Why Triple H Apologised To WWE Star Before Raw Match
There’s one type of match Triple H did not like being part of, so much so that he even apologised to a WWE star before being part of one.
Long before Triple H was the Chief Content Officer of WWE and the de facto leader of the company, The Game was a hated villain known for his long “reign of terror” as World Heavyweight Champion.
It was during that reign that Triple H came up against Tough Enough winner Maven on Raw in March 2003. This match came just a few weeks before Triple H infamously defeated Booker T at WrestleMania 19 to retain his title but it seems he wasn’t thrilled about the match.
Triple H Doesn’t Like Squash Matches
Speaking in a YouTube video, Maven revealed that Triple H apologised to him before the match as he didn’t like being part of squash matches as he picked apart the rookie and put him away in short order:
Hunter would pull me aside, explain to me, and apologise in advance. He would say, ‘Listen, Maven, normally, I don’t like doing squash matches.’ By ‘squash matches,’ that’s just a term in our business for, ‘I’m going to get every ounce of the offense, and you’re gonna get nothing in.’ The way you build a character, and the way you help yourself is by building your opponent up. If I go out and just squash someone, what have I done? Absolutely nothing.
So Hunter explained to me earlier in the day, ‘I don’t like doing squash matches. I’m sorry I’m doing this squash match. Normally, I want you to get some offense in.’ On this night, leading to WrestleMania in a few weeks, Hunter was just trying to expand on his heel persona.
He had a big match coming up with Booker, and he wanted as many people as possible to hate him, to want to see Booker get the better of him, and what better way to do that than to beat the hell out of the Tough Enough kid?
Triple H’s aversion to squash matches may have had something to do with him being on the wrong end of one when The Ultimate Warrior made his ill-fated WE return at WrestleMania 12.