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Triple H has a storied history of turning on his allies. So, which one ranks as the best?
On the August 29 episode of WWE Raw, Triple H made his surprise return, and impacted the WWE Universal Championship match. He pedigreed Roman Reigns, and placed Seth Rollins on him for the pinfall elimination. It seemed that The Game’s plan had been to give his two-year protege a victory in the show’s main event.
However, as it seemed Kevin Owens was the next target, Triple H turned around and pedigreed Rollins. Owens then ran to Rollins’ battered body and got the successful pinfall. Trips and KO would stand tall together, Universal title in hand.
Triple H’s turn on Rollins marked his latest betrayal. The latter had been the last wrestler remaining in The Authority, which got phased out of WWE with The Architect’s injury and The Cerebral Assassin’s loss at WrestleMania 32. Raw’s events have yet to determine whether this is a new Authority developing.
These turns on allies have been ongoing with Triple H for most of this century. This has led to some of the biggest feuds in WWE’s history, some of which that culminated at WrestleMania. After being in factions like Evolution and D-Generation X, unforeseen events involving him always seems likely.
There have been many betrayals in Triple H’s long history with WWE. Which one ranks as the best?
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5. Triple H Betrays Daniel Bryan
The WWE SummerSlam 2015 main event seemingly set up Daniel Bryan to be a top player in WWE. He defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship, and stood tall with special referee Triple H congratulating him.
However, Randy Orton, Mr. Money in the Bank, would break up the celebration and slowly walk out with his briefcase. He considered cashing in, but may have changed his mind for a moment. That was when Triple H turned around and pedigreed Bryan into the mat. This allowed Orton to get his seconds-long match in with the Bearded Superstar for the title, which he would win.
Triple H and Orton aligning set up the two-plus year storyline of The Authority. These two eventually added the likes of Seth Rollins, Kane, and Big Show to the group, becoming WWE’s most dominant heel stable for a period. They most notably feuded with Bryan throughout the rest of 2013 and into WrestleMania XXX, resulting in a Triple Threat main event for the world title.
By the end of 2014, Rollins and Orton’s alliance broke down, leading to the former turning on The Viper. They would feud, which led to a WrestleMania 31 match. Rollins then brought the WWE World Heavyweight Championship into the fold for the next six months, solidifying the group’s status even further.
While not the best of The Game’s heel turns, this one had years of impact.
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4. Triple H Betrays Seth Rollins
This one is by far the freshest of them all.
Last Monday night, Triple H made his shocking return to WWE programming, interfering in the Fatal Four-Way main event for the WWE Universal Championship. He came out of the crowd to pedigree Roman Reigns into the floor, pushed him into the ring, and placed Seth Rollins on the fallen three-time champion for the elimination.
However, as Trips went to seemingly attack Kevin Owens, he turned around and pedigreed Rollins, too. KO then ran to Rollins and pinned him for the successful win.
This ended a two-year alliance between Rollins and Triple H, a finish that had been difficult to expect coming since the latter missed the last four months. Tensions had built up between these two before The Architect got injured in November 2015, and potentially could have led to a WrestleMania 32 match. These events occurring may set up a WrestleMania 33 contest between these two.
The Owens-Triple H partnership has been set up, though, meaning another breakup could happen down the line. That won’t be for a while, unless the situation changes.
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3. Triple H Betrays Randy Orton (2004)
From 2002-05, Evolution ruled WWE Raw. Triple H formed this stable months after the first Brand Extension, which featured wrestling legend Ric Flair, rising star Batista, and third generation talent Randy Orton. At one point, they held every male title on Raw—the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE World Tag Team Championships, and the WWE Intercontinental Championship.
However, in WWE, dominant groups never last. When they are led by Triple H, that is always the case. One couldn’t have expected when he was going to end Evolution, though.
Well, in 2004, after Orton won the world title, a belt constantly coveted by The Cerebral Assassin, things changed.
One night after the victory, Orton faced Chris Benoit for the championship on Raw. After winning, Triple H, Flair and Batista looked like they were going to celebrate in the ring. However, as The Animal held Orton on his shoulders, the now-WWE COO approached him, and changed his facial expression. It went from a smile, to an angry look with the classic thumbs-up-to-thumbs-down motion. Orton mouthed “f**k”, and the bloody assault began.
This moment had Triple H’s jealousy written all over it. His character has hated others taking the limelight, and should have been expected to eventually happen. That doesn’t take away from this, though, because it’s a classic moment in Raw’s long history.
Triple H’s betrayal tour didn’t begin here, though.
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2. Triple H Betrays D-Generation X (1999)
From 1997-2000, D-Generation X had been the talk of WWE, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This faction started with longtime buddies Triple H and Shawn Michaels coming together to go off-the-wall, some actions which hadn’t seen before in wrestling. They often used their crotch as part of their antics, with the classic “s**k it” crotch chop.
The faction eventually added Chyna, before Michaels went down with a back injury that had been thought to be career-ending. So, Triple H would bring in Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and X-Pac to expand the group.
Like other Triple H’s friendships, this one came to an end.
In 1999, DX feuded with The Corporation in a battle of the renegades vs. the WWE’s businessmen. The latter featured the McMahon’s running the show.
During a match between X-Pac and Shane McMahon, Triple H shocking changed sides, hitting X-Pac with a pedigree and placed Shane on his former friend for the pin. This allowed Hunter Hearst Helmsley to realign with Chyna, who had joined The Corporation months before.
This was the first of many times that Triple H went corporate, and may have been the most surprising moment of this happening. This eventually led to the McMahon-Helmsley era, an alliance with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and other important WWE storylines during the early 2000’s.
There’s one unforgettable betrayal that tops the list…
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1. Triple H Betrays Shawn Michaels (2002)
In 2002, Shawn Michaels returned to WWE after dealing with a back injury that had been thought to be career-ending. It took him four years to return, but he came back good enough to stick around until 2010.
From his return run, one of the best moments may have taken place very early in this.
Triple H and HBK had reformed D-Generation X for the first time in four years. They entered an episode of WWE Raw doing the full entrance, with the classic music and entrance sequence. Everything seemed to be fine, and we were going to be in for the second version of the legendary faction.
However, as Trips went to say, “Let’s get ready to s**k it”, he turned to a distracted Michaels and shocking pedigreed him.
The crowd and announce team was stunned at this sight, something that never could have been thought to happen. After being so closely linked, they could have aligned for years to come. However, this would spark arguably one of WWE’s best feuds of the millennium. It lasted for about two years with multiple brutal matches taking place between the two. Their Three Stages of Hell match and SummerSlam 2002 bout may have topped them all.
So, which one of Triple H’s betrayals do you think ranks as the best?
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