Stuck in the Middle With You - Triple H and his Legacy
    Submitted by Da J-Train on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 12:15 PM EST



    Welcome back to my column everyone. This is the column that is now 100% White Meat! How was everyone’s week? Mine was alright. I started work and stuff. You know, all sorts of personal crap that no one cares about.


    So what’s up for this column? I will cover the man that everyone on the Internet loves to hate… Triple H. I’ll cover his legacy, his controversies, his relevance, and what conditioner he uses to make his hair so shiny and smooth.


    R.I.P. Big Bossman. I wasn’t your biggest fan, nor will I claim to be, but I respect the years of work trying to entertain me. You will be missed.



    BUT FIRST...



    Letters! I get Letters! I get sacks and sacks of Letters! LETTERS!!! That's right; it's time to answer some of my Love, Hate, Kind-Of-Care-For, and I-Only-Like-You-as-A-Friend-Mail… The most popular aspect of the Internet… EVER


    I didn’t get many letters this week, as expected. Usually when I post columns with little substance, I don’t get much feedback, but of what I got that could be posted, I posted them. Surprisingly, I got other feedback that I just couldn’t use. Oh well.



    Feedback O Rama


    Letter 1 :


    What's up, J-Train?

    This is Cydlone. Before I begin, I would like to say congrats to the Fighting Irish for beating Michigan State in the annual Battle for the Megaphone. And I would also like to say your columns are great. And your FFH columns are awesome. Anyway, I have a couple of questions for you. My first is do you think SmackDown is going down the toilet again? My second question is do you think Matt Hardy should get a push for the Intercontinental Title when he returns from injury? Well, when you have chance, e-mail me back. And I wish your Notre Dame Fighting Irish luck later on in the season when they face USC if they are still ranked number one. See ya!

    Cydlone



    Cydlone,

    Gotta love the Notre Dame plug. They seem to be doing will this season, but they have faced two very young quarterbacks and they don’t seem to have a good pass defense. I say if they beat Purdue they’ll have a good chance for a major bowl, but that game will dictate their season.

    In the mean time, to answer your questions, no, I don’t think Smackdown is going down the toilet. I enjoy Smackdown right now because I like the London/Kidman feud, there is a strong cruiserweight champion, and there seems to be good angles developing.

    I suppose Matt Hardy should contend for the Intercontinental title when he gets back. I personally am not a huge fan of Hardy, but there’s really nothing else for him to do.



    Letter 2 :


    Hey Yo!

    I just read your latest column, Raw vs Smackdown... I have been playing Day of
    Wreckoning and I am very dissapointed for various reasons, and was thinking of
    reverting back to my old PS2 Wrestling days. What do you think is the best of
    the 3? (DOW, RvS, or WMXX for xbox) But on to my main question, you listed your
    20 legends, and i was just wondering what you meant when you listed Razor Ramon
    and Diesel? after it you put NOT Kevin Nash or Scott Hall, but .. they WERE
    those characters? So you mean to say you want their CHARACTERS and not them as
    in Outsiders (Nash and Hall)? Im a little confused here.. please elaborate a
    bit more. Thanks! and keep up the good columns!

    Mike



    Mike,

    What I meant by that was that there are two ways the game developers can go when making the two characters. They can either use the legend of Razor Ramon and Diesel or the legend of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Both personalities of each man have reached an almost legendary status. So, if given a choice, I would rather have them represent Hall and Nash as Diesel and Razor Ramon as opposed to plain old Hall and Nash (The Outsiders). After all, that’s WCW, not WWE.

    Also, to answer your other question, I can’t really answer it. I have really only looked up info on Raw vs. Smackdown because I am a Ps2 guy. I don’t have an Xbox or Gamecube, so I only really check the Ps2 games. Sorry.




    Well, that’s that. Feedback O Rama 1. Everything else 0.




    Triple H’s Legacy


    Recently, Triple H beat Randy Orton to win his 9th World Heavyweight Championship in the WWE, not necessarily an easy achievement. Much like many things Triple H does which furthers his own career and not someone else’s, the Internet Wrestling Community got all over this win with negative feedback. To be honest, who could blame them, and who didn’t expect it. Triple H really hasn’t been a very popular amongst members of the IWC, and he can pretty much win the title at will.


    However, this latest win got me thinking about Triple H’s stance in the WWE as a whole in terms of the all-time greats. In terms of World Championship wins, he will eventually surpass Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair in title wins. He is young enough and has the political pull in the back to ensure that he will be more than a 16 time champion. Also, he has been the leader of two memorable factions in the WWE in D-Generation X and the McMahon/Helmsley factions, he has had his share of great matches and a few excellent ones, and he has fought through tough injuries. ON PAPER, Triple H should eventually go down as one of the all time greats of this business. ON PAPER, Triple H will someday be thought of in the same reverence as Flair and Hogan. ON PAPER, all of this is not a question, but a certainty.


    Then again, like I said last week, Communism Works on paper… so let’s worry about reality.


    In reality, it’s tough to gauge whether or not Triple H will end up with the greatness that he is expected to receive on paper. In the world of professional sports and entertainment, your accomplishments can take you as far as they can, but it’s ultimately the fans that dictate how your legacy will be seen. No matter how many hits Pete Rose has in Major League Baseball, he will always be seen by many people as a man who dishonorably bet on the sport. No matter how good On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Names Desire, or East of Eden are, Elia Kazan may always be known as a man who sold out his colleagues to Joe McCarthy in the bullshit witch hunt known as the House of Un-American Activities Committee.


    So what will Triple H be known as? Will he be known more for his title wins, his drive for the business, and his charisma, or will his legacy dictate that of a man who took the easy way into getting to the top and staying there?


    You could make a case for either one. After all, like I said before, on paper, Triple H will be known for his title victories, etc. Besides, why would his backstage and personal actions have to bring down his legacy? Both Hogan and Flair have used backstage pull many times in their careers to solidify their stances in the business. Both have held down other wrestlers in an effort to keep themselves on top, possibly because they have been threatened by a younger or possibly more entertaining wrestler. However, not many people acknowledge this when they talk about Flair and Hogan in the reverence they hold them in. So why is it that Triple H has to be spoken of in such ways?


    I think that it stems from the fact that he actually married into a practical ownership of the company. I mean, it’s wrong any way to look at it to use pull to get into a position. Whether you are a wrestler using your presence to get ahead or a politician’s son getting out of a war due to your parent’s stance in the country, these instances are very wrong. However, they are situations where not many people would pass up.


    Such like the situation concerning Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, we condemn Triple H for marrying into the family that employs him, but I will bet you that more than 75 % of those who condemn him would do the same thing if the situation presented itself. We, (Americans), have been trained basically since Day 1 to achieve the American dream which is not only Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness… but it’s also to achieve a level of success. We have been trained to achieve this ideal from as long as we can remember. Knowing this, how many of you would pass up a situation where the boss’s attractive daughter wants you, and as long as you make her happy, your success, and in many ways, your pursuit of the American Dream, will almost certainly be fulfilled? Sure, our pride makes us say that we would pass up that opportunity because it’s unethical, but if most of us look deep into ourselves, we’ll realize that in reality, we would do the same thing Triple H did.


    So I do not fault him for marrying Stephanie McMahon, however, I think it’s the catalyst for how we view him in terms of his legacy. As many wrestlers that Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan held down, as many angles they shot down, and as many times they promoted themselves over others, all as a result of their backstage pull, the fact that they didn’t marry into their employer’s family is the line that Triple H crossed.


    It’s the kind of controversial move that could easily ruin any legacy that Triple H may leave. He took the angle to the next level. He allowed reality to reflect art. He took a person who he worked with often, and, probably knowing the position it would give him but maybe not, and took advantage of the situation. However, that’s not all. Ever since it happened, Triple H has used the Curtain Call Incident as an excuse as to his depush in the federation in the mid 90’s. He considered himself a victim of backstage forces and politics causing him to hit the glass ceiling in terms of where he could get in the company. However, once Triple H got the power, he turned around and seemingly did the same thing to other people. Now, I’m not calling him a hypocrite, but it seems to me that that is another example of a reason that he will not be remembered as revered.


    To be honest, I wouldn’t doubt his involvement in the infamous 1997 Montreal Screwjob. Sure, everyone points the finger at Vince, Shawn Michaels, and Earl Hebner, but it could easily be assumed that Triple H also had a hand in the screwjob, or he knew about it. After all, he almost had to have known being that he was out there. Also, if you watched Hitman: Wrestling with Shadows, you’d know that Bret Hart’s wife also suspected him of knowing about the screwjob, to the point that she actually asked him if he knew about it. So technically, Triple H may have had his hand in as many as two extremely controversial situations in the course of the WWE that potentially could have elevated his career.


    However, who are we to judge whether or not this is the way to go. Sure, these methods are considered to be unethical by most people. Most people feel would want these facts on their conscience when it comes to their life and legacy that’s related to success. However, if Triple H is a person who is unaffected by his past in terms of his success, and if he is the kind of person whose conscience doesn’t affect him in terms of the means of getting that success, good for him. If he doesn’t feel that what he has done is unethical, the more power to him. It’s really all up to him whether or not the act is truly unethical because since he is doing the actions and it’s his decision on whether or not the actions truly are unethical. We can call them unethical, but it doesn’t really matter.


    But let’s look past the controversies for a second. To be completely honest, in the times that Triple H has been big, he won’t be the man that will be remembered. In terms of the late 90’s to present day, there are many people who will be remembered before Triple H. There’s no denying that when people think of these eras, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and the New World Order will be the big names that we will never forget. In the mean time, we will also remember people like Mick Foley before Triple H. In any way that we will remember Triple H in terms of this era is through Degeneration-X, in which case we will be remembering X-Pac, Chyna, Road Dogg, and Billy Gunn in the same reverence. In the mean time, there is the current era that Triple H may be remembered for. But, not many people will want to remember an era where ratings, buy rates, and attendances are down, wrestlers fuck mannequins, and there is low morale in the locker room. If Triple H considers him the quintessential wrestler in the WWE during this point, what does that say about him?


    I think that he knows this. I think Triple H knows that his legacy will NEVER match up to Flair’s, Hogan’s, Austin’s, or Rock’s, so he boosts up that possible legacy with materialistic and symbolic forms of power. He gives himself 9 championships. He puts himself in a faction above a wrestler with a true legacy, Ric Flair. He creates all of these situations to boost his apparent stance in the business so that, on paper, it will seem as if he will be considered one of the best of all time. I hate to say it, but I don’t think that will happen, and I think Triple H knows this.


    I don’t hate Triple H as much as the rest of the IWC, I’ll admit it. However, I can’t say that his legacy will end up as that of one of the all time greats. I just don’t see it happening. Maybe it will. But, maybe, just maybe, he will instead be seen as a man who wanted so bad to be the best that he would do anything to get there, ethical or not. And as much as he wanted us to believe that he got there, he never really did. Triple H has many years left in the WWE, so maybe he will prove me wrong. But if not, I know how I will see him in the future, and I am confident that many fans will feel the same.



    Cheers and Jeers


    This is the newest part of my column… it’s a basic cheers and jeers section for what’s going on in wrestling today. They are going to be somewhat linked in subject too. I think I’m going to do 1 or 2 pairs a week, but since I skipped last week and it’s a double edition, I will do three pairs this week. It’s been done before, so let’s get to it.


    • CHEERS to Stacy Kiebler for winning the 2004 Babe of the Year. I guess this should garner a cheer. After all, she did have pretty stiff competition considering every diva not named Jazz are attractive, and she beat a three time consecutive champion in Trish Stratus. Good for her. Carrying the award to the house will give Test something to do.



    • JEERS to the WWE for using Mae Young and Moolah on Smackdown. As much respect that I have for Moolah and Mae, they are simply the WWE’s version of a joke that got old, but they continue to tell it. Four or five years ago, it was funny to watch these old women in their situations, but the joke has passed. We get it… Mae Young is a drunk, horny bitch… just because she’s old doesn’t make it funny. In retrospect, it makes it disturbing.




    • CHEERS to the WWE for unpredictability on Smackdown. The Big Show returning early… Mark Jindrak of all people helping Kurt Angle… and even to a lesser extent Gangrel and Viscera’s return have all made Smackdown seem very unpredictable as of late. We really don’t know what’s going to happen next. Maybe it’s Paul Heyman. In fact, I’m thinking of giving up the spoilers, just for the surprises.



    • JEERS to the portrayal of Eric Bischoff. When did Eric Bischoff become a pussy? I realized the reason that I could never get behind Eric Bischoff in his role as GM. That’s because he’s a fucking pussy. When he was in charge on Nitro, in the days of the New World Order, he was invincible because no one would stand up to him, and if they did, they had the nWo to deal with. Now, everyone threatens him and he folds like a chair. Fuck that. I want the old Eric Bischoff. Give him someone from OVW (Who is ready) to be some kind of security blanket to be his muscle. I want the Eric Bischoff back who had the balls to strip the Steiner Brothers of the tag team titles. Not the Eric Bischoff who gives Triple H title shots just because he’s scared of him.




    • CHEERS to the WWE for Taboo Tuesday. This pay per view is expecting to gain a lot of buzz amongst fans, and I can see the experiment working. I truly expect the fans to use the interactions to their full advantages, and it might make the pay per view an interesting and entertaining one.



    • JEERS to The WWE for Taboo Tuesday. However, how relevant is Taboo Tuesday? After all, the WWE is sort of giving the fans a sort of false sense that they actually determine the outcome of the matches. They promote it as… Yeah! Vote for whoever you want to face Triple H, so fans go out and they vote for not only the person they like the most, but for the person who is most likely to beat Triple H. However… the WWE is giving us power over match making and stipulations, not booking powers. So technically, no matter who you vote for, the overall outcome is ultimately up to the WWE. It kind of makes the voting irrelevant doesn’t it?

      But maybe I’m wrong. I hope it’s a hit for the WWE and it allows the business to get a boost.





    Well, it’s about that time again…



    Free Flowing Hostility: Minor cultural items I am Bored With, Tired Of, and Pissed At.



    1. Stop Stealing my French Fries

    I was enjoying a nice dinner the other day with Jess at Applebee’s when she started to take French fries off of my plate and start to eat them. No big deal, but then I realized that she took a shit load… like half of them. I was like… Bitch you must me out your god damn mind! How fucking rude is that? We have a strange compulsion in this culture that makes us take French fries. I do it, and most people I know do. It bothers me, so I am going to stop. Eat you own fucking fries. I’m paying for them; therefore I want to enjoy them. Get your own.



    2. People who use their race or gender to justify or answer questions

    No, this isn’t an example of someone using the race card, but it’s one of those situations where people use race, gender, religion or other means to try to answer your question, but it never really answers it. In a way, it’s almost an example of stereotyping YOURSELF! For Example, I was talking about religion with my room mate Doug, who is black.

    Me: Doug, what religion are you? What are you Catholic or something?

    Doug: I’m black.

    Me: …so…

    Doug: How many black people do you know who are Catholic?

    Me: A couple…


    Really, all he had to say was no, and he could have answered my question, but he didn’t even answer it. Usually people use the group they naturally belong to justify hard questions on issues. I didn’t know that race, gender, etc. replaced yes and no in the English language.



    3. Dogs in Purses

    I got a little pissed off the other day when I was in a mall in Long Island and I saw some teenage girl walking around with a Chihuahua in her purse. I wanted to go up to her and punch her right in the ovary, so maybe she would never be able to breed. It’s not a fucking piece of luggage. It’s a dog. A living, breathing thing. I’m not one of those PETA people, but I do have a reaction considering I love my dog Buddy, and I see these Trust-Fund Babies carrying around this dog in the food court in the mall in a fucking Louis Vatton bag. The dog was shaking unmercifully too! What kind of an irresponsible douche bag can you be to bring a small dog like that in an environment where there are constant sounds, new smells, and tons of people? I’m surprised the little fucker didn’t have a heart attack!

    And why? So you can look like Paris Hilton? Fuck that. The last person I would ever want to emulate myself based on would be Paris Hilton… a woman who has done nothing to achieve her celebrity. Granted, she is hot, abut I have always seen her as a bit of a Butter Face… in that everything is nice, but her face. I mean, come on… Bill Maher was right on the money when he said that her head is too small and she only has one facial expression. Have you ever noticed that? Well, two facial expression… the eyes half closed, mouth in a small smile to the side of her face look and the I’m getting stuffed on camera Deer in Headlights look. So Teeny boppers of America, I beg of you, stop emulating Paris Hilton for her celebrity. If you want to emulate someone who made a career out of acting better than everyone else, choose Russell Crowe and if you want to emulate someone who is famous for getting fucked on camera, choose Jenna Jameson. And in the mean time, keep the dogs at home. A cute dog doesn’t make you cute; it makes people compare and contrast.



    Well, that’s that, so let’s wrap this one up before this column gets any longer.



    The Caboose


    What did we learn today?


    • We learned about Triple H and his legacy. I tried to answer whether or not the controversies will hurt the way we look at him in the future.


    • We learned about the possibility of overall irrelevance of Taboo Tuesday. Again, hopefully I’m wrong.


    • We learned my true feelings for Paris Hilton. I hope those dogs claw their faces off.


    • Finally, we learned that no matter how much you may not enjoy a wrestler, respect is the overwhelming feeling you get when they die. Again, I was not a fan of Ray Traylor, but when someone spends most of their life away from their family and friends, all year long, just to entertain, you have to respect it. Goodbye Big Bossman.




    That’s it for this week… Come back sometime soon. I’ll be around if you want to send me an email or chat. My schedule is becoming more and more hectic, so I don’t know when my next column will be out, or even what it’ll be about. So, I hope you enjoyed this one… and if not, tough shit.



    ----------------------------------------- Da J-Train -------------------------------------


    merlinJAP@hotmail.com (If you email me, put FEEDBACK in the email subject or it will be deleted)


    AIM: JPAW101…. Feel free to talk to me, I am friendly and give good hugs!




    *NEW GALLERY* Hot Shots of WWE's Other Milena, Milena Roucka! WOW!

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