Triple H is a man of many titles, The Game, the 14 time World Champion, the mind behind NXT, just to name a few. Cruiserweight, however, is not one of them. Yet The Game has taken a particular interest in the weight class as of late, with the impending WWE Cruiserweight Classic. The entire thing was his brainchild, envisioning the best “small” competitors from around the world, all vying to win WWE’s tournament. That vision will soon become a reality. But, how well does Triple H really know Cruiserweights? He spent a majority of his time on top taking on behemoths in WWE’s “land of the giants.” Although, there were a few select instances where the “King of Kings” tangled with someone smaller than him.
5 Times Triple H Wrestled Cruiserweights
Chris Jericho – Wrestlemania X8
Chris Jericho is widely considered one the most successful Cruiserwights in the history of the business. He’s a six time world champ and has captured every belt there is to capture in WWE. But, before all that he was a 4 time WCW Cruiserweight champion. He’s actually faced off with Hunter several times including twice inside the Elimination Chamber, but their most famous encounter came in the main event of Wrestlemania X8. Jericho finally won the big one when he beat Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock in the same night at Vengeance 2001 to become the first Undisputed Champion. Triple H had just returned from a devastating torn quad and won the 2002 Royal Rumble. The stage was set at the Showcase of the Immortals.
The match itself wasn’t bad, but it suffered from two major factors: the booking leading up to Mania and the match that went on before it. Firstly, Jericho was booked as one of the weakest champions of all time. Clean wins were a rarity and he often served as Stephanie McMahon’s lap dog, in what really seemed like a Triple H vs Stephanie feud. Secondly, the pair had the unfortunate task of following the Rock vs. the returning Hulk Hogan. The crowd was unbelievably hot for Hogan and by the time the main event came around, the emotion was gone.
Eddie Guerrero – WWE Draft, Raw, March 24th, 2004
Eddie is one of the most beloved performers in WWE history and his passing was extremely devastating news. He wowed audiences for years with his in-ring prowess and natural charisma. When he won the WWE championship from Brock Lensar in 2004, much like Jericho before him, he truly broke that glass ceiling. Despite his success, encounters with the Game were few and far between. Mostly because Eddie was on Smackdown as their champion, while Triple H is the Raw champion (they were also commonly heels at the same time). That all changed on Draft night 2004, when Hunter was drafted to Smackdown and immediately given a match against their champion, Guerrero.
The match itself made for a pretty interesting visual. Two Smackdown superstars were fighting for Smackdown’s title in a Raw ring. Both guys worked a nicely paced match, with Triple H keeping up with the speed of Guerrero. Eddie seemed to have the match won, before Evolution came down to the ring to distract the official. Trips couldn’t capitalize, though as Smackdown stars John Cena and Rey Mysterio attacked Evolution. Finally, Shawn Michaels, a thorn in the side of the Game at the time, superkicked his foe allowing Eddie to hit the frogsplash. Raw’s Christian broke up the pin, leading to a big Smackdown vs. Raw brawl to close the show with a no contest.
In the end, the whole thing was a farce as Triple H was traded back to Smackdown for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz during the “24 Hour trading period.”
Taka Michinoku – WWF Raw, April 10th, 2000
You talk about something that is weird yet awesome at the same time…this match has to come up. Taka has been a very well respected worker in Japan for a number of years. But to Attitude Era fans, he was known as one half of the comedy jobber team Kai en Tai. So what in the world was he doing fighting Triple H FOR THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP?
We’re not long after Wrestlemania 2000 and the era of Triple H is in full swing. His feud with the Rock is dominating the top of the card and they were set for a one on one encounter at Backlash in three weeks time. However, it was rumored all night that Triple H WOULD have to defend his title.
When the time came for his opponent to be revealed, Kai en Tai and their hired protection the APA marched their way to the ring. Their encounter was awesome, with the pair working an even faster pace than the previous two matches on this list. Taka pulled out all the stops, breaking out flying head scissors and a moonsault. There was a really great false finish when Bradshaw hit Trips with the Clothesline from Hell and Taka executed the aforementioned moonsault for a near fall. Thats right… they actually had the crowd believing that Taka would win the world title. He eventually succumbed to the Pedigree however, when Hunter reversed the Michinoku Driver.
Daniel Bryan – Wrestlemania 30
Perhaps The Game’s most famous encounter with someone smaller than him; what a time it was to be a wrestling fan. The fans had revolted against the rumored Randy Orton vs. Batista main event and constantly hijacked segments to chant for their favorite bearded hero. The WWE higher ups eventually conceited, but had to find a logical reason to insert Bryan in the main event. They used his feud with the Authority in order to set up a match with Triple H and the winner would go onto the main event and compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
The contest jerked the curtain in order to give the winner time to rest for the main event. Despite its position on the card, the crowd was red hot and treated it like a marquee match. These two absolutely put on a clinic from quick paced action, to ring psychology from the Game, to the overwhelming crowd support for Bryan. Seeing Triple H lose to Bryan was such a satisfying moment for everyone watching, he was one step away from his dream. A dream that would culminate with his victory over Randy Orton and Batista in one of the most emotional moments in WWE history.
Tajiri – Japan House Show, January 23rd, 2003
Why not end off with someone actually in the Cruiserweight Classic? This one is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it took place right smack dab in the middle of Triple H’s “reign of terror.” A time in which the Game seemed to always have the world title and refused to put anyone over. Secondly, much like Taka, another perennial mid carder in WWE was getting a shot at the big one.
The home country crowd was obviously solidly behind Tajiri in what would be his only time challenging for the Big Gold Belt. Once again, Triple H put in a great performance really allowing Tajiri to get a great match out of him.
The best spot of the match came when the Japanese superstar missed a moonsault and Trips hit the dreaded Pedigree…. but Tajiri KICKED OUT. That’s right Tajiri kicked out of one of the most protected moves in WWE history. He would fall to a second one just moments later, but it was a great match by the pair and a great rub for Tajiri.
Newfound Appreciation
In a way, this article proves just how great of a worker Triple H can be when he is motivated. He gets a lot of flack for slow matches and his inability to put young stars over. Some of that maybe true as he only cleanly lost one of these matches, but every single one was entertaining and fast paced. Compiling this list gave me a newfound appreciation for the Game, much like his newfound appreciation for the Cruiserweights.
