Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he currently serves as the chief content officer and head of creative for WWE.
Triple H | |
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Triple H in 2017 | |
| Born | Paul Michael Levesque July 27, 1969 Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1992–2022 (wrestling) 1998–2017 (acting) 2010–present (business) |
| Employer | WWE |
| Title | Chief content officer Head of creative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | McMahon (via marriage) |
| Ring name(s) | Hunter Hearst Helmsley Jean-Paul Lévesque Paul Levesque Terra Risin' Terra Ryzing Terror Rising Triple H |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| Billed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Billed from | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France |
| Trained by | Killer Kowalski |
| Debut | 1992 |
| Retired | 2022 |
Born and raised in Nashua, New Hampshire, Levesque began his wrestling career in 1992 with the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) under the ring name Terra Ryzing. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994 and was soon repackaged as a French-Canadian aristocrat named Jean-Paul Lévesque. In 1995, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and became better known as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, which was later shortened to Triple H. In WWF, Triple H gained industry fame as a member of The Kliq and co-founding the influential D-Generation X (DX) stable, which became a major element of the "Attitude Era" in the 1990s. After winning his first WWF Championship in 1999, he became a fixture of the company's main event scene, and was widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in North America by the turn of the millennium. Triple H has headlined several major WWE pay-per-view events, closing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, on seven occasions.
Triple H won a number of championships in his career, being a five-time Intercontinental Champion, a three-time world tag team champion (two World Tag Team Championship reigns, and one Unified WWE Tag Team Championship reign), a two-time European Champion, and a 14-time world champion, making him the company's seventh Triple Crown Champion and second Grand Slam Champion. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble match winner, and a King of the Ring tournament winner. Triple H gained late-career praise for his behind-the-scenes work at WWE, creating the developmental branch NXT and earning acknowledgment for his business acumen in professional wrestling.
Outside of wrestling, Triple H has received media attention due to his marriage to Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWE chairman Vince McMahon. In 2019, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of D-Generation X. After suffering from heart failure in September 2021 that resulted in a 15-hour surgery and required the implementation of an ICD, Triple H officially retired from in-ring competition in April 2022.