63 Facts About Triple H

Paul Michael Levesque, better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler.

Triple H is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer.

Triple H is a Intercontinental Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, and World Tag Team Champion, as well as the 1997 King of the Ring winner, 2002 and 2016 Royal Rumble winner, seventh Triple Crown winner, and second Grand Slam winner.

Triple H has headlined multiple WWE events, including its flagship annual event WrestleMania seven times.

Triple H was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame's 2019 class as part of and is due to be inducted for his individual career in the class of 2025.

Triple H graduated in 1987 from Nashua High School, where he played baseball and basketball.

Triple H continued to enter bodybuilding competitions and won the 1988 Mr Teenage New Hampshire competition at the age of 19.

Triple H's classmates included fellow future WWF wrestlers Chyna, whom he would later date, and Perry Saturn.

Triple H made his professional debut under the ring name Terra Ryzing in Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation on March 24,1992, defeating Tony Roy.

Triple H began using what would become his popular finishing maneuver, the Pedigree, during this time.

Triple H appeared in taped vignettes, in which he talked about how to use proper etiquette, up until his wrestling debut on the April 30,1995, episode of Wrestling Challenge defeating Buck Zumhofe.

Triple H was known backstage as a member of The Kliq, a group known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF creative team.

Triple H won after Chyna threw powder into Slaughter's eyes, momentarily "blinding" him and allowing her to interfere in the match.

Triple H introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with The New Age Outlaws.

Also during this time, Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF villain, The Rock.

Triple H did not hold the title long, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury.

Triple H's gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF Championship opportunity.

Triple H pinned The Rock at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2 to retain the title, but lost it on April 30 at Backlash to The Rock, ending his reign at 118 days.

Triple H feuded with Kurt Angle, initially over the WWF Championship, but then as a love triangle between himself, Angle, and Stephanie.

The night after WrestleMania, Triple H interfered in a steel cage match between Austin and The Rock where he joined forces with Austin and double teamed on The Rock, forming a tag team called The Two-Man Power Trip.

In doing so, Triple H became the seventh Triple Crown winner and second Grand Slam winner in WWE history.

At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in the Walls of Jericho and Triple H ran in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle, causing it to come completely off the bone.

Triple H even allowed Jericho to put him in the Walls of Jericho, a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps.

Triple H returned to Raw as a face on January 7,2002, at Madison Square Garden.

Triple H moved to the Raw brand at Vengeance, reuniting with Michaels, but he turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion, turning heel .

Triple H then attacked him with a sledgehammer and he was carried from the ring on a stretcher.

In February 2003, Triple H formed a stable known as Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista.

Triple H held the World Heavyweight Championship for most of 2003, successfully defending against Booker T on March 30 at WrestleMania XIX in an angle with racist undertones.

Triple H fought Shawn Michaels in a Last Man Standing match on January 25,2004, at the Royal Rumble to a double countout, so he retained the title as a result.

At New Year's Revolution on January 9,2005, Triple H won an Elimination Chamber match to regain the World Heavyweight Championship after last eliminating Orton, then retained the title against him on January 30 at the Royal Rumble to end their feud.

Tension between the two began in the weeks leading up to the event as Triple H convinced Batista to challenge for the WWE Championship instead of his World Heavyweight Championship.

Triple H failed to win the Royal Rumble match on January 29,2006, at the Royal Rumble, but another championship opportunity arose for him in the Road to WrestleMania Tournament, which he won, granting him a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, where he lost to champion John Cena via submission.

At New Year's Revolution on January 7,2007, DX and Rated-RKO fought to a no contest after Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps 15 minutes into the match.

At the start of the night, Triple H challenged newly named WWE Champion Randy Orton, reigniting their feud that had been interrupted following his injury.

Triple H won the match, winning his eleventh world championship and sixth WWE Championship, then defended his title against Umaga in his regularly scheduled match after Mr McMahon declared the match to be for the WWE title.

Triple H agreed to it only if the charges were dropped, which Hornswoggle agreed to.

Triple H made an untelevised appearance on October 30 at the WWE Fan Appreciation Event and at the 2010 Tribute to the Troops.

Triple H defeated Punk at Night of Champions despite interference from John Laurinaitis, Nash, The Miz and R-Truth.

WWE later announced that Triple H had sustained a fractured vertebra, and would be out of action.

Triple H returned on the January 30,2012 episode of Raw SuperShow to evaluate Laurinaitis' performance as general manager.

Six days later at SummerSlam, Triple H lost to Lesnar after submitting to the Kimura Lock, breaking his arm again in storyline.

Triple H returned on the February 25,2013, episode of Raw, brawling with Brock Lesnar after he attempted to attack Mr McMahon.

Triple H defeated Lesnar after a Pedigree onto the steel steps.

The next night on Raw, Triple H wrestled Heyman's newest client, Curtis Axel.

Triple H suffered a storyline concussion and was deemed to have forfeited.

Batista quit WWE on the Raw after Payback after Triple H refused to grant him his shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Triple H then went to "Plan B", Seth Rollins, who turned on The Shield and rejoined The Authority.

Back in power, Triple H began feuding with Sting, whom he defeated in a no disqualification match on March 29,2015 at WrestleMania 31 after interference from D-Generation X After his match with Sting, he and Stephanie McMahon were later confronted by The Rock and Ronda Rousey during a promo regarding the record crowd at the event.

On January 24,2016, Triple H made his return during the Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as the unannounced 30th entrant.

Triple H turned face again for the first time since 2013 and his final feuds were high-profile rematches with wrestlers that he had previously worked with.

At WrestleMania 35 on April 7,2019, Triple H defeated Batista with assistance from Ric Flair in what was Batista's retirement match.

Triple H's appearances became increasingly sporadic and 2020 became the first year in which he did not wrestle a match since the start of his career.

In September 2021, Triple H suffered from heart failure and an ICD was installed in his chest.

Triple H later expressed a sense of being at peace with his forced retirement, stating that he "did everything [he] wanted to do and then some".

Triple H's later career, especially after 2014 during which he was a part-time performer, has been sometimes criticized.

Triple H has been criticized for allegedly abusing his influence within WWE from the early to mid-2000s to have himself inserted into high-profile angles, or to have match or feud finishes changed in his favor.

Triple H was named Executive Vice-President of Talent and Live Events in 2011.

Triple H owned just over $1.5 million in WWE stock at the time.

Triple H founded and executive produced WWE's NXT brand since 2014, though he has not been involved with the brand's "NXT 2.0" overhaul from September 2021 onwards.

Triple H sported Lemmy-inspired facial hair during a portion of his career and spoke at Lemmy's funeral on January 9,2016.

Triple H is a supporter of English football team West Ham United FC.

Triple H revealed that he had viral pneumonia and inflamed lungs, which worsened over time.

Triple H said that Stephanie noticed he was coughing up blood, and doctors subsequently discovered fluid in his lungs and around his heart; they informed him that his heart was working at a fraction of its full strength and that he was in a "bad" state of heart failure.