Triple H and The Rock. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Rocky Maivia. Paul Levesque and Dwayne Johnson. Two men who are as different and day and night but yet have been intertwined throughout their careers in professional wrestling.
They have both been young upstarts vying for a place in the world's biggest wrestling promotion. They have both been solid upper mid carders looking to make the jump into the main event. They have both led dominant factions through the Attitude Era. They have both been multi-time world champions. They are both living legends.
Yet, for all the similarities between the two men, they have taken very different paths at the tail end of their wrestling lives. The Great One shifted over to Hollywood where he is now the biggest name in the world of films, whereas The Game has taken a backstage role in the WWE as Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events, and Creative.
There is no denying both their impacts on the world of professional wrestling in general and the WWE, in particular. But, who has had the bigger impact? That's what we're here to find out today.
Can you smell what The Rock is cookin'?
Dwayne Johnson seemed to be destined for a career in the world of professional wrestling. After all, his father was Rocky Johnson is a WWE legend and his grandfather was also a professional wrestler. But, that wasn't actually the case. Johnson only made his foray into professional wrestling after a failed career in American Football.
Debuting as Rocky Maivia, the man who would go on to become The People's Champ was actually hated by those very People because of his extreme babyface gimmick. The chants of "Rocky Sucks” and "Die Rocky Die" followed him no matter where he went. And, then the injury that changed everything.
Returning to join The Nation of Domination as The Rock – a full-fledged heel, at that – sparked a change in fortunes and kickstarted one of the greatest professional wrestling careers of the nineties and the noughties.
He would feud with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Mankind on his road to winning 10 WWE World Titles, as well as a number of other high-profile honours.
TV Ratings and PPV buys were always on the higher side whenever The Great One was involved on the card. His drawing power was simply unparalleled, with Stone Cold being the only probable exception. Not even Triple H can boast the kind of numbers that The Rock was responsible for. The Great One looked primed to rule the WWE for years to come.
And, yet he didn't because by the time 2004 rolled around, Dwayne Johnson had replaced The Rock and he was off and away to Hollywood on a full-time basis, leaving the tough world of professional wrestling in his rearview and he skyrocketed into the stratosphere of movie stars and red carpets.
Despite his newfound mainstream success, he never forgets that he is The Rock and the role the WWE has played in his success. He makes regular returns to the company and is an ambassador for sports entertainment to more mainstream audiences.
The WWE's association with Dwayne Johnson has also helped open some previously closed doors for them because of his influence as a top actor. After all, the only reason Ronda Rousey was seen on Wrestlemania was because of The Rock's behind the scenes work on behalf of Vince and his company.
The Rock has certainly had a huge impact on both WWE as well as Hollywood.
It's all about The Game and how you play it
All young Paul Levesque wanted to do when he grew up was become a professional wrestler. It was that or nothing else for the man billed from Greenwich, Connecticut. And, that is exactly what he did. First joining up with WCW before making the jump over to the company which has been his home for the better part of two decades.
A rising young star in the WWE's mid-card, the man now known as Triple H was on the fast track to success due to his incredible ability as well as association with The Kliq - comprising of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Shawn Michaels - who were known to have the ear of the chairman - and his future father in law - Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Despite his antics during the infamous Madison Square Garden Curtain Call incident, Triple H would recover to establish a steady rise as a part of D-Generation-X. It was here that he would establish himself as a main event star, taking over as the leader of the stable following Shawn Michaels’ injury problems.
What followed was a period of immense success, as he won title after title and engaged in high profile feuds with the likes of Vince McMahon, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock. Hunter would make and break careers and win 14 World Titles in addition to every other imaginable honour in the company.
King of the Ring, Royal Rumble, Tag Titles, European Titles, Intercontinental Titles, Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber, he did it all.
Despite this, he never managed to attain the kind of drawing power that The Rock and Stone Cold boasted. He might have the best in-ring records of the three top stars, but he never appealed to the masses quite like they did.
And, during these years he established two other very important bonds. One with his wife, Stephanie McMahon, who is Chief Brand Officer for the WWE and another, perhaps more importantly in the business sense, with Vinny Mac – the CEO of the WWE.
He has now leveraged this to acquire a coveted backstage role with the company after hanging up his full-time wrestling boots. Oh, he might still wrestle a few times a year, but he is no longer a person who does 200 matches a year. After all, he has more important things to do now.
What are these important things? Well, being given the resources and responsibility to run WWE's developmental territory, Levesque is now responsible for ensuring the WWE has enough talent at its disposal. That means scouring the world for talent, training them to an elite level and allowing them to perform on the WWE's main roster.
He has already proved his success with the likes of Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, The Shield Trio, Bray Wyatt, The Four Horsewomen, and so many more. There is no doubt that he is the heir apparent to Vince McMahon himself.
What I would like to say in closing is this. Both men’s impact on the WWE brand is immense. There is no way the company would be where it was if not for The Rock and Triple H, but their impacts have been felt differently in different spheres of life.
The Rock’s impact on the brand for mainstream audiences and marketing opportunities far outweigh what Hunter can offer but the latter’s impact on the brand inside the world of professional wrestling cannot be matched by The Great One.
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