The Game. The King of Kings. The Cerebral Assassin. Triple H has picked up more nicknames than he knows what to do with over the years, and every single one of them represents what kind of character the WWE wants you to imagine him to be.
For nearly two decades he's been portrayed as this unstoppable badass, whether that be as a babyface or a heel.
For the most part, he's done a pretty good job of it, and more often than not, the stories he's involved in are quite good. However, at the same time, there has also been stuff that the WWE would quite like you to forget. You see no matter how many bells and whistles you throw into the mix, nothing can disguise the fact that Triple H just isn't good enough to carry a big time match.
When we say big time match, more often than not, we're talking about WrestleMania and that's the case once again here. For every Daniel Bryan and The Undertaker clash, The Game has had his fair share of stinkers at the showcase of the immortals, which is a shame when you consider how much hard work he's put in throughout the course of his career. Oh well.
So without further ado, here are five times a Triple H match flopped at WrestleMania.
#5 Triple H vs. Chris Jericho - WrestleMania 18
You know what doesn't help a main event match at WrestleMania? Having to follow one of the greatest dream matches of all time in The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan. Obviously, this wasn't the only contributing factor towards HHH vs. Y2J not really living up to expectations, as another big reason behind its failure was the fact that HHH just isn't convincing as the heroic babyface.
Sure he got a good pop during his return, but there's a reason they turned him heel pretty much immediately following the pay-per-view. He isn't the icon that the company perceives him to be, and that was exposed for the world to see that night in Toronto. It wasn't an awful match, but it just wasn't what a WrestleMania main event should be.
We fast forward three years for yet another HHH main event dud.
#4 Triple H vs. Batista - WrestleMania 21
The build up to the match between Triple H and Batista at WrestleMania 21 was epic. The Animal's slow burn heel turn paid off brilliantly during the contract signing segment, and from that point on it was an all out war. It was set up for Batista to destroy his mentor at the showcase of the immortals and finally capture the prize that he deserved.
Whilst he did indeed win the title, it didn't come in the dominant fashion that many people were expecting. In fact, HHH pretty much controlled the entirety of the match before Batista came back in the final exchanges to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
It cut the impact of the title change at the knees and only really served to help one man - the former leader of Evolution. Now to a finish that really got on people's nerves.
#3 Triple H vs. Booker T - WrestleMania 19
Let's set aside the fact that there were so many racial undertones in the lead-up to this match that it was unreal. The story of Booker T battling back against his demons to finally reach the mountain top was a great one, and it should've paid off with him winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 19 but of course, it didn't.
Booker was extremely over with the crowd, but one key fact that everyone soon realised following the result was that he was a WCW guy. That alone was enough to warrant The Game squashing him on the grandest stage of them all, and we'd love to tell you that there was more to it than that but there really wasn't. The match should've been better, too.
We'll all remember this one for many years to come - unfortunately.
#2 Triple H vs. Roman Reigns - WrestleMania 32
The biggest WrestleMania in the history of the company and the main event is Triple H vs. Roman Reigns.
Jeez. "Oh well, perhaps they can turn it into something cool by having Roman turn heel or having someone interfere to create some much needed drama". That's what we were all hoping for but looking back, we were being oh so naive.
The big match style really doesn't suit Triple H and after all these years, that was confirmed once more at the AT&T Stadium. It just didn't have the feel of a ‘Mania main event and there's a reason people were chanting NXT during what was supposed to be the season finale of WWE's year.
Roman winning clean was a mistake and the match was bad. Fact. We conclude with one of the most disappointing main events in the history of professional wrestling. No, that's not an overstatement.
#1 Triple H vs. Randy Orton - WrestleMania 25
The build up to the match between Triple H and Randy Orton was nothing short of sensational. The Viper was attempting to exact revenge on the former Evolution member by finally bringing him to his knees, nearly five years after The Game betrayed him.
He kissed Stephanie, punted Vince, dismantled HHH on numerous occasions - you know, all that fun stuff.
It seemed like all that was left was for Orton to capture the title at WrestleMania 25 and whilst that didn't happen, it isn't even the biggest problem with this bout. The problem is that it was just so boring.
There should've been a No Disqualification stipulation or something added, which would've made so much sense given the story. All in all, this was just insulting.
