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Triple H often reminded us that he had beaten them all in WWE, and he was one hundred percent correct. He was not a megastar like Austin and The Rock but his resume surpasses just about everyone else’s. Aside from beating most of his contemporaries on the main roster, some of them several times over, Triple H also conquered the Mount Rushmore of popularity.
The Game was a fierce rival to The Rock and holds a number of victories over the third-generation superstar. During 2001, Triple H was involved in a violent rivalry with Austin, and he beat him too. It took a while for Triple H to beat John Cena but eventually, in 2008, the King of Kings pinned his shoulders to the mat and added another massive name to his resume. Between all of this, Triple H quietly added the name of Hulk Hogan to his record and many fans don’t know even it.
Triple H Had A Forgettable Feud With Hulk Hogan In 2002
Yes, Triple H, the King of Kings, the Cerebral Assassin and then Undisputed Champion, had a short program with the icon of the 1980s, Hulk Hogan. The year was 2002 and WWE had the most stacked roster in history. The influx of WCW wrestlers further strengthened an already impressive roster, but coming out of WrestleMania 18, two of the hottest acts were Triple H and Hulk Hogan.
Triple H headlined WrestleMania 18 and walked out of the arena as the Undisputed Champion, and for once he was a beloved babyface. Meanwhile, Hogan was coming off of a dream match against The Rock, and despite a long absence; he was super over with the WWE fanbase. In fact, Hogan was so popular with the fans that even The Rock was booed the night of WrestleMania.
Soon after WrestleMania 18, Hulk Hogan was named the number one contender to the Undisputed Championship held by Triple H. This sparked a rivalry between two of the biggest babyfaces in the company, and while it was respectful early on, WWE went with a predictable formula of generating heat between two good guys by having them inadvertently hitting each other.
The Build To Triple H Vs Hulk Hogan Was Lazy And Predictable
This incredible “twist” occurred on the April 11, 2002 episode of SmackDown. The main event devolved into a brawl between Hogan, Triple H, Angle, and Jericho. After taking care of the heels, Triple H and Hogan cut a promo with the usual talk about respect and the upcoming match, but then Angle pushed Triple H into the Hulkster and Hogan hulked up, thinking that the champion had attacked him. He dropped the leg on Hunter and then was laid out by Jericho to end the night.
The next week, during a tag team match against Angle and Jericho, Hogan ended up hitting his tag-team partner with a steel chair, accidentally of course. Triple H responded in kind and decked Hogan in the face with a chair, but that was on purpose. Regardless, two accidental mishaps on back-to-back SmackDowns was pretty much the build-up.
Triple H Faced Hulk Hogan For The Undisputed Championship At Backlash
The company clearly intended to replicate the magic of Hogan versus The Rock, but it just wasn’t there. That's not to say that Triple H wasn’t capable of delivering an iconic match, but the storyline was lacking. Backlash was a post WrestleMania PPV and fans didn’t find enough reason to care. The actual match was slow and the psychology was lacking. Triple H worked on the leg for the majority of the bout but towards the end of it, Hogan stopped selling his injured leg, and to make matters worse, interferences abounded!
First, The Undertaker came running down the ramp. Then Chris Jericho came running down the ramp, and in all this chaos, Triple H was knocked unconscious with a chair to the head and Hogan hit the leg drop, covered the champion and won the match. At 49 years of age, Hulk Hogan was once again WWE champion.
Having Two Babyfaces Face Each Other Didn't Work
The title reign of Triple H lasted a mere month, and while Hogan was super popular, it was a bad idea to give Triple H, a big babyface who had headlined WrestleMania, a title reign so short. More importantly, this match had no business going 22 minutes.
The title reign of Hogan lasted a month as well, as he lost the title to Undertaker at the following PPV. Triple H got the win back a few months later on an episode of SmackDown. After emerging as co-winners of a number one contender battle royal, Hogan and Triple H clashed in the main event and the King of Kings was victorious.
Why is this feud so often forgotten? Well, it wasn’t that good.
Regardless, Hulk Hogan versus Triple H was a dream feud. Pity the company botched up what should have been an amazing program.