and Jerry Lawler to get to the finals. Hunter had gone through Crush and Ahmed Johnson to face Mick for the crown. Being their first match together, let’s just say it isn’t one of the most exciting either. Very slow moving and kind of boring at times, but it was a major turning point in Hunter’s career so I can understand why it is included.
~ The Transformation – The Amplified Version – Ya know, seeing some of this stuff that was shown back in the day on Raw and various PPVs, I just didn’t get it all back then but now I do. For instance, Trips telling Vince in an interview, “You’ve always…been afraid of kliqs haven’t you?” Funny stuff.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley was turning before everyone’s eyes from the blue blood into a totally different character yet no one could quite put their finger on it. Vince told him to simply go out there and do what he thought was right. He did that, but a lot of what him and Shawn first did with DX pissed Vince off a lot. Every week they’d come backstage after doing a segment and get screamed at, but then next week were told to do it again because it worked.
I love how much Triple H puts over Owen Hart here as a great performer and one of the best wrestlers. He even says that Owen never got to scratch the surface of just how good he really was. Trips says it was a true honor to get to face Owen at WrestleMania.
~ WrestleMania XIV March 29, 1998: WWE European Championship Match: Owen Hart Vs. Triple H – Trips was now being introduced as “Triple H…Hunter Hearst Helmsley,” so the change was starting slowly here. Chyna would be handcuffed to Sgt. Slaughter for this match so she couldn’t interfere. Seeing this match makes me incredibly sad because I miss Owen Hart more then any other wrestler who has passed on, retired, or gone on to wrestle elsewhere. He was honestly one of the best I’d ever seen as a wrestler and just as a performer and speaker in the world of wrestling. This is a fun match between two of my favorites. It may not have been very long or ended cleanly, but it’s still great.
~ Elevating The Game – Triple H says here that the week leading up to WrestleMania XIV was hell because he was constantly focused on making sure Shawn was alright and that he was going to show up for the main event. He knew that the night after the event on Raw, he was going out to form his own version of DX and really become a big player but he hadn’t even had time to think about it. Shawn’s injury took him out for a long time and it was time for Triple H to step up.
Triple H and Chyna went out to the ring and were all that were left in DX, but they were soon joined by a third. X-Pac (Sean Waltman) had recently been fired by WCW and now was the newest degenerate. And later in the same show, the New Age Outlaws joined up. DX went from huge heels to gigantic babyfaces all in a moment’s notice. HA…they show the attack on WCW. But it was the ending of DX that made Triple H start to morph into what he is today.
He wanted to be higher up in his career like Austin was and being in the group wasn’t the way to accomplish it even if the other guys were against ending it all. Triple H changed his attitude and his look a little bit and became a man focused on the championship. He had elevated himself to main event status simply by turning on DX and venturing out on his own with Chyna.
~ Raw August 23, 1999: WWE Championship Match: Mankind Vs. Triple H – First of all, the Rock made his way out to the announce table and then Shane McMahon came out in a referee shirt to be the enforcer for the match. Awww man, this was some of my favorite Triple H music ever. Lillian seems to have a bit of trouble announcing here. Shane pretty much was biased as all hell here and it was evident from the start who was going to take it. There was a lot going on in this match with the original ref, Shane, the Rock, chair shots, and numerous other things but this was the beginning of it all. Triple H had won his first ever WWE title.
~ Being At The Top – Trips knew he wasn’t on top of his game yet, but was honored to have the title. Even though he won it in a not so clean type of way; he was still being trusted with having the belt around his waist and leading with it. Due to Shawn’s injury leading up to WrestleMania XIV, Triple H said he had to face Austin numerous times. So even before their own feuds, they had a lot of matches together already.
~ No Mercy October 17, 1999: No Holds Barred WWE Championship Match: Triple H Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – May I rant here for a second? I sincerely hate the blurring out of the scratched WWF logo on all these old matches. Here the entire thing isn’t even blurred out in some spots and just the bars on the F are. Hate it. Rant over, sorry.
Vince comes out as Triple H is headed to the ring and tries to take the sledgehammer away, but receives a fist to the head for his effort. My God was Austin insanely over or what? This match took place all over the arena as speakers and tables and even garbage cans were used by both men to take the other out. Austin even nails Triple H with the boom camera in a really cool shot. The ending involved the Rock which just proved how much these guys were the three big players back then and I loved all of it. There was a ruckus after the match too ending with Triple H and Chyna cowardly and heelishly escaping in a limo.
~ McMahon-Helmsley Era – Triple H says that this whole era started out of nothing. Triple H simply interjected himself into the Test/Stephanie wedding and it escalated from there. He goes through the whole shtick and how Chyna actually came up with the whole idea of interjecting himself into the wedding angle. He came up with something and brought the angle to Vince and he loved it. Vince came up with even more and it spread like wildfire from there. This DVD is really just tearing the walls of kayfabe down.
Mick Foley was the one then that came up with the idea of having the retirement Hell In A Cell match with Triple H. Trips’ main concern is not being able to make Mick look even better then he already will with this being his “retirement” match.
~ No Way Out February 27, 2000: Career Vs. WWE Title Hell In A Cell Match: Triple H Vs. Cactus Jack – This is a classic match that should be remembered by all wrestling fans. The stipulations were simple: if Mick Foley wins, he gets the title and if Triple H wins, Mick Foley retires. I’d call this my second favorite Hell In A Cell match right behind Undertaker/Mankind from 1998’s King Of The Ring.
Some of the bumps that both Triple H and Mick Foley take in this match are insane. You just don’t see the same type of Hell In A Cell matches anymore and this was only eight years ago. That camera shot of Mick Foley being backdropped through the top of the cage and then down through the ring is just insane. This match was a big point in Triple H’s career, but the shot of a teary-eyed Cactus Jack walking out “one” last time is something to always remember.
~ Injury & Return – This was back when Triple H and Stone Cold had joined forces for the “Two Man Power Trip” and quickly became one of my favorite tag teams ever. They were just two kick ass personalities and wrestlers joined together and it seemed as if no-one could stop them. During a match with Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit (yes they mention him by name and actually show him), Triple H planted his left leg and tore his quad. His entire quad had torn off the bone and everything around his knee had exploded which made him and doctors think he wouldn’t be coming back from it.
After surgery, Triple H said he basically moved into the Embassy Suites hotel in Birmingham so he could rehabilitate near Dr. Andrews and get back into shape. Man, it looked bad during and after the injury. He goes on to say that going through everything and coming back to the reception he got; well, that made it all worth it. Triple H has really jumped into the “Ric Flair heel/face” status. No matter what from now until his career is over, the WWE can make him be a heel or a face but the fans will always cheer for him.
~ Royal Rumble January 20, 2002: 30-Man Royal Rumble Match – Good God the ovation when his music hit was sick. Austin was the only one in the ring when his music hit, and it was showdown time. Triple H was the twenty-second entrant into the Royal Rumble and that is where this match picks up. Austin and Trips actually work really well together whenever someone else enters the match and eliminate them quickly. But then they go right back to beating down one another. The ending of this match had some really big name stars coming in: Faarooq, the late Mr. Perfect, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Booker T…it was a star-studded affair, but Triple H would not be held back from his ultimate goal.
~ The Return Of Shawn – Trips talks about he and Shawn Michaels had a falling out of sorts and it got kind of bad. Shawn was apparently really messed up and tried blaming it on Triple H, but that wasn’t going to fly. Soon though Shawn called Trips and they made up and all was right with the world. But Shawn wanted at least one more match so his son could see him wrestle and he only trusted Triple H with treating him right inside the ring. They kept having more and more matches and soon Shawn was back full time and by the time the 2 out of 3 falls match came about, Shawn was back to his old self.
~ Armageddon December 15, 2002: 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Shawn Michaels Vs. Triple H – The first fall is a street fight, the second is inside a steel cage, and the third, if necessary, was a ladder match. This match ended up going all three falls and was simply brutal. Triple H was busted wide open before the first fall was even done. There was a flaming board used, stacks of tables, the sides of the steel cage, and the ladder to inflict damage upon each other. All in all it lasted almost forty minutes and proved that these two longtime veterans could still go the distance. Awesome match.
~ The Rise Of Batista – Evolution was used not only to “get over,” but also to elevate new stars like Randy Orton and Batista. I never quite realized it until Trips described it here, but it was a great build-up for Batista to go from a virtually unknown big man into a superstar. He kept getting better in the ring and growing up and when it was time to go on his own, he turned on Triple H and Evolution. The long drawn out feud kept them apart until their showdown at WrestleMania 21 in which Batista got the better of Trips. Then Trips continued putting over Batista for another two months to make him even bigger. Backlash saw Batista win two in a row over Trips and Vengeance was possibly his final chance to get the belt back.
~ Vengeance June 26, 2005: Hell In A Cell Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Batista Vs. Triple H – Dave was in the awkward looking all white attire this evening. Another extremely brutal match that saw blood from both men and that includes the back of Batista. Trips hit him with a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire at one point just tearing him open in a few places. Quite surprising how good this match was because I’m not the biggest fan of Batista, but I give any man who can score three straight victories over Triple H credit.
~ Wrestling My Idol – Shows a nice build-up to their match. Triple H had tagged with Flair on an episode of Raw and then turned on him immediately after the match. Flair got beaten bloody and went from looking like a legend to appearing as a beaten old man. Trips enjoyed working with Flair and still admires him now as much as he did when he was younger.
~ Survivor Series November 27, 2005: Last Man Standing Match: Ric Flair Vs. Triple H – A living legend of numerous decades taking on one of the most decorated and greatest stars of the WWE today. I never quite caught on to how many bloody and just absolutely hardcore matches Triple H was involved in. Flair is of course the dirtiest player in the game and shows it a lot in this match with numerous low-blows and other cheating tactics. But in a match full of blood, screwdrivers, steel chairs, sledgehammers, and numerous pedigrees; you’ve got to pull out all the stops.
~ The Next Generation – If what Trips says here is true, then a little of the hatred and dislike I have for John Cena has gone away. He says that after their first match together, Cena walked up and asked Triple H what he thought. Triple H looked him right in the eyes and told him, “you suck and you need a lot of work.” Cena took that advice and said, “Ok then, tell me what I can do to get better.” Being able to actually take criticism like that and not shy away from it but use it as motivation is a big thing.
Triple H said that Edge is someone who has come into his game and can really hold his own. He was happy to be involved in this angle because he never got much of a chance to work with Edge even with all the time they’ve been in the business together.
~ Backlash April 30, 2006: Triple Threat for the WWE Championship: John Cena Vs. Triple H Vs. Edge – Triple threat matches are kind of hard to judge because there is either always a lot going on or one person is knocked out for a while as the other two battle it out. All in all though it was a good match with Trips getting bloodied again and Lita taking a nice bump as well. Not my favorite match in this set, but still decent enough to check out.
~ What’s Left To Accomplish? – Triple H has virtually done it all and there really isn’t much more for him to do in the wrestling world. He knows that his “to do list” is pretty much finished, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to hang it all up. If there comes a day he doesn’t think he can entertain fans anymore and give it his all, then he’ll let it go. But until that day comes, he’s simply going to keep trying to find that sold-out building and give fans the best wrestling possible that they paid to see.
The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format for the most part since all the matches are shown this way. Even going back as far as 1995, they all look really good. Triple H’s little interview segments are shown in Widescreen with him just sitting in front of a background and they look good as well.
The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and everything sounds great too. All the commentary is heard through the center speaker while the crowd noise and entrance themes along with the pyro surrounds the room.
In Your House December 17, 1995: Hog Pen Match: Henry O’ Godwinn Vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley – A first ever for WWE; the match actually takes place with a hog pen near the entrance and is guest refereed by none other then Hillbilly Jim. A much smaller Triple H comes out and is not pleased with having to step his elegant feet into the horrible dirt complete with pigs. Henry Godwinn comes out holding his bucket of slop. This is a bit of a comedy match with the winner being the first to put their opponent in the pen. Surprised this match got close to twelve minutes.
Triple H – First Professional Match: Burlington, VT November 1, 1992: Terra Ryzing Vs. Flying Tony Roy – Jim Ross and Triple H provide the commentary for this extra match. It takes place in what looks like a school gymnasium. Trips has a solid flattop mullet…wow! He actually looks bigger here then he did when he debuted in the WWE. The commentary is the best part of all this because Trips gives a nice history of how the name Terra Ryzing came about, his time with Killer Kowalski, and his debut in WCW. At one point Triple H does a sunset flip and JR calls it a “nice sunset flip.” Triple H responds with, “Yeah which you’ll never see me do nowadays.” And believe it or not, Triple H actually did the job.
Trailers – The Best of Raw: 15th Anniversary and The Legacy Of Stone Cold Steve Austin
Triple H is quite honestly one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. I enjoyed him back in his early days when he was the snobbish blueblood that walked around the ring during the match with his hand tucked behind his back. Later on with DX and even into today, it is his humor and realism that makes him so enjoyable to listen to during his promos and vignettes. Throw on top of that the fact that he can make anyone look good in a match and just constantly entertains no matter who he is up against. King Of Kings demonstrates that in the matches chosen for this DVD set, but I wish it had been done like the Bret Hart or Road Warriors sets instead. Show a big documentary story and then include the matches all by themselves on the second or a third disc. Whenever Triple H talked about things and went over some of the stories backstage with him and Shawn or with Vince, it caught my interest so much and all I wanted was to hear more. The documentary portion probably adds up to only about thirty to forty minutes if all put together and it deserved a lot more attention. Maybe after he retires we’ll get a better one.
Still, King Of Kings showcases a lot of great matches from Triple H all in one collection with some cool stories thrown in between. The special features are rather limited, but what more do you want? The main attraction gives so much as it is. This set is well worth picking up, but let’s hope that once Triple H retires, we get a better set with a true lifeline documentary.
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WWE Home Video presents Triple H: The King Of Kings – There Is Only One. Featuring: Triple H, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Batista, and many more. Running time: 360 minutes on 2 discs. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: March 25, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
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