Triple H's First PPV Debut Was A Snoozefest

These days, there are few individuals in the pro wrestling industry that hold more power than Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Though Levesque now serves as WWE's Chief Content Officer following the controversial departure of Vince McMahon, he didn't come into the industry at the top. He started training in 1990 and, before making his way to WWE, Levesque had a stint in WCW that included his first-ever pay-per-view match at Starrcade 1994.

Like most wrestlers just getting their start, Levesque didn't receive much fanfare for his PPV debut. Using the name Jean-Paul Levesque at the time, he wrestled Alex Wright in the second match of the night. The two were given nearly 15 minutes, but in hindsight, the match was overlong. Levesque would go on to have an all-time career, but one wouldn't necessarily expect that after watching this lackluster match alone.

It didn't help that WCW saddled Levesque with a snobbish European character, undoubtedly due to his French last name. That wasn't their initial choice, as the company previously had Levesque continuing to use the name given to him by trainer and mentor Killer Kowalski: Terra Ryzing (or Terror Risin'). While Jean-Paul Levesque is definitely an upgrade from that, it's not much of one, especially as they also forced him to use a fake French accent in promos. Some elements of the character would later carry over to his time in WWE with greater success, but in December 1994, Levesque was still just another young WCW wrestler stuck with an unfortunate gimmick.

Levesque's opponent for the night, Alex Wright, was another new addition to the WCW roster, and the match was his PPV debut as well. A legitimate German, the company didn't have to force Wright to adopt a fake accent, and WCW's primary goal seemed to be to get Wright over with the crowd.

Commentator Tony Schiavone emphasized that both men were undefeated heading into the bout, and it would be a big deal for whoever won. Throughout the match, Levesque used his size advantage and tried to keep the pace slowed down, with the more agile Wright attempting to wow the crowd with bursts of high-energy acrobatics when he gained the upper hand.

The match is technically sound, but there's nothing impressive enough to make it stand out. The fans have no strong investment in these performers just yet, and there's no storyline hook here to pull them in. This was a common problem in WCW during this era, though they'd start to turn things around a couple of years later.

Levesque lost to Wright, and it'd be his one and only PPV bout for the company. He left for WWE about a month later, where he'd spend the rest of the decade on a steady rise to the top of the industry. As for Wright, he stayed with WCW until the company's closure in 2001 and retired shortly thereafter.