After a 30-year wrestling career and 14 WWE World Championship titles, wrestling legend Triple H has retired as an in-ring wrestler. And while he hasn’t been an active competitor for a few years, he landed a role similar to The Undertaker before his own retirement, donning tights and stepping into the ring for major pay-per-view shows like WrestleMania.
To say goodbye to the successful fighter, we review his career and highlight some of the most iconic and memorable video games in which he has made his appearance as Triple H. His figure has been present in all the games in the series WWF SmackDown!which we now know as WWE 2K.
Triple H and his successful rise in wrestling
Triple H, real name Paul Levesque, made his professional wrestling debut in 1992, and two years later, he joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He first wrestled under the hilarious name of Terra Ryzing, and later became an aristocratic character named Jean-Paul Levesque.
The wrestler soon caught the attention of WWE boss Vince McMahon, who brought him into his company under the name Hunter Hearst Helmsley. In this way, in 1997, the Triple H nickname took hold and the character became a founding member of one of the most important factions in wrestling: D-Generation X, along with Shawn Michaels, Chyna and Rick Rude.
Later in late 1999, Triple H transitioned into the main event scene, adopting the moniker “The Game” and proving to be one of the top wrestling stars alongside Mick Foley, The Rock and Steve Austin, too. known as “Stone Cold”. He also married McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie, and has been grooming himself as the company’s future leader ever since.
BREAKING: @Triple H announced his retirement from in-ring competition on @espn @firsttake with @stephenasmith. pic.twitter.com/qnyw9NVtv4
— WWE (@WWE) March 25, 2022
Sadly, in September 2021, reports surfaced that Triple H had suffered a serious “cardiac event” that left him hospitalized and forced him to step away from his wrestling roles in WWE. And after months of silence, on March 25, 2022, Triple H announced his retirement due to his heart condition, as doctors told him it would never be safe for him to wrestle another match.
The most iconic games in which Triple H appears
Due to the popularity of the wrestling industry, over the years there have been many wrestling games under that license and Triple H has been present in every title in the series. WWF SmackDown!. The famous franchise started in 2000 with that name, but was later called WWE SmackDown vs. Rawlater WWE and today we know it as WWE 2K. These are some of the games in which Triple H has a great presence.
WWF SmackDown! 2Know Your Role (2000)
Surely wrestling fans who were born in the 90s will remember this classic. It is the second title of the saga and, in fact, its cover includes Triple H.
This PlayStation game represented the WWF’s Attitude era, a period of great success for the company between 1997 and 2002 that changed traditional and familiar content for something more daring, controversial and irreverent, in order to appeal to young adults.
This is how we saw several characters as disgruntled antiheroes within more violent stories, with classic fights with The Rock, The Undertaker, Kane, Chris Jericho and, of course, Triple H and his group D-Generation X. This team did its iconic entry with the theme of rap rock “break it down” by The Chris Warren Band.
Despite the fact that its graphics seemed precarious and the movements of the characters were limited, in metacritic WWF SmackDown! two it has the highest score and the “must play” tag. That’s because it had nice gameplay, lots of items to unlock, and a huge roster of playable fighters, along with the option to create some.
Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 (2006)
This is another of the favorite games of the fans of this franchise, and although its cover includes several fighters, the main one in it is precisely the legend Triple H.
The game does not appear in the first places for critics, but the number of improvements that this game brings are recognizable. Despite the dodgy animations and poor AI, this title included new controls and better captured Triple H’s (and the rest of the fighters’) style and technique, bringing a wide selection of moves that could be integrated into fights. .
Also, this title provided a greater breadth of resources: it allowed players to fight in different scenarios and formats, such as behind the scenes and inside cages. That is, there was more freedom to move, which was very good for Triple H, considering how versatile he was.
It is worth mentioning that at that time Triple H already had his nickname “The Game”, so the game includes his iconic entrance with the song of the same name. This was recorded by the band Motörhead especially for the fighter in 2001.
WWE 2K14 (2013)
Part of what made the transition from the WWE franchise to the current generation so disastrous is that the series almost reached perfection with WWE 2K14. Story Mode featured over 40 of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time and gameplay that was smoother than ever.
This title was characterized by greater complexity and a more intricate combat system, which allowed greater control and variety in the movements of the characters. In that way, Triple H’s “Powerhouse” fighting style, which included a series of holds, was better captured and more fully distinguished from the other fighters.
By now, Triple H was already a historical figure and had multiple titles and stories in canon. And this was reflected in the game with the option to choose different versions of this fighter: a contemporary one and a “retro” one. In fact, you could put both characters to fight in the ring, and each one had his particular move set.
In addition to the 14 world titles he holds, Triple H is also a five-time Intercontinental Champion, a three-time Tag Team Champion, a two-time WWE Unified Tag Team Champion, and a two-time European Champion. And while we will no longer see him in the ring, Paul Levesque will continue his executive duties within WWE as COO, and his legacy will forever be etched on wrestling fans.
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