Paul “Triple H” Levesque is one of the most successful and top-caliber figures in the history of WWE. He came into the company as a mid-card attraction and rose up to become one of the biggest WWE superstars of all time.
An iconic moment in Triple H’s career was in 2001. This was during a tag team match where he and Stone Cold Steve Austin, then known as ‘The Two Men Power Trip’ defended the WWE Tag Team Titles against the team of Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit on May 21st, 2001.
The match was an absolute sight of power-packed action. But it was not memorable for the in-ring showdown that went down. Rather, it was due to the spot involving Triple H and his conduct following that which earned him the respect of Y2J, Chris Jericho who himself admitted to not like him that much.
Why made Chris Jericho respect Triple H despite not liking him as a person?
The final moments of that match saw Chris Jericho holding Steve Austin in the Walls of Jericho. Triple H runs in to save his partner and breaks the hold. But in the process of doing that, The Game tore the quad of his left leg and suddenly fell down.
On an episode of his podcast, Talk is Jericho, the former AEW World Champion recalled the incident. He saw Triple H fall down and struggle, and he concluded that something was wrong. The Game was shouting that he tore his quad which was a shocker for Jericho himself.
Suddenly he’s gone. And when that happens, you know ‘Uh oh, something’s not right here,’ because these are four pros amongst pros, you don’t forget spots or you don’t do stuff. I went onto the floor and he’s just laying there, not even screaming, he’s there saying like, ‘I think I tore my quad.’ And I was like, ‘What?!’
But Jericho had to continue with the spots planned for the match. However, he did it with the utmost care after Triple H’s injury. He put him in the Walls of Jericho on the top of the announcer’s desk but tried to keep Triple H‘s legs as straight as he could so that he had to endure less pain. With The Cerebral Assassin fighting through it for the sake of the bout, Chris stated that the moment led to him earning his respect.
I remember turning him over onto this table and just hearing this ‘Ahh!’ – this real grunt of true pain… I am not Triple H’s biggest fan, but this guy earned my eternal respect by just how tough he was to go through that.
Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit would go on to win the match and become the new WWE Tag Team Champions. On the other hand, Triple H was ruled out of action for months with the injury and came back in 2002 to resume his tenure.
Are Triple H and Chris Jericho still a part of WWE?
Chris Jericho remained in WWE for a lot of years, coming back for multiple tenures before his last one ended in 2018. He then joined rival promotion, AEW, in 2019 and has been a top fixture for the company ever since.
However, Triple H is still a part of WWE. Following 2010, he became an occasional wrestler and began his corporate career in WWE. In 2024, he took over the reins after Vince McMahon’s exit from the company as WWE’s Chief Content Officer alongside CEO and President Nick Khan.
The Game’s regime has taken WWE to unprecedented heights like never before, and there has been a rise of many talented individuals despite some fans claiming that Triple H has given up on some of them. Regardless of that, he is firmly leading the charge of the company with his vision completely different than the previous regime and changing the future of the company forever,
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
