The Undertaker reveals why he did not expect Triple H to succeed in WWE
The Undertaker had already established himself as a WWE main-eventer when Triple H joined the company in 1995. The Deadman recently recalled how he initially thought his legendary rival would struggle to be taken seriously as a top star.
Triple H debuted in WWE as a Connecticut Blueblood character named Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Two years later, the villainous superstar shortened his name to Triple H and became a key member of the D-Generation X faction. In 1999, he won the first of his 14 world titles.
On his Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway podcast, The Undertaker said he did not have high hopes for WWE's Chief Content Officer after his debut:
"I'll tell you who I would have never have thought would get to the heights from where he started would be Triple H. The fancy Blueblood Connecticut, roody-poo, to take it to become The Game and all of that, that's a really unusual kinda deal for him to stay Triple H the whole time and take it from this thing to riding in on WrestleMania on a big skulled-out chopper was a testament to him." [32:26 – 33:01]
The Game shared the ring with The Undertaker over 100 times between 1995 and 2018. They faced off in three WrestleMania matches, with The Phenom winning every time.
Kane on the logic behind his and Triple H's characters
In the mid-1990s, then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon introduced several outlandish on-screen personas. Before becoming Kane in 1997, Glenn Jacobs performed as evil dentist Dr. Isaac Yankem and a fake version of Kevin Nash's Diesel character.
The Undertaker was joined by his storyline half-brother Kane on the latest episode of his podcast. Reflecting on that period in WWE, The Big Red Machine said gimmicks like The Connecticut Blueblood and Dr. Isaac Yankem were supposed to appeal to families:
"They were trying to make it more family-friendly, and obviously that's a huge consumer base," Kane stated. "But that's where we were at that point. It wasn't like, 'Oh, we're gonna stick this kid with a terrible gimmick.' It was like, 'We think this is great because it's kind of the epitome of where everything is going right now.' I just couldn't sink my teeth into it [Dr. Isaac Yankem persona]." [34:12 – 34:33]
Kane also spoke about the possibility of being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame again alongside The Undertaker as The Brothers of Destruction.
What are your thoughts on The Game's original WWE gimmick? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.