'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A 14-time WWE World Champion, Triple H has cemented his status as one of the most successful in-ring competitors of the last 25 years.
“The King of Kings” has faced almost every top name in WWE during that time, from legends such as The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to present-day Superstars including Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
Given the amount of time that Triple H has spent in the sports entertainment industry, it is only natural that he has not enjoyed working alongside every Superstar he has been in the ring with.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at two Superstars who the NXT founder wanted to work with, as well as three he did not want to work with.
#5 Triple H didn’t want to work with Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner rejoined WWE in October 2002 and quickly became involved in a World Heavyweight Championship storyline with Triple H on RAW.
The two-time WWE Tag Team Champion had not competed in many matches in 2002, prompting concerns that it could take him a while to build up his conditioning to have one-on-one matches.
Triple H was scheduled to face Steiner in their first singles match at a WWE live event in Honolulu, Hawaii in January 2003. However, partly due to Steiner’s lack of in-ring conditioning, WWE’s higher-ups changed the match to a tag team encounter between Triple H & Batista and Steiner & Rob Van Dam.
Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast (02:03:30 mark of the video above), WWE director Bruce Prichard revealed that Triple H was among the people who felt that Steiner was not ready to face him in a singles match.
“Triple H is saying it, the agents are saying it, and you can just watch the matches. He’s running out of gas a lot faster, and he’s a step off.”
Steiner defeated Triple H via disqualification at the 2003 Royal Rumble in a match that is widely considered to be one of the most disappointing in the event’s history. One month later, “The Game” won a rematch at No Way Out, bringing an end to the forgettable rivalry.
Prichard said neither Superstar wanted to work with each other and they were glad when the two-month storyline ended.
“I think both were relieved that it came to an end. There wasn’t chemistry there, there just wasn’t any chemistry there. Hunter was glad to be done with it. I think that he thought he could’ve gotten a lot more out of it, and he was disappointed, and I think Scott just felt that he couldn’t work with Triple H, and it was oil and water.”
Prichard added that he cannot remember WWE's plans at the time, but he suspects that Vince McMahon scrapped an idea to have another Triple H vs. Steiner match at WrestleMania 19, which explains why the Triple H vs. Booker T match had such a short build.
#4 Triple H wanted to work with The Rock
Triple H defeated The Rock, Mick Foley, and The Big Show in a Fatal 4-Way elimination match to retain his WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 2000.
But, as Triple H explained to talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy in 2019, he wanted to go through with the original idea of facing The Rock in a 60-minute Ironman match instead.
“Timing of returns and everybody else’s stuff and they needed to get us through another pay-per-view… is why we did the four-way and then we came back and did the Ironman later [Judgment Day], so it changed the thing, but I really wish I would have had that opportunity with him one-on-one at WrestleMania.”
As Triple H mentioned, the Ironman match still took place but it happened seven weeks later at Judgment Day, with “The Game” winning 6-5 to reclaim the title that he lost against The Rock three weeks earlier at Backlash.
Another Triple H vs. The Rock match was scheduled to happen in 2016 at WrestleMania 32, but The Rock’s schedule prevented him from preparing for a return match.
“The Great One” still competed at the event, defeating Erick Rowan in six seconds, but that is obviously not the same as a match against Triple H that would likely have lasted 20+ minutes.
#3 Triple H didn’t want to work with Mark Jindrak
Triple H disliked working with Mark Jindrak so much that he refused to ride in a car with the former WCW star ever again.
Speaking on WWE Network series ‘Ruthless Aggression’, Triple H discussed the early days of the legendary Evolution faction (himself, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista).
Unfortunately for Batista, he suffered a long-term triceps injury after joining the group, which prompted Triple H & Co. to consider replacing him with Jindrak.
“I think we were in a car together for two hours. It was like being in a car – and no offence – but it was like being in a car with a third-grader. I’m not kidding.”
Triple H said Orton and Jindrak were playing around with a toy in the back seat of the car. Every time they spun a wheel on the toy, it made a different animal noise.
“I told Ric, ‘Never put the two of those [together] in a car with us again. I mean ever, and I don’t ever want to be in a car with Jindrak again.’”
It was clear that the dynamic between the four men was not going to work, so Triple H waited for Batista to return from injury instead of adding Jindrak to Evolution.
#2 Triple H wanted to work with Henry O. Godwinn
When you look back at Triple H’s WWE opponents, the likes of The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Rock and Randy Orton probably spring to mind.
Henry O. Godwinn? Not so much.
In 1995, Godwinn’s villainous hog farmer character sometimes poured slop on his babyface rivals. The problem, however, was that many of the real people behind the on-screen personas did not want to get covered in the substance.
Speaking in a media call to promote NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020, Triple H said he had no issues working with Godwinn in a Hog Pen match at In Your House 5: Season’s Beatings. In fact, it was his idea to turn Godwinn babyface in order for them to work together.
“They [WWE colleagues] didn’t want to take it, and I went to Vince [McMahon] and was like, ‘If you turn him babyface, I’ll take that slop all day long.’ Nobody would want to not get that slop on them more than me, my character, right? The snob, I wouldn’t even want to get in the ring with this guy.” [H/T Wrestle Zone]
Triple H’s feud with Godwinn is best remembered for the Hog Pen match, but they also competed against each other in Slop Bucket matches at 16 WWE live events in 1995.
#1 Triple H originally didn’t want to work with The Undertaker in 2018
The Undertaker has mentioned in various out-of-character media interviews that he considers his back-to-back WrestleMania matches with Shawn Michaels and Triple H to be the greatest storyline of his WWE career.
In 2012, the three men were involved in an emotional moment at the top of the entrance ramp at WrestleMania 28 when they looked out at the WWE Universe following the “End of an Era” Hell in a Cell match.
It appeared as though that match would be the last time that Triple H and The Undertaker shared a WWE ring together, hence the “End of an Era” tagline. However, as "The Game" revealed on an episode of RAW in 2018, he was approached about the idea of facing his iconic opponent one more time at Super Show-Down in Australia.
“When Vince [McMahon] called me a couple of weeks ago and said, ‘Hey, I just finished up the deal with Paul Dainty [President and CEO of TEG Dainty] in Australia and we would like you to wrestle there.’ I said, ‘Hell yeah.’ And then he said, ‘And we would like you to step into the ring against The Undertaker.’ And I said, ‘Hell no.’”
Triple H clarified that he thought the WrestleMania 28 match had the perfect ending and there was no need to have another one-on-one meeting with The Undertaker six years later.
Ultimately, Triple H decided to phone Vince McMahon back to tell him that he had changed his mind and he agreed to go ahead with the match.
