Triple H and The "It" Factor in Pro Wrestling

From The Layfield Report:

Some guys just get it.

In the business of professional wresting, this is very important. You must get it, in order to fit in. You must understand it to succeed and you must have it to be considered among the greats. What is it?

Just ask Triple H.

For me, Triple H is the ultimate example of a guy who just gets it. From the first moment I saw him in WCW, to this past Monday Night on Raw when he attacked Paul Heyman through all the years in between, I have always considered Hunter to be a talent who was born to be a professional wrestler.

And that, my friends, is the “it” I’m talking about. It’s that one intangible, that quality that sets a worker apart from the rest of the pack. Sometimes it’s easy to explain, easy to see, and other times it’s not as obvious.

After all, not everyone is cut out for this kind of life. Many men and women have went down the pro wrestling road before, with big dreams and lofty aspirations, only to end up dejected and very disappointed.

What separates Triple H from those who have come and gone before? What makes him any better or more relevant than those who struggled to get noticed but just did not have the tools necessary to get where they wanted to go?

Just look in his eyes. That’s all you need to know.



Hunter’s character is all business. When he steps through the curtain, he undergoes the change that all of the greats do-he ceases to be the man outside the business and becomes the character that we all know. The Game is a tough, no nonsense technician with an icy cold intensity honed to a razor sharp edge. And when you see him, that’s who you see. That is the man we know.

But the truth is we all know that outside the ring, Hunter is a husband, father, and businessman. While his life is not exactly that of the typical blue collar working man, he undoubtedly enjoys many of the same things that any other regular guy would. At the end of the day, Triple H is just a flesh and blood man who works in the industry he loves.

Put him in front of a live crowd however, and he flips the switch. Plain and simple.

To me, Triple H is very much in the old school vein of pro wrestlers. Years before Ric Flair returned to WWE after the demise of WCW and his association with Hunter began on the air, I often compared the two men. Flair is of course, a legend in the business. He paved the way for so many others and inspired so many others, Triple H included, and that influence was definitely apparent very early on.

Ric got over because he was a force of nature. Cocky, flamboyant, with a taste for the good life and a swagger that no one before him or since him have ever quite been able to capture. He was definitely one of a kind.

When Flair spoke, he did not give the impression that he was going through the motions. He did not feel rehearsed, or directed by some unseen hand. Ric Flair was The Nature Boy, styling and profiling and had the world by the throat. That was the man we saw.

He was not acting.

Ric got it. He knew that in order to be the best, to succeed, that you have to immerse yourself completely in character. You have to be fearless, with full confidence in yourself and be able to let go of who you are outside the industry to become what the fans want and expect.

This is why Triple H, the man who will be facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29, remains a Superstar that fans still care about. Yes, he’s older. And yes, he has been through his fair share of fights and injuries. His body is likely not what it used to be and fans understand that. But the interest to see him in the ring again is still there because he’s one of those old school guys who just seems to grasp it all so naturally.

He makes it look so incredibly easy. And on the surface it does appear that all a guy has to do is walk down the ramp, pick up a mic and tell the world what he’s going to do. Sounds simple, right?

But wrestling fans know a phony when they see one. If a talent does not have it, then that becomes very apparent very quickly. To be taken seriously, you have to take it seriously. And Triple H does. He always has.

The fans are the ones who decide if a worker is worth their time. A man can be in the worst possible gimmick, involved in a terrible storyline, but if the crowd feels what he’s saying and what he’s doing, then he will get over. We are the ones who can either make or break a WWE Superstar.

In the case of Triple H-especially when he entered Degeneraton X and then later became The Cerebral Assassin-the fans’ decision did not take very long. He was in. Because he got it, understood it, and had it.

Just like all the greats do.

Triple H will go down as one of the most legendary WWE Superstars of all time. He has had a legendary career and will one day leave behind a legacy that future generations of pro wrestlers are sure to follow. He is a man who was truly built for the business.

And that is what it is all about.