20 Years Of Bliss: Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Evaluating pro wrestling’s ultimate power couple.
How much does his real-life marriage to Stephanie McMahon influence your opinion of Triple H?
David Gibb: Not at all.
Chad Gelfand: It has to factor into any assessment of Triple H’s career because for as great a wrestler as Triple H is, there’s no way he would be in the position that he’s in today without his marriage to Stephanie. I don’t judge him negatively for it, but those are the facts of the situation.
Steven Jackson: It did influence my opinion at one time, but now I don’t really see it as an issue. HHH and Stephanie fell in love and it just happens he knows a lot about the political aspects of the business. HHH is a good guy and is bringing a breath of fresh air to WWE.
Juan Bautista: It causes me to question his career in the ring and office. He’s probably been given more opportunities than others have since he married into the company.
John Corrigan: Every accolade he has achieved comes with an asterisk. Whether it was his marriage to Stephanie or his friendship with Shawn Michaels, Triple H has made some powerful connections during his career. He’s a really good wrestler, and at one point, he was one of the best in the world. But there are a lot of really good wrestlers who never had the opportunities that he has received. His backstage influence has definitely made me reconsider his standing in history, and unfortunately, it has taken him down several notches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqkLWnuPbt8
What do you think of the Las Vegas drive-thru wedding angle?
Gibb: I was incensed as a child. It’s definitely an evil thing to do to someone’s heretofore innocent daughter. If anything, it suffered from the problem of being too heelish, where they were obviously going to need to roll it back at some point and confirm Stephanie in fact consented to their relationship.
Gelfand: It’s one of the most memorable angles WWE has ever done. Plus, the story makes sense and comes together more once you find out Triple H and Stephanie were in cahoots the entire time.
Jackson: It was typical Attitude Era segment goodness. It was over the top, silly and had nothing to do with wrestling. But, as with most things, life imitates art and it eventually led to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon getting hitched for real.
Bautista: At the time, it was a clever act done by Triple H, but now it’s terrible he drugged a woman. The drive-thru company allowed a passed out woman to get married and Triple H ruined Test’s wedding.
Corrigan: It’s underrated. It’s the second best wedding angle (after Billy & Chuck) and is one of the greatest swerves in wrestling history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DzqSpAsnm8
As characters over the past 20 years, have they been overexposed?
Gibb: God, yes.
Gelfand: Absolutely. That Authority run especially was just brutal. It seemed like for about a three-year period every show had a 20-minute Authority promo.
Jackson: God yes! Way too over-exposed! But some of that is also Vince’s doing as he wants the world to embrace Stephanie as much as his son-in-law. Sometimes, it has been appropriate to have them involved in storylines, but mostly not.
Bautista: Yes. No two people have done more to have the company step back then Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Corrigan: Absolutely. During the Authority’s stranglehold of TV time, Stephanie was seemingly untouchable. Every now and then, the heel authority figure has to lose – that’s what made Vince McMahon and Stone Cold’s rivalry so fun. Even in 2019, it feels like Triple H is always looming, whether in NXT or on the main roster especially during WrestleMania season.
How would you feel if Triple H and Stephanie took the reins when Vince McMahon dies?
Gibb: I’m always amazed how confidently people answer this question. We’ve seen Triple H have a ton of success at scale with NXT, but there’s such a wide gap between what they do and what Raw/SmackDown are expected to deliver that I just don’t know. As for Stephanie, her long-term success depends on the long-term business climate. She’s gone all-in with the top branding trends of the last five years and been pretty stinking successful at it, and with the way people think about and interact with brands rapidly shifting, it’ll be interesting to see if she can maintain that success in the 2020s.
Gelfand: Obviously, there would be a transitional period, but they’re probably the best people suited to succeed Vince since he’s been grooming them for the role for so many years. Triple H’s success in running NXT has only built more confidence in him running a promotion.
Jackson: I’d actually be really relieved. We have seen that HHH is in touch with the modern industry and that he can book fantastic wrestling when given the chance. Stephanie will help to keep things in the family and will be a great ambassador for women heading through the rest of the 21st century. Yet, this could all be optimism. Time will tell!
Bautista: I wouldn’t be too worried about Triple H because he’s been great with NXT. There are already red flags with Stephanie, though. You can pinpoint the exact moment when WWE started to take a dive and that’s when she was put as head of creative. There are still concerns about Triple H, too.
Corrigan: I’m not optimistic. I have zero faith in Stephanie’s creativity and while she’s lauded as an inspirational figure for young women, let’s not forget that she was handed the keys to the kingdom. As for Triple H, while NXT receives consistent praise as being the top brand in WWE, that’s not saying a lot. Triple H has been successful at cherry picking indie darlings/international stars and presenting them as is in NXT. But how about homegrown talent? How many wrestlers that have gone through the Performance Center and NXT system have actually been successful? It’s also worrying that Triple H hasn’t really put his stamp of approval on anyone yet. With all these nostalgia and reunion shows, why does he never take the fall to put over a young guy who needs it? For example, Mick Foley had fewer resources and still managed to cement more top guys (Edge, Randy Orton, even Triple H) than the all-powerful Game has.
Where do they rank in terms of pro wrestling couples?
Gibb: It’s hard to think of a “power couple” with more legitimate power in wrestling history.
Gelfand: They’re one of the best wrestling couples, but I don’t know if I can rank them above Macho and Liz or Edge and Lita. The McMahon-Helmsley era stuff was great – the stuff after that, eh, not so much.
Jackson: They are definitely up there. You sometimes have to be objective rather than subjective. While I don’t particularly like them and what they have done at times, they both have made massive contributions to the industry and understand the industry better than most of us could ever imagine. They rank near the top, but not at the top. That forever will be held by the “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss. Elizabeth…oooh yeah!
Bautista: They’re no. 1 from the idea that they have the biggest wrestling company in the world at their fingertips. But they’re probably last from an in-ring standpoint. If they left it alone, they would be top 15, maybe 20, but now it’s just unbearable to see them on screen.
Corrigan: No. 1. Their longevity, although tiresome, can’t be denied. They also have great chemistry on screen, dating all the way back to the McMahon-Helmsley regime in 2000. Plus, they’ve managed to stick together all these years, a rare feat for a wrestling couple.
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