Wrestling's a game. Some play it well. Others don't.

Triple H is one guy who plays it well. What has he done? Maybe it would be better worded, what hasn't he done? Since his main event push began in 1999, it's been hard for anyone to drive a wedge between him and the WWF world title. Believe me, people have tried, but to no avail. Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, even Vince McMahon, but someone the Smartest Man in the Business has pulled through.

Triple H hasn't been pinned in a match since December 1996. Where, if my mind serves me right, he was beaten in a Hog Pen match by Henry Godwin. That's an incredible record when you think about it. Even guys like Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair can't boast that kind of a PPV record. Take, for example, Survivor Series 2000. Austin v. Triple H. We think we're finally going to get a winner to end this year-in-the-making long feud, but when all is said and done, we get a no-contest. Austin ends up dropping Triple H from a fork-lift truck, whilst H is in a car, and Triple H escapes with his winning streak protected. His winning streak may have been protected, but surely you'd think he'd have a few broken bones at the very least. Oh no, the WWF writers, and more to the point Triple H himself, expect us to believe that H escaped the crash with only a few scratches. Gimme a break.

So, Triple H interferes in Austin's world title match against Kurt Angle, promptly spoiling what could have been a great TV match, and once again grabbing the limelight for himself. Triple H then goes to Armageddon 2000 and keeps his streak intact. I mean, you talk about Goldberg and his streak, but this guy's streak is even bigger.

Look, I've got no problem with Triple H and the success which he has weaved. In pro-wrestling, in order to succeed you've got to do anything. Triple H is the Smartest Man in the business, and in order to succeed he used backstage power. Fair play to him.

The question is, how on Earth did he get this rumoring "backstage power" in the first place? Remember, this is the only guy who was punished for the MSG incident. This is the same guy who had his push set back about three years after said incident. This is the guy who indirectly led to Steve Austin's push starting after King of the Ring 1996. How in the hell did he suddenly get so cushy, cushy with Vince McMahon. Maybe Vince respected Triple H for taking the punishment so well, and fighting on for the company even though he knew he wouldn't get anywhere for some years. Triple H may have not been the best worker between the period 1996-1999, but he sure as heck worked hard. That's probably what was important to Vince.

Triple H was also shadowed, whilst in DX, by Shawn Michaels. Once Michaels "retired" from the sport after WrestleMania 14, it was up to Triple H to take DX to the next level. This seems to me to be the first time Vince gave H the ball and told him to run with it. Triple H was given a chance, as DX leader, and he ran with it. It wasn't long before Triple H was getting more and more mic time to get his character over. You could always tell that he was capable of wrestling good matches (just look at the HHH-Owen Hart series pre-WrestleMania 14), but soon he was being given a chance to show-off his wrestling skills higher up the card. Take HHH v. Rock at SummerSlam 1998 as a good example. This was the match which made the careers of both guys involved. Okay, so they all ready had flourishing wrestling careers before the match, but the SS match took them both to the next level. The 2/3 falls match at Fully Loaded 1998 showed that they could wrestle, but it was the darmatic SS 1998 match which showcased both guy's wrestling and stunt work.

Triple H had arrived, but he was not yet a main eventer.

Skip forward a year, and you'll arrive somewhere at SummerSlam 1999. Triple H only got into the match because Chyna gave him her spot. That's not saying much for H, but that's how the angle worked, and it got him into the main event. After all, we all know who the better wrestler is. SS 1999 featured Austin v. Mankind v. Triple H in the main event, with Jesse Ventura as special guest referee. Mankind was triumphant on this night, but Triple H managed to protect himself and his streak. The more over Steve Austin was pinned, which led to Triple H being protected.

Triple H's push continued, growing in steam with every month, after Triple H pinned Mankind on Raw the next night to win his first world title. Triple H lost the belt to Vince McMahon of all people, but once again H's loss was on TV and not PPV. Triple H wins on PPV again, this time in the Six Pack Challenge at Unforgiven in September 1999. This saw going over five WWF main eventers. Austin returned from injury, only to once again be beaten on PPV at the hands of Triple H. They wrestled a vintage WWF main event brawl. Next came the angle which stands at the forefront of the Smartest Man in the Business' run at the top: the running over of Steve Austin. This angle can be compared to the real life happenings involving Triple H backstage. H knew that the only way he could rise to the forefront would be to take out Austin from the picture. Austin, at this point, was injury ridden and ready for surgery in real life. The WWF created an intricate angle in which Triple H masterminded Rikishi's running over of Austin in Rock's car. The WWF played it out quite well, but it was just another ploy to elevate H's character.

The came the wars against Mick Foley. Triple H beating Foley three PPVs in a row, and the shock result at WrestleMania 16, where Triple H became the first bad guy to ever walk out of WrestleMania with the world title strap. Triple H was riding high as the top man in the company, and it seemed no one could bring him down.

That's pretty much the same today. Triple H isn't the top man in the company, but it still doesn't look like anyone can bring him down. He's out of the world title hunt, in the short term, but after picking up a 2/3 falls victory over Steve Austin at the No Way Out PPV, he'll surely feature in the world title hunt post-WrestleMania 17.

Triple H really is the Game.

Matthew Wilson
ShootAngle.com