For years now, Triple H has been a top player for Vince McMahon’s WWE promotion, headlining several Pay-Per-View events over the last five years. Known for a large portion of his career as being capable of solid chain wrestling technique, as well as utilizing sheer strength at times to cement his legacy. Even his worst critics agree he has some of the best verbal skills of anyone on the current WWE roster. Whether it be Chris Benoit, Dave Batista, The Big Show, or any other wrestler, chances are that Triple H will have a pretty decent match, if not a great one. Being a consummate heel that he is, he always holds the ire of the fans in the palm of his hand, able to manipulate a crowd to instantly hating him by merely emerging from behind that black stage curtain. The man on paper has been great, definitely earning in the ring a reputation as one of the most solid workers the industry has ever seen. However, behind the scenes, he certainly has earned a less noteworthy and much less desirable reputation as one of the most guilty wrestlers to play the proverbial game of politics backstage.

No doubting it, that Triple H did marry Stephanie McMahon, and not only that, they are now expecting a child, so he definitely has been embedded into the McMahon family for many, many years to come. Regardless of his actions in the ring, this is his life outside the ropes, a life that some would claim he has used to propel himself to the top of the food chain as it were of the WWE. The theory does make sense somewhat, as being married to the boss’ daughter would certainly raise eyebrows, no pun or reference intended. How guilty though is Triple H of playing that game of politics, and how much of his success inside the ring should be attributed to his life outside the ring?

Only those that work for the WWE on a day to day basis would know more than most speculators, and even those employees of WWE do not know every decision made by Vince, so honestly the two that know the most would be Triple H and Vince McMahon. Some former employees of WWE have said that Triple H is guilty of holding them back, that he is a reason they never achieved success in the company. Also consider the phrasing "former employee." Not to discredit their strife, but there is certainly a personal bias present that would logically dictate that one’s own misfortune was caused by the man whose marriage provided that golden spoon.

Many, whether or not they feel that Triple H uses his marriage to push his own career forward, would agree that in the past few years, Triple H did not do as much as he could to put over many other wrestlers. Chris Jericho is a prime example of this, as his humiliating fall to HHH at WrestleMania 18 was one of the more lackluster main events in the history of WrestleMania, with bad booking leading up to the event, and just a storyline that seemed to trivialize then champ Jericho. Many storylines such as this one as well as disappointing Pay-Per-View main events did little to help Triple H’s case.

Fans should remember that Triple H is not on the writing staff and that he is not the head booker for the WWE. Many wrestlers agree, when working with Vince, when he says "jump" that wrestler better ask "how high and for how long and how many times?" What Vince says goes, and that is ultimately the way it is in WWE. This is not Triple H’s fault, he is not the one to blame for it. As any other wrestler does, he simply follows orders.

On more current events, take a look at 2005 and it would seem Triple H is listening to what the fans seemingly want from him. At WrestleMania 21, he loses the World’s Heavyweight Championship to one Dave Batista. Triple H even went on to have not one but two re-matches for that title against Batista, ultimately putting Dave over as a legit champ. Perhaps the most crediting action he ever took for Batista was losing to him in the Hell in a Cell match. This was the only time Triple H had ever lost to anyone in that match type, thus putting over then champ Batista even more so than he had already done.

Upon his return from a short hiatus, Triple H was set for a feud with the Intercontinental Champion, and "former" friend, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Although Triple H did beat down Flair at times in this feud, this was merely a way to separate the two, as Flair is certainly no longer needed to be put over by anyone, and Triple H needed to be on his own again. The two had some brutal matches, wherein Flair even managed to win a Steel Cage match after a downright nasty beating, and then at the Survivor Series of 2005, the two had a brutal Last Man Standing match. He even had a Boot Camp match with Shawn Michaels, another friend/rival, losing to him at the Christmas special.

Add to that, in his latest feud with The Big Show, Triple H barely escaped with victory. Despite using a sledgehammer to "break" the hand of Big Show, as well as using many shortcuts and dirty tactics to try to gain the advantage, he was not dominating Big Show. At New Year’s Revolution, Triple H did walk away with the victory, but he barely was able to walk away. Even though he won the feud for the time, Big Show is still seen as a nearly unstoppable giant.

And finally, in the latest of recent events, Triple H entered the 2006 Royal Rumble as entrant number one. He managed to even make it to the final four, only to be eliminated by Rey Mysterio when it seemed Rey was out of the match for sure. So unless he somehow gains a title shot for WrestleMania, he won’t be in the main event this year. Even if he does get a WWE Title shot, it has been a very long time since he had any shots at any championship.

By this course of action, it is obvious that Triple H is not using backstage politics. For nearly a year now, he has not been on the top of the mountain as it were, rather, he has been slowly sliding down the ladder rung by rung. Is he sliding to the mid card? Certainly not. Much like his compadre Shawn Michaels, this is seeming to be Triple H’s time to slow down. After so many accomplishments, there is nothing left to prove to one’s self in this business. So what is left for Triple H?

So far, it seems the man that was labeled as a backstage politician is doing more to build the WWE back up so that there will still be a WWE to carry his dynasty. By building up and putting over more wrestlers, much like Shawn Michaels has done in the past few years, he can remain at the top of his game, pun intended, and still help to mold the next generation of WWE wrestlers. Has Triple H’s fall from the top of the mountain spelled the beginning of his end? This writer thinks that it is only the beginning of a new era for the man called "The Game."

by Rob Zarp ..