It was a Beautiful Day 20 years ago today

[Jindrak Mark]

Especially for denim lovers.

[James Fabiano]

Oh god that music video.

Triple H and his lemonade glass.

[Totorob101]

Iv never been a triple h fan and hated his backstage antics but to give the devil his due,man no one can deny how over and popular he was and still is to this day,a legend for sure.

[tafkaga]

No one else can walk through a door, stand there like their arms are too big to go down, and then just stare at the floor quite like Triple H.

[Instant Classic]

One of my first memories of WWF. He will always be one of my goats.

[Ben Wyatt]

Goddamn, that was a great return pop.

[cornettesracket]

Ah the days of those type of pops from the crowd. Happy days.

[Jindrak Mark]

I remember they tried to recreate the success of the HHH/U2 hype videos for Kurt Angle's return a year later with Coldplay's Clocks used. Those were pretty good too. His return didn't get as big of a reaction as HHH's did but I think he was only gone for 3-4 months compared to HHH who missed 7-8 months.

Jan 7, 2022 13:13:10 GMT -5 cornettesracket said:

Ah the days of those type of pops from the crowd. Happy days.

You still get them from time to time. Recently we had two massive return pops within weeks of each other.

[Deleted]

It's fun to dunk on HHH, but that was a great moment. I can't take that away from him.

[cornettesracket]

Jan 7, 2022 13:22:28 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

I remember they tried to recreate the success of the HHH/U2 hype videos for Kurt Angle's return a year later with Coldplay's Clocks used. Those were pretty good too. His return didn't get as big of a reaction as HHH's did but I think he was only gone for 3-4 months compared to HHH who missed 7-8 months.

Jan 7, 2022 13:13:10 GMT -5 cornettesracket said:

Ah the days of those type of pops from the crowd. Happy days.

You still get them from time to time. Recently we had two massive return pops within weeks of each other.

Well to be fair the two guys in those videos are special and if they didn’t get the pops they did then there would have been a problem. In triple Hs case he’d been out with injury but was a full time member of the roster unlike Cena and Punk who weren’t. 

And because of that video in the OP I went down a nostalgia worm hole and I’ve watched a few of the old WWF my sacrifice videos. I realise we can’t live in the past, but wrestling was and still is(but not as often I’ve found) it’s escape for those of us on this forum and it brought back back good memories.

[cornettesracket]

Jan 7, 2022 13:29:41 GMT -5 @dax said:

It's fun to dunk on HHH, but that was a great moment. I can't take that away from him.

yes it was a great moment and according to Triple H himself the crowd reaction got him. He was worried the fans wouldn’t react at all. Boy was he wrong.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

Back in high school, for a video project to make a sports movie trailer, I insisted on "Beautiful Day" by U2 as the background song, with these vignettes in mind. Everyone told me that it wasn't a good choice for a sports movie, that it wouldn't fit, but I basically won by way of nobody really having anything better to suggest.

It worked.

Thank you, Triple H and WWE, for giving me something to feel smug about when I was a teenager.

[wendytorrancev1]

I loved when he made his triumphant return. He was even a babyface in his return to boot!

It's a shame it kinda came tumbling down when the dumb writers decided to make him and Steph start having irreconcilable marital issues. I kinda liked the dynamic of Trips being a total babyface, while Steph was still a heel.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

He’s one of the greatest heels of all time clearly, but HHH has always had an underrated ability to capture a crowd. Even if he can’t be that sympathetic face, he has been able to get some pretty big pops in the past through coming off like a conquering badass.

[Main Event Mark]

"...as loud as any sustained roar..."

[Garyspivey]

Damn this thread makes me feel old, I was at this show, crowd was nuts of HHH

[mo]

Anytime the “Beautiful Day” HHH video is brought up I immediately think of the action figure version that was posted here ages ago. Mulder and Scully helping Hunter out of the ring and into the hospital has been embedded in my brain for a good 12+ years or so and I don’t know why.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=r0jOes-FYtw

[Bang Bang Bart]

The denim/leather jacket and jeans look is a GOATed look for Trips.

[Deleted]

For as over as that return was, people were already getting tired of him by mania. Nobody want a feud involving Stephanie and his dog. Plus the guy just sucks as a face.

[Jindrak Mark]

Jan 8, 2022 3:29:46 GMT -5 @uppitynerd said:

For as over as that return was, people were already getting tired of him by mania. Nobody want a feud involving Stephanie and his dog. Plus the guy just sucks as a face.

People always say he sucks as a face but almost every show I attended between 2006-2013 with him as a face he got absolutely massive pops and it wasn’t unusual for him to be the most over person on the card, even if it was stacked with other big names.

Even in 2002 after the terrible Jericho/Lucy the dog storyline he still faced Hogan the PPV after Wrestlemania and had the crowd split 50/50 when even Rock the month before was booed out the building against Hogan. He’s obviously more iconic as a heel but some people underestimate just how popular he was as a face.