Shawn Michaels and Triple H are names synonymous with WWE. They are two of the company's best of all time, two best friends who banded together to change the business forever, while also ensuring they created shining legacies as individuals and as a team.
For long-term fans of WWE, It is hard to think of an era when they didn't know these two veterans as the thickest of friends. However, there was a time when Michaels and Triple H were strangers to each other, and there are several stories about their much-discussed friendship that fans don't know about.
10 Stephanie Calls Shawn When Hunter Is Upset
This is kind of a given considering how long the two have known other. Stephanie McMahon has herself been part of this equation for a couple of decades, so she often turns to Shawn Michaels when Triple H is not in the best state of mind.
Hunter and Shawn have shared countless experiences together, be it in the ring, backstage, or when traveling together, so they should know each other inside out. And when the former is upset or angry or needs someone to vent to, Stephanie has Michaels' number on speed dial.
9 An Impressed Shawn Pushed For Triple H's Signature
When a young Hunter Hearst Helmsley was still learning the ropes in WCW, Shawn Michaels had ascended the WWE mountain and was perhaps the most important performer on Vince McMahon's roster. And that meant the latter and his Kliq buddies, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, and Scott Hall, exerted the most influence backstage.
Michaels had seen the then-Terra Ryzing work in WCW and was pleased with what he saw. As a result, he and his Kliq mates pushed for Vince to sign the future NXT godfather to the company.
8 Triple H Was The Kliq's Designated Driver
As soon as Triple H reached WWE, The Kliq ensured to recruit him as part of their band, and the five would soon become 'the guys' behind the scenes. The group's antics have been well-documented over the years, and apparently, Triple had a very important role to play.
As Hunter himself revealed on the Thy Kingdom Come documentary, he was the group's designated driver, since he did not do drugs or drink. Given the other members' checkered lifestyles have been public news for ages, The Game would have had quite a few nights of ferrying Shawn and co. across town at night.
7 Thank Michaels For The Triple H Moniker
Mr. WrestleMania was always considered one of the most intelligent minds in the business, even during his earlier, more renegade days. And nothing quite proves that point more than the fact that he was the reason for the WWE Universe knowing and loving his best friend's in-ring name, Triple H.
While it seems pretty obvious what Triple H stands for, such an apparent fact did not really strike anyone backstage back when Hunter first made his way into WWE and adopted the Blueblood Hunter Hearst Helmsley gimmick. However, it was Michaels who started calling him by his initials behind the scenes, and so well-suited was it that it soon became the real-life Paul Levesque's in-ring name. It even grew on Vince McMahon, who wasn't sold on the name initially.
6 Triple H Helped Get Michaels Ready For WM 14
It is well-documented that Shawn Michaels was in nowhere near good enough physical shape during the latter part of his first run with WWE. He was in constant pain, and the career-threatening back injury he had suffered when battling The Undertaker in a Casket match at the Royal Rumble 1998 had led him to spiral out of control personally.
As a result, Shawn was seemingly not fit to face Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14 in a passing of the torch moment, akin to his and Bret Hart's epic battle at the Showcase of the Immortals two years prior, which signaled Michaels' arrival as the top guy in the company. However, Triple H was on hand to ensure the Showstopper was ready for the big day, and he apparently even helped Michaels get ready for the match against Austin.
5 Stephanie Had Quite The Impression About The Two
The Billion Dollar Princess only became a regular presence on WWE TV near the end of the previous millennium, but she hung around backstage and the locker rooms enough to know about each and every wrestler there. And before a college-going Stephanie even met and knew Triple H, she had a different view about him and Shawn Michaels.
She had regularly watched Raw on TV, and with DX running wild both on-screen and backstage, Stephanie was of the opinion that Shawn and Hunter were more than just friends. That's right. The WWE Chief Brand Officer initially thought that the future father of her children was in an actual relationship with his best friend (and her father's company's most valuable asset at that point).
4 They Didn't Talk For A Year
Again, it is well-established that Shawn Michaels was a problem child during his first run with WWE, and that finally caught up with his best friend. Triple H faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania 17, and The Showstopper was supposed to be involved in some capacity, but, as expected, turned up in no state for any kind of physical activity.
Hunter had reached his limit with his best buddy's antics, and the two exchanged some rather choice words before the show. Such was the tension between the duo that they didn't speak to each other for a year.
3 They Weren't Excited About Goldberg's Hall of Fame Induction
It is no secret that Bill Goldberg was not everyone's favorite in the ring or backstage. Apparently, Triple H and Michaels didn't think too highly of him, at least back in 2010, and they were not on board with the idea of the WCW icon getting into the WWE Hall of Fame.
In the duo's eyes, at that point, there were more deserving names who needed to go in, including the legendary Bruno Sammartino, who finally would get inducted in 2013. HBK was even more scathing in his assessment, saying Goldberg was nowhere near the ballpark for an induction, while he also did not demonstrate the longevity needed for the honor.
2 Shawn Was Not Keen On A DX Reunion
It is safe to say that DX, in its original run, was a bunch of renegades mouthing off as many expletives as they wanted and letting their company handle any heat that came their way. However, after Michaels' retirement in 1998, and subsequent return in 2002, things were different, and when Hunter brought up a reunion in 2006, he was against the idea.
Mr. WrestleMania was now a changed man, a devout Christian, and he felt the kind of antics DX used to pull off were not his cup of tea anymore. And though he was steadfast initially, Triple H eventually managed to convince HBK.
1 Kevin Nash Helped Them Reconnect
As already covered, post-WrestleMania in 2001, Triple H and Michaels were not on speaking terms. However, whatever was spoken between the two at the Show of Shows, and the fact that the latter was now married and had a kid, seemed to spark him to clean up his act and find God.
Gone was the preening, egotistical, selfish Shawn Michaels of the 1990s, shocking many, including close buddies Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. And it was the former Diesel who spoke to HBK and asked him to call Hunter and sort things out now that he was clean and had gotten his life together. All's well that ends well, then.