What if Triple H had signed with WCW in 1999?
In 1999, Triple H’s WWE contract was up. Bruce Prichard commented on this recently, noting that WWE wasn’t really fearing losing stars to WCW at that stage because the tide of the Monday Night War had clearly turned. Nonetheless, WWE did get into the habit of locking down stars for longer-term contracts at that stage, including signing The Game for five more years.
There’s little indication that Triple H was going to jump ship. He had signed with WWE when momentum was arguably headed in the opposite direction, with WCW on the upswing, and when Vince McMahon couldn’t offer him as much money, because he felt it was the best place for him to grow as a performer. Just the same, with Helmsley’s friend from The Kliq, Kevin Nash, increasingly a power broker, might the Cerebral Assassin have been tempted?
This article takes a look at what might have been had Triple H signed with WCW in 1999.
#5 Triple H in the nWo 2000
The original New World Order angle was largely played out by 1999. Hollywood Hogan had been through his major programs with Roddy Piper and Sting, and the red and black Wolfpac had splintered and then reunited with black and white.
However, WCW understandably went back to the well on its most profitable angle in 2000. Bret Hart was a key player—a necessary addition to sell the group as fresh-faced but still elite, but also an awkward fit because the heel super group anchored by members of the Kliq didn’t really fit his personality.
Triple H could have ably filled Hart’s spot in this new take on an old group. What he lacked in Hart’s world title credentials in 1999, he could have made up for in both still being in his legitimate prime physically, and the buzz of recently defecting from WWE. Moreover, working alongside Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, the group might have had a more natural chemistry on top and a better chance at succeeding.