Why Triple H Was REALLY Never the Same After 2002

[What?]

I've been looking at alot of 2000-01 stuff and I started comparing the Triple H of that period to the post-2002 return guy, and I lined up all of the oft-mentioned reasons:

• He gained too much mass
  
• He flopped as a face
  
• He buried guys, etc.
  

And though, those might very well be valid arguments, I want to point out that he was only a face for 7-8 months before being a heel for nearly 4 years. I think he has negatively affected the momentum of a few guys over the years, but not to the extent that is made out to be.

He also went over guys regularly in 2000-01 (Jericho, J. Hardy, Big Show, Kurt Angle)..and Austin never got a pinfall on him, either. Actually, Triple H won the year-long feud with Stone Cold at No Way Out 2001.

However, I will say he did get too big, which made him move significantly slower in the ring (quads had caused that as well)..

But I think the biggest reason that there was something missing with him was because Stephanie was no longer his manager. I think as annoying as she was to some people, they had that heel chemistry that really put him over. Just look at the before-after picture: in 1999, Triple H was a main-eventer, yeah, but even with Chyna, he seemed incomplete.

A boring typical Triple H promo was helped by Stephanie grating on people with the mic..it also added a dimension to the creativity of the angles he was involved in. She was a big part of why he was so good in 2000/2001.

I honestly believe this.

[gonzo16]

Dec 22, 2011 0:25:50 GMT -5 What? said:

I've been looking at alot of 2000-01 stuff and I started comparing the Triple H of that period to the post-2002 return guy, and I lined up all of the oft-mentioned reasons:

• He gained too much mass
  
• He flopped as a face
  
• He buried guys, etc.
  

And though, those might very well be valid arguments, I want to point out that he was only a face for 7-8 months before being a heel for nearly 4 years. I think he has negatively affected the momentum of a few guys over the years, but not to the extent that is made out to be.

He also went over guys regularly in 2000-01 (Jericho, J. Hardy, Big Show, Kurt Angle)..and Austin never got a pinfall on him, either. Actually, Triple H won the year-long feud with Stone Cold at No Way Out 2001.

However, I will say he did get too big, which made him move significantly slower in the ring (quads had caused that as well)..

But I think the biggest reason that there was something missing with him was because Stephanie was no longer his manager. I think as annoying as she was to some people, they had that heel chemistry that really put him over. Just look at the before-after picture: in 1999, Triple H was a main-eventer, yeah, but even with Chyna, he seemed incomplete.

A boring typical Triple H promo was helped by Stephanie grating on people with the mic..it also added a dimension to the creativity of the angles he was involved in. She was a big part of why he was so good in 2000/2001.

I honestly believe this.

I agree with the points on Stephanie and way too much muscle mass added, making him pretty immobile.

Another problem is the guy was working with the likes of Rock, Austin, Foley, Benoit and Jericho. He came back and had to work with guys like Hogan, Undertaker, Nash and those guys couldn't make him look nearly as good as the previous guys could pre injury. This especially hurt him because at that point with the injury thing and the muscle mass overkill he needed guys to carry him to good matches, and those guys couldn't.

[kerda]

Yeah, he just didn't have the same level of competition after WWE/F lost all of the triple-A Attitude era guys to retirement, injury or acting.

I loved Trips back in the day, but he was never a Shawn Michaels, or Ric Flair, or even a Chris Jericho, somebody who could work around their opponent's weaknesses and draw a great match out of seemingly anybody.

Triple H has always had his very methodical, technically proficient pace, but he's inflexible, and he needs opposition that either works a similar style (Rock, Austin, Undertaker), or who are flexible enough to bend themselves to it (Benoit, Jericho, Foley, HBK). When matched against guys who don't move at the same pace and can't bend to his style (Kane, Booker T, Randy Orton), the results are just really, really boring.

Triple H will probably go down as the most highly decorated "Very Good" wrestler in history. He'll always be respected, but he'll never be thought of as one of the ultra-popular Hogan/Rock/Austin/Cena "Name Brand" guys who carried the company, nor will he be placed into the Flair/HBK/Hart/Benoit category of athletic workhorses who always produced great matches, regardless of opponent. He'll be remembered as the guy who was a good, sometimes very good promo and a very good, sometimes great in-ring worker.