Triple H – Blue Blood and Brawn

This interview appeared as an Upbeat Online feature on iSyndicate in April 2001.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley, best known by his initials in the World Wrestling Federation, is at the top of his game. While he may not be the champion anymore, he’s still as popular as ever-and, as shown in this interview, he’s got an unequaled passion for “the business.” Born Paul Michael Levesque, Triple H learned his craft at Walter “Killer” Kowalski’s wrestling school in Boston. After a stint at the IWF as Terra Ryzing, he made his debut with WCW in 1994. Soon, he became Jean-Paul Levesque-a snobby character who lost more than he won. A year later, he joined the WWF as Triple H, a “rich kid from Connecticut.” Vince McMahon gave him a push, and his persona got an overhaul in 1997 with the creation of D-Generation X. In 1998, Triple H defeated Owen Hart to win the WWF’s European championship and, after Shawn Michaels was injured, he became the leader of DX. In 1999, he turned on DX and joined the Corporate Ministry. Late that year he also married Stephanie McMahon, beginning the era of the McMahon-Helmsley Regime.