Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Triple H currently wrestles on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he is a member of D-Generation X along with Shawn Michaels.

Early career
Triple H was trained to wrestle by legendary wrestler Killer Kowalski. He teamed with fellow Kowalski trainee, Perry Saturn, who would go on to form The Eliminators in ECW. In 1993, he joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW), wrestling as a heel under the ring name Terra Ryzin. Later, Levesque created the persona Jean-Paul Levesque, a hastily constructed persona in reference to his surname's French origins, and was asked to speak with a French accent as he could not speak French. Under this persona, Levesque also briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal. He left in 1995 for the World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
1995-1997
As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Triple H started off his WWF career as the Connecticut Blueblood, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He appeared in taped vignettes talking about how to use proper etiquette up until his wrestling debut which happened on the April 30, 1995 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Although he had an impressive streak during the first few months within his debut, his career stalled during 1996, starting off with being squashed by Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania XII. Up until that event, he appeared on television each week with a different female valet accompanying him. Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII, and after his loss to Ultimate Warrior, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero came to her rescue and this started a program between the two wrestlers.
Helmsley was best known backstage as one of the members of the Clique, a group of wrestlers including Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF Creative team. Because of his connections with the Clique, and because of the WWF's pressure to create new stars to compete with WCW, Helmsley was in line to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but was eventually suspended and buried after the MSG incident where the Clique broke character after a match between Shawn Michaels and Diesel match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall.
Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. He found a manager in Mr. Perfect and won his first Intercontinental Championship on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero. When Curt Hennig left the WWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Helmsley turning his back on his manager as soon as he won the Intercontinental Championship. He held the belt for nearly four months before losing it to a young Rocky Maivia on the February 13, 1997 edition of RAW. For an very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Curtis Hughes, who played the role of his bodyguard. After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13. During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard, assaulting Goldust's wife and valet Marlena.
Helmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the King of the Ring tournament on June 8, defeating Mankind in the finals. Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude (who left shortly after the group was formed) formed D-Generation X (DX). This group became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos, spawning the catchphrase "Suck It" along with a "crotch chop" hand motion, and sarcastically deriding Bret Hart and Canada. By now, Helmsley fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick and adopted the name of "Triple H", though some wrestlers still do refer to him as Hunter. For a time, Triple H took particular joy in riding on then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, often accusing him of impotence.

1998-1999
After WrestleMania XIV, Michaels was forced into retirement due to a back injury sustained at the 1998 Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and Triple H took over the leadership position in DX. He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with the New Age Outlaws, the team of "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn and "Road Dogg" Jesse James. Triple H led the "DX Army" throughout 1998; this was the first time he had performed as a face in the WWF, and he quickly became one of its most popular wrestlers. It was also during this time that Triple H began feuding with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF heel, The Rock. This rivalry eventually led to a feud over The Rock's Intercontinental Championship. Triple H defeated The Rock in a ladder match at SummerSlam 1998 to capture the title. He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a knee injury. When The Rock won the WWF Championship at the Survivor Series 1998, the rivalry between the two continued, but became more of a gang war as DX fought Vince McMahon's Corporation stable, of which Rock was the main star.
Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25, 1999 edition of RAW in an "I Quit" match against The Rock, but was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane. Chyna attacked Triple H after the match and joined the Corporation, betraying him. At WrestleMania XV Triple H wrestled as a face for what would be the last time in several months when he beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX. Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping heel Shane McMahon retain the European Championship, thus turning heel and taking Chyna with him. This decision earned him the hatred of many fans, and helped push Triple H further in the direction of the WWF Championship. Triple H then joined the Corporation, briefly placing him on the same side as The Rock. Unable to get along, The Rock turned on the Corporation and took Triple H's place as a face, quickly rising to further stardom.
After Triple H's heel turn in early 1999, he moved away from his "DX" look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks, and a shorter hairstyle. His image and his personality changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot. After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at SummerSlam 1999 in a triple threat match. In a contest which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee, Mankind won the match by pinning Austin, becoming a three-time WWF champion. The following night on RAW, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.

2000-2001
By January 2000, Triple H had dubbed himself "Game", implying that he was at the top of the wrestling world, as well as "The Cerebral Assassin", implying that he was simply smarter than the other wrestlers. (He has claimed that "The Game" tag was initially conceived for Owen Hart.) He was already a three-time WWF Champion. His feud with Vince McMahon was not well-received, however, and even outraged fans after McMahon won the title from Triple H during an episode of SmackDown!. However, the short-lived feud started the Hunter Hearst Helmsley-Stephanie McMahon storyline that carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months, and this period was known as the "McMahon/Helmsley Era".
Triple H worked a program with Mick Foley in early 2000, which ended in a Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out 2000 that sent Foley into retirement. By the time Triple H shockingly pinned The Rock at WrestleMania 2000 (becoming the first heel to walk out of WrestleMania as champion), he was one of the hottest characters in the WWF, being able to generate enormous heat for his entrance and promos alone. He lost the title at Backlash to The Rock, but regained it in an Iron Man match at Judgment Day only to lose it back to The Rock at King of the Ring.
A later feud between Triple H and Steve Austin culminated in a Three Stages of Hell match in which Helmsley defeated Austin. In 2001, Triple H also feuded with Undertaker, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven. He later teamed with his former nemesis Austin to form The Two-Man Power Trip, capturing both the WWF Tag Team Titles and the Intercontinental Championship once again.
The most difficult moment of Triple H's career occurred during the May 21, 2001 broadcast of RAW when he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury. In the night's main event, he and Stone Cold Steve Austin were defending the Tag Team titles against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in his Walls of Jericho submission hold. Triple H ran-in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle, causing it to come completely off the bone. Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match, something that his fans and fellow wrestlers saw as an admirable display of dedication to the business. He even allowed one of his opponents in the match, Chris Jericho, to put him in his standard finishing maneuver, the "Walls of Jericho", a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps. The tear required an operation, which was performed by famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, in Birmingham. This injury brought an abrupt end to the McMahon/Helmsley Era, as the rigorous rehabilitation process kept Triple H out of action for over seven months, completely missing the Invasion storyline of WCW/ECW.

2002-2003
Triple H in 2002 as the WWF Undisputed Champion.Triple H returned to RAW as a face on January 7, 2002 at Madison Square Garden, receiving a tremendous ovation. He soon won that year's Royal Rumble, and thus received a WWF Undisputed Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania X8. At WrestleMania X8, Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the WWF Undisputed Championship. After holding the title for a month, Helmsley lost it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash 2002. Triple H then became exclusive to the SmackDown! roster due to the WWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with Chris Jericho.
Meanwhile, Triple H's old DX companion Shawn Michaels had made his return to the WWE and joined the nWo, and Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple H over to RAW in order to put him into the group. However, Vince McMahon disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as RAW's new general manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and woo Triple H over to the RAW roster. Triple H did indeed jump over to RAW, reuniting with Shawn Michaels, but on July 22, 2002 he turned heel once again by turning on Michaels, hitting a surprise Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion. The following week, Triple H smashed Michaels' face brutally into a car window to prove that Michaels was "weak". These events led to the beginning of a long, heated rivalry between the former partners, and an eventual "Unsanctioned Street Fight" at SummerSlam 2002, in which Michaels came out of retirement and won. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Michaels was carried out of the ring.
Prior to September 2, 2002, the WWE recognized only one Champion for both RAW and SmackDown! However, after SummerSlam, champion Brock Lesnar signed a (storyline) deal to become exclusive to SmackDown!, leaving RAW without a champion. RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H in the form of the old WCW Championship belt due to the fact that he was the last person to hold that title before it was consolidated with the WWF Championship as the Undisputed Title (Y2J was the first Undisputed Champion but physically carried the WWF and WCW titles as separate belts on television). Triple H made his successful title defense against Ric Flair, but eventually lost the belt to Shawn Michaels in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series 2002, but regained it in a 3 Stages of Hell match at Armageddon 2002.
In January 2003, Triple H formed Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. Its purpose was to include the "greatest wrestlers" of the past (Flair), present (Triple H), and future (Orton and Batista). The group was dominant on RAW from 2003-2004, the height of their dominance occurring after Armageddon 2003 when every member of Evolution held a title. Triple H beat Goldberg to win the World Heavyweight Championship, Randy Orton beat Rob Van Dam to win the Intercontinental Championship, and Ric Flair and Batista beat The Dudley Boyz to win the World Tag Team Championship. Triple H held the belt for most of 2003, feuding and ultimately defeating former WCW talent such as Scott Steiner, Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Bill Goldberg in main events.

2004-2005
Triple H lost his title to Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX and was unable to reclaim the belt from Benoit afterwards in subsequent rematches, including an exact rematch of the WrestleMania main event between Triple H, Benoit, and Shawn Michaels at Backlash. Triple H regained the title later that year from former associate Randy Orton at Unforgiven. Following a controversial triple threat World title defense against Chris Benoit and Edge on the November 29, 2004 episode of RAW, the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time.
At New Year's Revolution Triple H won the Elimination Chamber to begin his 10th world title reign. At WrestleMania 21, Triple H lost the championship to Batista, and subsequently lost two rematches at consecutive RAW pay-per-views (Backlash 2005 and Vengeance 2005). Following this, Triple H took some time off from wrestling, learning about the corporate side of WWE in preparation for a future full-time executive position.
Triple H returned to RAW on October 3, 2005 as part of WWE Homecoming to a tremendous ovation, even though at the time he took his absence, he was a heel. He teamed up with Ric Flair (who had turned face during Triple H's absence) against Chris Masters and Carlito. Triple H and Flair won, but the Game then turned on Flair with his sledgehammer. Triple H then began a feud with Flair.

D-Generation X revival (2006–2007)
Main article: D-Generation X revival
DX doing their signature poseAlthough Triple H failed to win the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble in January 2006 to earn a title shot, another championship opportunity arose for Triple H in the Road to WrestleMania Tournament. He won the tournament, granting him a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania, Triple H and John Cena fought in the main event for the title, which Triple H lost via submission. Later that month at Backlash, Triple H was involved in another WWE Championship match, fighting Edge and Cena in a Triple Threat match, where he lost again. In an act of frustration, a bloodied Triple H used his sledgehammer to attack, in storyline, both Edge and Cena and then performed a number of DX crotch chops. Triple H unsuccessfully attempted to win the WWE title from Cena on numerous occasions, blaming his shortcomings on Vince McMahon, which eventually lead to a storyline feud between the McMahons and Triple H.
Shawn Michaels returned on the June 12 edition of Raw and soon reunited with Triple H to reform D-Generation X, turning Triple H face once again. DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance in a 5-on-2 handicap match. They continued their feud with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and the Spirit Squad for several weeks. They then defeated the Spirit Squad again at Saturday Night's Main Event in a 5-on-2 Elimination match. They then again defeated the McMahons at SummerSlam, withstanding the attack of several handpicked WWE superstars by Vince McMahon. At Unforgiven, D-Generation X overcame the odds once again, defeating The McMahons and ECW World Champion Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match. During the match, DX embarrassed Vince by shoving his face in between the Big Show's buttocks, and DX won when Triple H broke a sledgehammer over the shoulders of Vince McMahon after Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on him.
At Cyber Sunday during DX's storyline feud with Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton), special guest referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a weapon to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win. At Survivor Series, DX got their revenge when their team defeated Edge and Orton's team in an Elimination Match with a clean sweep. In January 2007, at New Year's Revolution, DX and Rated-RKO fought to a no-contest after Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps (similar to the one he suffered in 2001 but in the other leg) fifteen minutes into the match. A successful surgery was performed on January 9, 2007 by Dr. James Andrews.

King of Kings (2007–2008)
Triple H performing his iconic ring entrance pose on the second rope following his 2007 comebackTriple H made his return in August 2007 at SummerSlam, where he defeated King Booker.After his return, he won the WWE Championship at No Mercy after beating the newly named Champion, Randy Orton, making Triple H an eleven-time world champion. In the same event, Triple H also defeated Umaga in his first title defense after Mr. McMahon declared his already-scheduled bout with Umaga, a title match. McMahon then announced, Orton would receive a title rematch in a Last Man Standing match in the final match of the event, which Orton won after an RKO onto the announcement table, thus ending Triple H's sixth reign. Triple H's title reign at No Mercy is the fourth shortest reign in WWE history, only lasting through the duration of the event.In the Raw Elimination Chamber at No Way Out, Triple H gained a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV, by outlasting five other men. However, at WrestleMania XXIV, Randy Orton retained after punting Triple H and pinning John Cena following Triple H's Pedigree on Cena.A month later, at Backlash, Triple H won the title in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match against Orton, Cena, and JBL, tying the record for most WWE Championship reigns with The Rock.Triple H then retained the title against Orton at Judgment Day in a Steel Cage match and again at One Night Stand in a Last Man Standing match. Orton suffered a legitimate collarbone injury during the latter match, thus ending it prematurely.

Move to SmackDown (2008–present)
On June 23, 2008 edition of Raw, Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown brand as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft, in the process making the WWE Championship exclusive to SmackDown

Controversy
Triple H is considered a very controversial figure in professional wrestling. Fans and critics frequently accuse him of using backstage politics to occupy screen time, retain titles, elevate his friends, and hold down talented workers.
This criticism intensified after he became the real-life son-in-law of WWE promoter Vince McMahon, marrying Vince's daughter Stephanie. McMahon himself once said on Off The Record that his "son Shane, daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Triple H" would run the company once he passes away.
Former D-Generation X members "Road Dogg" Jesse James and "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn have claimed in a shoot interview to have personally witnessed Hunter's actions behind the scenes. The interview was given shortly after Gunn left the WWE on bad terms.
Helmsley has acknowledged the accusations, but he has also denied them on the grounds that "everything goes through Vince", and that he could not do such things even if he wanted to.

Personal life
Prior to his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, Levesque had previously been in a relationship with Chyna. Following his first WWF championship run, Triple H was put into a program with Stephanie McMahon that culminated in Triple H "marrying" McMahon. During the program, in which Triple H and Stephanie were heels, Levesque and McMahon became personally involved in real life. On October 23, 2003, long after the couple had divorced in the storylines, they married for real.
On January 8, 2006, WWE.com announced that Triple H and Stephanie were expecting their first child in July 2006. On the July 24 episode of RAW, Todd Grisham announced that Stephanie had given birth to a healthy 8 lb. 7 oz. baby girl named Aurora Rose Levesque.On July 28, 2008 Levesque welcomed his second daughter with McMahon, Murphy Claire Levesque.

Television, films and books
Hunter has appeared as Triple H on MADtv and Saturday Night Live and as professional wrestler "The Disciplinarian" on an episode of The Drew Carey Show.
Triple H appeared in the movie Blade: Trinity, as a vampire enforcer named Jarko Grimwood.
In late 2004, Triple H released a book entitled Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body. Mostly devoted to bodybuilding advice, the book also includes some autobiographical information, memoirs, and opinions.
Triple H was featured in the August 14 2005 episode of MTV's Punk'd. He was led to believe that he had ruined a wedding by hitting the bride in the face with a door and damaging her nose, until Ashton Kutcher and Stephanie McMahon showed up. Hunter was also featured in an episode of The Bernie Mac Show.
In May 2006, Triple H appeared in commercials for Miller Lite where he debates "Man Law" with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Eddie Griffin and Jerome Bettis. His appearances in this advertising campaign are ironic, given his personal stance against the consumption of alcohol. That same month, he also appeared in a commercial for USA Network with Anthony Michael Hall, which cross-promoted RAW and Hall's show, The Dead Zone; the main comedic factor being Cena leaving a sunburn enhanced handprint on Triple H's back. He has also been featured in an advertisement for Stacker 2's YJ Stinger, and commericals for bodybuilding supplements such as Joe Weider's Dynamic Muscle Builder and No X-Plode.
Triple H has also briefly appeared in a Wendy's commercial; he holds up a Triple Classic Burger and calls it the "Triple H Burger".
In May 2006, Triple H appeared in commercials for Miller Lite where he debates "Man Law" with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Eddie Griffin and Jerome Bettis. His appearances in this advertising campaign are ironic, given his personal stance against the consumption of alcohol. That same month, he also appeared in a commercial for USA Network with Anthony Michael Hall, which cross-promoted RAW and Hall's show, The Dead Zone; the main comedic factor being Cena leaving a sunburn enhanced handprint on Triple H's back. He has also been featured in an advertisement for Stacker 2's YJ Stinger, and commericals for bodybuilding supplements such as Joe Weider's Dynamic Muscle Builder and No X-Plode.
Triple H has also briefly appeared in a Wendy's commercial; he holds up a Triple Classic Burger and calls it the "Triple H Burger".

Some of this info came from Triple H Galleries<
And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_H

Back to the Retro