Why Was Triple H Previously Not in the WWE Hall of Fame?
Triple H is finally being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, as he is set to headline the 2025 class. The 14-time World Champion is often regarded as one of the most successful wrestlers of all time, inside and outside the ring. Now, the WWE’s chief content officer will finally get the honor of being an individual Hall of Famer, as he was previously inducted as a member of D-Generation X. This has led to confusion about why Triple H was not previously in the Hall of Fame, and what has taken so long for him to finally get that recognition.
Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, is one of the longest-tenured WWE wrestlers of all time, competing in the company for over 26 years from 1995 to 2021. During that time, he won the WWE Championship nine times, the World Heavyweight Championship five times, seven total Midcard Championships, and three Tag Team Championships. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner, which was won 14 years apart from each other, and a former King of the Ring winner in 1997. It’s clear that the reason why The Game isn’t yet in the Hall of Fame is not because of a lack of accomplishments, so what is it?
Triple H began dating Stephanie McMahon in the early 2000s, and the two got married in October 2003. This completely shifted H’s future for the rest of his life, as the marriage ensured that he would be involved in the wrestling business forever. In 2010, Levesque was named the WWE’s Executive Senior Advisor, a title he informally held for years before that. He later became the Executive Vice-President of Talent and Live Events, though his post-wrestling career really took off when he founded NXT in 2012 and became the show’s executive producer from 2014 to 2021. This was his main role for years, with fans often crediting Triple H for making NXT more enjoyable than Raw and Smackdown in the late 2010s.
In July 2022, Triple H’s role increased, and he became the face of the WWE’s business side following the Vince McMahon allegations. In September of that year, he was promoted to chief content officer, becoming the head of creative for both Raw and Smackdown. His corporate status in the WWE is the reason that he was not in the Hall of Fame all this time, as, similarly to his father-in-law, he didn’t want that type of spotlight while running the company. Despite being the most influential and successful man in wrestling history, Vince is not in the HOF, and that is by choice. However, Triple H has decided to put the corporate hat down for one night and has accepted that it is time for him to go into the WWE Hall of Fame.
