It’s very hard to imagine Triple H being left speechless, but best WWE pals Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker have managed it.
The iconic pair bamboozled their boss at a meeting this week to spring a major announcement on him concerning this year’s WrestleMania weekend.
X/ShawnMichaelsTriple H was ambushed at a WWE meeting where familiar faces delivered good news[/caption]
It’s decades since the trio battled against – and sometimes alongside – each other as major stars in the WWE Attitude Era.
The Undertaker is regarded as wrestling’s greatest ever character creation after a 30-year career in the company, while Michaels is perhaps the most flamboyant of all WWE’s previous champions.
Triple H – better established in the current climate under his real name of Paul Levesque – was the King of Kings and an icon in his own right, but has taken on a lead role in WWE in recent years.
While Michaels brings through the next generation of wrestling talent as the de facto Head of NXT, Levesque sits atop of that particular tower as the company’s Head of Creative and Chief Content Officer.
‘Trips’ will be busily planning every element of the forthcoming WrestleMania weekend, from the headline two-night event itself to all the other festivities that come alongside it. Not least, of course, The Hall of Fame ceremony.
His weekend has somehow managed to get busier, though, after WWE confirmed via Michaels and Taker that heading into the Hall of Fame over Mania weekend will be none other than Triple H himself.
At the end of a WWE meeting this week, the multi-time former world champion was left stunned to hear the entrance music of HBK boom out – to be swiftly followed by The Undertaker’s.
A bemused Levesque stood by as the pair delivered the news that he would be given the honour of being a two-time Hall of Famer, following his previous induction as part of legendary group DX.
The spotlight will shine on him alone this time, with Michaels saying: “HBK and The Undertaker have made an executive decision here.
“Though you are in the Hall of Fame as a member of D-Generation X, it is only fitting that the Cerebral Assassin, The Game, Triple H, at WrestleMania 41, take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.”
Though the two major WWE stars delivered the announcement, the decision to induct Triple H will almost certainly be the handywork of WWE President Nick Khan, whom The Game jokingly threatened to ‘kill’ shortly after the announcement.
He said in response: “From a guy that usually has something to say about everything, I’m speechless.”
Quipping he’d deal with Khan, he added: “If you see somebody flying off the roof, ignore it.”
Upon hearing the news, the assembled mass at the meeting could be heard cheering and applauding, before Levesque’s wife, Stephanie McMahon, appeared on stage to congratulate him as the pair exchanged a hug.
The master of the sledgehammer added, simply: “I don’t know what else to say, just: ‘Thank you.’
Fan response to the news has been mixed. While many felt the induction was ‘long overdue’ and ‘deserved’, some were uneasy about WWE showering the recognition on Triple H while he’s in such a prominent backstage position.
One fan jabbed: “He’s been in power for a year and he booked himself as headliner in the Hall of Fame,” while another not buying the surprise value, said: “HHH: ‘The only guy who can headline the Hall of Fame is ME !!! Now act like it wasn’t my idea!’”
A third insisted: “He seriously needs to focus on creative and put new talent over rather than himself.”
Before WWE kicks into gear with WrestleMania weekend, it will first deliver its annual precursor event, Royal Rumble this weekend. More than 60,000 will jam into Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis for the show.
