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The heel run of Triple H in the early 2000s saw him dominating the World Heavyweight Championship picture. Many fans grew tired of watching Raw since it was an unofficial certainty that Triple H would be in the title picture, if not holding the gold outright. The run cemented Triple H as the top villain in the company and the most dominant champion.
Fans started referring to this period as the “reign of terror” for Triple H as his placement on the show hurt the momentum of other talents. Many fascinating elements of the run impacted WWE during that time and in its future. The following details will explain more about Triple H and why fans called his run the reign of terror.
Updated on November 24th, 2021 by Tevon King: 14-time WWE World Champion Triple H is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time to lace up a pair of boots. The Cerebral Assassin became a main eventer in the Attitude Era however, Triple H continued to be successful in the Ruthless Aggression era, and he was awarded the World Heavyweight Championship by Eric Bischoff in September 2002. This began Triple H's "Reign of Terror" that lasted two-and-a-half years on Raw. Triple H feuded with many marquee names but he always found a way to come out on top which derailed some wrestlers' momentum. Whilst, Triple H's stranglehold on the World Heavyweight Championship grew tiresome in some fans' eyes, there's no denying that The Game was perfectly suited to be positioned at the top of the card.
Controversial Reaction To World Championship Gift
The start of the reign of terror saw Triple H being gifted a world championship belt from Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. Brock Lesnar moved to SmackDown with Stephanie McMahon’s contract offer leaving Raw without a champion in the first brand-split era.
Fans were excited about the potential of a tournament, but Bischoff just handed the old WCW belt to Triple H and named him the World Heavyweight Champion. The lazy and cheap title win made fans already start to grow sour on this chapter of Triple H’s career.
Evolution Thrived Because Of It
Evolution formed as a faction during Triple H’s time dominating Raw as the World Heavyweight Champion. Ric Flair became the manager and mentor of Triple H, trying to help him retain the same belt that Flair made famous in WCW.
The concept of Evolution was to have a past legend, current top star, and wrestlers that represented the future. Randy Orton and Batista were handpicked to become the new stars in Evolution learning from the two top names. All four talented benefited from Triple H always taking part in top programs.
Rob Van Dam Missed His Chance At The Top In 2002
One of the wrestlers to suffer most from Triple H’s reign on the top of WWE was Rob Van Dam. The fan support and momentum of Van Dam made him an ideal choice to have a world title reign to prove if he could draw as a top face.
Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship against RVD at Unforgiven 2002 and defeated him with the help of Ric Flair. Triple H’s dominance hurt RVD’s career as he didn’t have a world title reign until four years later.
Always In WrestleMania Title Matches
Triple H was placed into a world title program three years in a row during this time and he would have been involved in nine straight WrestleMania title matches if he didn’t get injured in 2007.
The opponents to face Triple H on the big stage during this specific chapter were Booker T, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, and Batista. WWE trusted Triple H to have the big matches for the Raw brand since he was the most respected star by management.
Ruined Randy Orton's First Title Reign
Randy Orton made history as the youngest World Champion in WWE history when defeating Chris Benoit at SummerSlam 2004. Triple H and Evolution turned on Orton to make him a face since fans were already starting to cheer for him.
The world title reign was a disaster for Orton with a horrible loss to Triple H in his first defense. Orton looked weak in the build to lose a lot of credibility during the first real main event run in his career. Triple H’s heel dominance hurt Orton’s chances to become the face of the company in 2004.
WWE Wanted To Lose Stephanie Attachment
The early 2002 return storyline from injury saw Triple H playing a face who defeated Chris Jericho to win the Undisputed Championship along with ending his on-screen relationship with Stephanie McMahon. WWE wanted to keep Triple H and Stephanie separate even though Triple H turned heel.
Stephanie became the face General Manager of SmackDown, and Triple H started his reign of terror on Raw. The dominant run was meant to showcase his success without Stephanie as a top heel since he had her by his side during his early years at the top.
* The Infamous Biker Shorts
In the summer of 2003, Triple H began to sport biker shorts because of a groin injury that he sustained. The reigning World Heavyweight Champion was synonymous with competing in trunks but it raised eyebrows by fans who are eagle-eyed when he changed his looks.
They seemed simple enough to wear but the Game had to get help to get the shorts on. Nevertheless, Triple H remained a fighting World Heavyweight Champion although, in his bout with Goldberg at Unforgiven 2003, Goldberg ended his 280-day run with the World Heavyweight Championship.
Set Up Shawn Michaels' Final World Title Reign
Shawn Michaels ended his retirement in 2002 when coming back for a feud with Triple H. The first match was unsanctioned before Triple H held a world title and saw Michaels scoring a victory over him in an incredible outing.
Triple H being handed the World Heavyweight Championship was partially done to make fans have a stronger desire for Michaels to dethrone him when coming back in a full-time role. Michaels won the World Heavyweight Title in the first-ever Elimination Chamber match and the two feuded on and off for years.
Destroyed Credibility of WCW Challengers
Many of the top WCW stars arrived in WWE a year or two later after their guaranteed contracts with Turner expired. Triple H feuded with a few of the biggest names in WCW history for the big match attractions with lackluster results.
Booker T endured a horrible program that saw Triple H making offensive comments before beating him at WrestleMania 19. Scott Steiner and Goldberg were vocal about feeling Triple H tried to make them look bad. Even Triple H’s friend Kevin Nash put him over as the WCW legends all fell short to The Game.
Triple H Caused The Unmasking Of Kane
One of the most interesting storylines involving Triple H saw him feuding with Kane with both men putting something on the line. Triple H demanded that Kane unmask if he lost during their World Heavyweight Championship match.
The win for Triple H on Raw saw Kane finally losing the mask after almost six years of protecting the gimmick. Kane losing his mask was a massive victory for Triple H to continue building heel heat. The moment was saved for Triple H to benefit as the top star on Raw.
* 10th World Championship Reign Began At New Year's Revolution 2005
Triple H molded the World Heavyweight Championship into his own, and he had a knack for regaining the championship every time he lost it. At New Year's Revolution 2005, Triple H had to go through Randy Orton, fellow Evolution stablemate Batista, Chris Jericho, Edge, and Chris Benoit to become a 10-time WWE World Champion.
The Game had Batista in his corner, and it seemed inevitable that Triple H would prevail. He recaptured the Big Gold Belt but the seeds were planted for his feud with Batista as he refused to save him at Orton's expense. Nevertheless, Triple H won the World Heavyweight Championship and walked into WrestleMania 21 as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion after he beat Orton in another match at the 2005 Royal Rumble.
Batista Ended It
The rivalry between Triple H and Batista in 2005 created a new top star for WWE. Batista won the 2005 Royal Rumble match and realized Triple H was trying to manipulate him into leaving Raw for a title shot from the SmackDown's WWE Champion instead.
The face turn of Batista made him the hottest face in the company. Triple H put over Batista at WrestleMania 21 and lost the next two matches to him as well. Batista benefited from fans expecting Triple H to regain the gold due to the reign of terror. But in the end, Batista finally ended The Game's stranglehold on the World Heavyweight Championship.