WWE Superstars React to Triple H (25th Anniversary)

- Oh, through the plate glass window!

- Oh no!
I'm so glad you showed this clip!

- I still get goosebumps
from this one.

Yeah, that's my favorite
Triple H moment of all time.

- (Michael) Again!

- Ooh, the Undertaker!

- (Michael) Again!
- Oh!

- Oh yeah, here we go, Pedigree!
Pedigree!

- (Michael) Pedigree!
(bell rings)

- Hunter and I have always enjoyed
being out there with one another.

Like, it's a real life,
bona fide friendship

that has been there
for 25 years.

- (Michael) Sweet Chin Music!
Into a Pedigree!

- Oh!
(bell rings)

- (Renee) What a last match!

- Triple H and Undertaker
go back a long ways,

in one way, that was just
a huge end of an era

to know that they would never
face each other again one on one.

- (Renee) Last time ever!
- Oh man.

- They're so legendary,

they don't even need to come back
to do these matches,

but you know that when
they do wanna come back,

they wanna give it their all,

and kinda show the younger people
like we still got it.

- Just thinking how much fun
he must be having with Shawn.

Obviously kicking
the Undertaker's butt,

but just being in there
with your best friend, causing havoc.

- Oh man! (laughs)

- Oh!
- (laughs) Yeah, remember that!

- I remember this!
- Ah!

- This was crazy.

- It's really a precursor
to a lot of the cinematic matches

we've seen recently
in WWE pay-per-view

because of the pandemic
and stuff like that.

- Get him, baby!

Oh, through the plate glass window!

- It kinda brought it back
to the Attitude Era,

that type of vibe, so we hadn't
really seen anything like that

in a long time.

- I think it was after Randy
had given me his DDT,

at, you know, off the second rope,
and had kissed me

in front of a handcuffed Triple H.

So this was just a really fun story,
you know, I guess,

depending on whose perspective.

And you know, really set up
in Triple H versus Randy Orton.

- Triple H shows up in my backyard,
we're gonna have a problem,

I'll tell ya that, he'll be the one
going through my window.

I got a pregnant woman
in here, dang it!

No danger, alright?

- (Michael) Wait a minute,
wait a minute, no!

- (Jerry) What?
- (Michael) No!

- Oh no!
I'm so glad you showed this clip!

WrestleMania 15 in Philadelphia
was the very first wrestling event

that I ever watched.
That event was the reason

that I became a pro wrestling fan
in the first place.

- (Michael) He's turned his back
on X-Pac!

- Shame, shame, shame.

- (Michael) Right over Shane!
- (Jerry) What?

- This, he wasn't scared
to be a bad guy.

The ultimate bad guy.

- Triple H is such a good bad guy,
like you wanna hate him at all times.

- I think I was 10 years old
at that time.

I was very angry at you, Triple H.

- I think that's really when Triple H
hit that next level.

He went from being the leader of DX
to just a whole different animal.

- He had the passion and the desire
and the drive to feel

like he was good enough
and he deserved his opportunity,

and that clip you just showed
was sort of in that era for him.

(crowd cheers)

- Oh, this is when DX,
DX gets back together.

- (Jim) And Michaels,
bad knee and all!

- Coming in for the save!

- Oh, I love the Spirit Squad!

- (Jim) It appears that
we have just seen...

- Yes!

- (Jim) The reuniting of DX!
(crowd cheers)

- I know in the eyes
of a lot of WWE fans like

ugh, they've done 10,000 of those,
but that was actually, you know,

the real reunion, sort of,
of D-Generation X

from it sort of going dormant,
certainly between he and I,

from 1997 into the 2000s.

- You wanna do this?
Do you wanna do this?

- Let's go!
- Yeah, let's go!

- Suck it!

- Me and Dawks have like
that same mentality.

I know exactly what they
was possibly feeling like.

I remember the first time
me and Dawks reunited

for like WrestleMania,
so we know, we know!

- For me personally, I don't know
if I'm allowed to say this,

but hey, when I was a kid,

I know how many detentions I got

for you know,
telling people to suck it!

- I'm in a group, the Undisputed Era,
and a lot of people

see a lot of similarities between
the Undisputed Era and D-Generation X,

and that's on purpose.

When I think of like my Mount Rushmore
or my top influential wrestlers,

Shawn Michaels and Triple H
are always at the top of that list.

- When we got together
as D-Generation X,

it was something that was just
an absolute blast to be a part of,

because you knew you were
doing something very different,

and very outside of the norm
within the wrestling business,

and it, people either really loved it,

but a lot of the traditionalists
really hated it.

And that, believe it or not,
was an extremely exciting place to be.

- (Jim) Zumhoff showing his
competitive spirit here!

- Oh!
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

- Helmsley, oh!

- (Jim) Hip lock attempt and oh my!

- Ooh, nice, a little RKO action
from Triple H, there we go.

- (Howard) Hunter Hearst Helmsley!
- (Announter) He is, yeah,

nobody likes him he's so
smug and arrogant.

- (laughs) I mean, half our roster
don't even know

Triple H is for
Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

- That's the most amazing thing to me,
'cause they've heard the name

Triple H so long, they don't even know
what Hunter Hearst Helmsley means.

- That's crazy,
look how young he looks.

- Oh my goodness!
With no facial hair.

- Yeah, the bow, the bow,
oh my goodness,

everything about that
reeks mid-90s WWE,

that's so great.

- Love the smugness,
it's so good.

Like, you can't teach that.

- That is so fascinating to me,
to see him as Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

Such an evolution of the character
from where he started in WWE

to where he ended up.

- (Hunter) We stand now
at your door!

- Oh, this is priceless.
- (Hunter) Knocking on that door!

- I knew, I knew!

It's the whole deal,
it's all of 'em, there you go!

- (Hunter) And fight the war!

- It's like the bullies
on the playground

that you love to hate.

- This was amazing!

For DX to show up
at WCW's door,

I was like what is happening?

- If it hadn't have been for
characters or groups like DX,

when there was so much
competition in the business,

maybe the Monday Night Wars,
they might have not won,

and with guys that really clicked,
(laughs)

and they just ran with it.

- It was another side of
the aggressive attitude,

between the brands
and in this rating war

that really catapulted wrestling
to another atmosphere,

another solar sphere.

♪ (tense music) ♪

- Ooh!

- One of his best entrances.

- Every entrance matters
because he's gotta get

everybody who's tuning in
and take them on a journey.

- Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
I see some familiar faces there.

- That's Alexa Bliss,
Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks,

all right there.

- I was shaking doing this, dude.

I thought I was gonna fall off,
I was like do not fall off.

Do not puke.

He legit told all of us

that we were going to have
this moment of our own one day,

and just what, a year and a half later
two years later,

we're all debuting on Raw,
we're all like champions.

- It was so cool
when he told us in the gear,

and being a part of it.

We were like this is our
biggest WrestleMania moment ever!

The fact that now I've had
my four or five WrestleManias,

just at that moment,
like, I didn't have to do anything.

How does he do this?

- Isn't he so handsome?

- He is the King of Kings,

but he's also
the undisputed king of entrances.

- I just remember like,
just seeing that entrance

and going like yo,
this what Daniel Bryan going against?

After all this time,
he's still at this high caliber

and still playing like, performing
at the best level!

- (Jerry) Oh, J.R.!

- That was the return, yep!
- (Jerry) This is it!

- The loudest reaction
I've ever heard.

- This is my personal favorite
Triple H moment.

- Still get goosebumps from this one.

- You know you get some goosebumps
when you return, dad.

- I can't imagine what that
sounded like there,

to be backstage or to be him.

And that's gotta feel good
as a performer.

- People are next level excited
about you,

if when your music plays,
and everyone screams really loud.

But then you actually
walk out the curtain,

and they scream louder.

- To me, that's my favorite
Triple H moment of all time.

- What an incredible moment
to be a part of.

It was just a really powerful night,

and such a well deserved,
mutual respect between

a performer and their fans.

- (Jerry) Kurt, turn around,
you didn't win yet!

Turn around Kurt, you didn't win!

- I love Kurt Angle, God.

- Yes!

- (Howard) The winner
of the Royal Rumble Match.

- Hell yeah.
- (Howard) Triple H!

- I wanna win a Royal Rumble, ugh!

- Winning the Royal Rumble,
in our company,

is just such a big deal
as a whole,

like just being one of,
in history,

one of the Royal Rumble winners,
you can never take that away.

- He had literally just returned.

Paul was the first
professional athlete

to ever come back from quad tear.

To have that drive
where you say

no one's ever done it before,
I'm gonna be the first,

and when he won the Royal Rumble
just a couple weeks later

from that return, after being gone
for a year,

it was a moment that I think
everyone will remember.

- (Announcer) And Sable's, ah!

- Marc Mero!

- Oh, Marc Mero.

- (Vince) You might call it
a perfect hoax, I can't believe!

- He looks like a baby.

- I love hearing my dad,
"it's a perfect hoax!"

Playing off of Mr. Perfect,
of course,

one of my husband's
all-time favorites.

- Was that his first title win?

I know the feeling of winning
your first ever championship,

and it's like the greatest feeling
in the whole wide world.

- I'm curious to know if
not only he,

but if other people thought
he would go on to be

literally one of the greatest
WWE superstars of all time.

- (Jim) For God sakes.

- Oh yes, the turn.

- Stephanie!
- (Jim) What?

By God!

- This is so juicy.

- (Jim) What is this?

- Young and babyfaced Stephanie.

It's so cute now,
but at the time, it was very devious.

- That's what WWE's been great,
always been great doing

is creating all these twists,
this unpredictability,

when no one knows
what's going on,

and Hunter's been involved
in a lot of great storylines.

- That is when I turned on my father

and joined forces
with the evil Triple H.

And that was the moment
that started it all, right?

Here we are married
with three kids,

and if that moment never happened,
who knows where we would be today?

- (Michael) Mankind in the ring,
Pedigree time!

- Ooh, this is a big one!
- (Michael) Triple H!

- Nothing like winning your first
WWE Championship.

- Say no more, fam.
- Say no more!

- Triple H got you!

- (Jerry) Triple H has
realized his dream!

It's all about Triple H!
- Awesome.

- That's the first one, right?

As a performer, that's what everybody
gets in this stuff for,

is to be able to have that moment,
and you never forget your first one.

- That was the beginning
of everything.

The run that he went on,
with being at the top of WWE

for as long as he did
was unprecidented.

- It was a slog, you know?
It was a journey.

It didn't happen overnight,
it wasn't a success.

It was one thing, one story,
good story,

one victory after another,
after another feud,

after another feud,
it's definitely been a cool,

unbelievable road and journey
for Triple H,

and now being the head of NXT,
a lot of great memories there.

- All these clips just go to show you

that starting out as
Hunter Hearst Helmsley,

and seeing where he is now.

You never know,
you gotta keep grinding,

you gotta keep hustling,
you gotta keep working hard.

- So this year marks
the 25th anniversary

of Triple H in the WWE.

Can you talk a little bit about

what Triple H has meant
for you personally?

- Oh, personally for me,
Triple H is, you know,

he's been there through it all.

If it weren't for Triple H,

there would be no Seth Rollins
as you know him today.

- I kinda owe my whole career to him,

because I wouldn't have
the opportunity if he didn't care.

- Paul, I mean, there,
and, Hunter,

I never know what to call him

when I'm talking about him
as a performer,

you know, it's so funny
in our business,

everybody has so many
different names, except me.

He has such a big heart,
he's so smart.

He's really, really smart,
he's funny.

He's handsome, he's the most
incredible father, he's a leader.

He is, he's the total package,
he is my dream come true.

- I've been able to make an awful,
you know, wonderful living,

one, doing what I love to do,

and then getting to do it
side by side with your best friend.

That is absolutely
an unbelievable thing.

- So Triple H has been
an instrumental part

in mentoring many superstars
since he started,

and heavily involved
in what the NXT brand is today.

So can you talk a bit about
his impact on NXT?

- NXT is definitely his vision.
- Yes!

- He's the reason NXT
is successful as it is today.

- He loves this business,
there's no doubt about it.

He's very passionate
about this business,

and if he sees something
in anybody,

even the ones who don't
have the most natural talent,

but have a lot of hunger,
he'll do everything he can

to help them succeed.

- He didn't look at a guy like me
and say you're too small.

He said you're talented,

and I'm gonna let
talented people be talented

and I'm gonna give you a stage,
and he gave us a stage,

and for that, I mean,
I owe him a lot.

- One of the stories
that doesn't get told enough

about Triple H is how he
has always been

a proponent for the women
in our business.

He would fight, you know,
for Chyna

to have a lot of the opportunities
that she deserved, quite frankly.

He started training the women
same as the men,

and that's what led to
the Give Divas A Chance hashtag

that ultimately changed
the entire landscape in WWE

for our female performers.

- If you'd have told
either one of us

that 25 years later
we would be getting to,

getting the opportunity to work
with each other again side by side,

doing something like NXT,
I mean, we'd have been tickled pink.

I feel blessed we're getting
to do it.

He stuck by me
every step of the way,

and that's why, again, you know,

it's why I stick by him
every step of the way.

- So finally, if Triple H
were watching this right now,

what would you want to say to him?

- Tell him not to get a big head,

I'll still knock
the [censored] out of him.

That WrestleMania victory
was a fluke, you can tell him that.

It's a fluke!

- Oh, just thanks.

He's always been very real with me,
and very honest with me,

and I appreciate that.

- I hope he realizes
how influential he really has been,

and how much he motivates people.

He's an incredible example
of guys who lead by example,

and me and so many others
are very thankful to work for him.

- Hunter, maybe one day
me and Candice

will ride down on motorcycles,
and it will be awesome,

but in all seriousness,
thank you for being you man.

I owe my career to you,
I do, me and Candice both.

Like thank you so much
for taking a chance on us.

- I'm forever grateful

for the confidence
he instilled in my dad,

and gave back to him,

and just giving me the opportunity
in NXT, which changed my life.

- Because of him, I'm given
the opportunity to do what I love

every single week,

it just feels so good to feel
kinda equal in this business,

and it's because of him
for giving me the opportunity,

and giving all of us
the opportunity and that time.

And he's incredible,
and I'm so thankful.

- This honestly doesn't happen
without him having our back

and beliving in us,
and having the faith in us

to do what we've been able to do.

- Thank you very much for

taking me through my entire childhood.

The dedication to the craft,

and always believing
in myself and Dawks.

- Triple OG, OG Triple H.
Happy 25th, bro.

- All I know is it's been a blast,

and I look forward to, you know,
both of us living another 25 years,

and (laughs) continuing to hang out
and have fun together in the future.

- I couldn't be more proud of you,
I love you so much.

You deserve every celebration,
25 years of this iconic career,

and I can't wait for the next 25!

- Thanks for watching this episode
of WWE Superstars React.

- Thanks for watching
like a legit boss.

- Hey guys, it's Sierra,
Producer here at FBE.

Thank you so much
to all the WWE Superstars

who shot this episode
with us.

If you wanna see some of our
other episodes with WWE Superstars,

just hit up those links down below.
Bye guys!