Triple H: From 'Golden Shovel' to the WWE Universe's golden light
It was only a decade ago that Triple H was closely associated with the 'golden shovel'.
To the common fan and even in the distant memories of many hardcore wrestling fanatics, The Game was a man that would do anything to stay at the top of the industry.
In the early 2000s, there may have been some remnants of truth to those claims, especially when he married Stephanie McMahon in 2003 and carried more weight with WWE owner Vince McMahon than ever before.
Then there was his 'feud' with the red-hot CM Punk back in 2011 that left just about every demographic scratching their head. In someone's head, Kevin Nash Vs CM Punk was a dream match, probably, but the whole thing fell flat.
Perhaps it says more about the ruthless nature of the wrestling business than it ever did Triple H. He became a main event player and all-time great heel in the most competitive landscape ever. He did what he had to do - and now he's doing the same to make sure his promotion thrives.
Back in 2012, The King of Kings went to Vince McMahon with an idea. Finding relatively polished talent from reliable territories like Memphis, Ohio, Calgary and many others had become a thing of the past - so what if they created their own in-house territory?
With Vince financially backing the project, the Performance Center was born in conjunction with the project and not only has the yellow brand reached unimaginable heights, but so has WWE.
NXT even has a UK-arm under Triple H's umbrella, a move that the 14-time world champion will likely replicate in places like India and Japan in years to come. Toni Storm explained to me back at the first NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool how Triple H's personal attention to each Superstar is far more than you'd expect.
"He's truly a genius," Storm started. "He sees things for you that you just wouldn't expect. Like, he's Triple H! You don't imagine him sitting around and thinking of ways to make little old you your best self. But that's what he and a whole host of other people in NXT do."
"Because of everything he has done for me, I just wanted to make him proud [at NXT TakeOver: BlackPool] - and I feel like he was. As soon as I came back through the curtain he gave me a big hug, my family was there too and it was so special. It was the best moment of my life."
Continuing with the UK perspective, Triple H was smart enough to position Tyler Bate as the first UK champion. Later on, Pete Dunne won the Championship and went on to hold that title for 685 days, establishing himself and the brand to the wider WWE audience.
How passionate Triple H is about his UK subsidiary still shocks Dunne to this day, he told me at the opening of the UK Performance Center.
"It's crazy when you stop and think sometimes 'that's the guy I used to watch growing up' - but I hardly ever do that," Dunne affirmed. "It's all about learning and taking in all of the excellent advice that he and many others like Shawn Michaels, Coach Bloom - many others - have to offer.
"The fact that he's come over here and created an NXT UK brand is one thing, but to see how much our successes mean to him and the passion he has for what many people on this roster helped build over the past decade is mind-blowing. We never thought all those years ago that Triple H of all people would come along and embrace British wrestling like he has."
Sure, Triple H has things to gain in these brands being successful, but it's not all about him, contrary to popular belief. It would have been easy for him to have a match under the NXT name by now, but, instead, he concentrates his efforts on making the product and the stars within it - something he knows of dear importance from being a performer himself - the best they can be.
Many people would consider NXT the best wrestling show in the world right now and if not, certainly their TakeOvers. At Download Festival, NXT champion Adam Cole told me Triple H - along with his best friend Shawn Michaels - are primarily responsible for that.
"I firmly believe that top-to-bottom, bell-to-bell, NXT is the best wrestling show in the world right now. And having Triple H and Shawn Michaels is probably the most important factor. Two of the greatest minds to ever do it passing down knowledge, letting us try things with trial and error and just being involved in helping NXT and us individuals progress and learn and grow as everything moves forward."
So he's able to understand markets. He understands what hardcore fans are watching on the independents and is able to transfer that to a WWE ring. But, most importantly, he's good with people. Something hearsay would leave you to believe wasn't always the case.
Also speaking to me at Download, Matt Riddle talked about how the fact Triple H understood his personality and encouraged it was the overriding reason he signed with WWE.
"I had opportunities to go work elsewhere before signing for WWE, so I let them know before I signed that I don't want to let you down, I'm going to tell you who I am, I'm very honest," Riddle said. "Even with Coach Bloom, we've gotten into it where I'm like 'Hey man, I think you're disrespecting me' and he's like 'what!' and we'll get into it, but then we're better afterward because I don't hold anything back. I'm very honest, I talk and I'll talk some sh*t. I'll say some stuff. But at the same time, it's usually true, I back it up and I think he [Triple H] respects that. I think if I was a bad worker and then I did everything I did, they'd be like 'I hate this guy!
"But, all the talent and especially guys like Shawn Michaels and Triple H, they know I'm legit as hell and they love it. It's helped me a lot."
Triple H's passion for wrestling and experiences within it make him perhaps the most formidable head of a brand in the business today. Every wrestler I've ever spoken to loves working for him and admires him and we the fans feel the same way about the NXT product - long may that recipe continue.