WWE boss Triple H once lost a major WrestleMania match in barely 90 seconds, but it was all for nothing
WWE chief Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque may be running the show at WrestleMania XL, but he holds one dubious distinction at the WWE megashow.
The King of Kings, is one of the most legendary in-ring stars of all time, but it’s fair to say his career has endured some low points.
While he may have his finger on the button as WWE’s Head of Creative and Chief Content Officer - meaning he effectively has the final say on everything we see on screen - there might be just one WrestleMania moment that has The Game secretly wishing he could erase history.
Back in 1996 and the time of WrestleMania 12, the man we later came to know as The Cerebral Assassin was making a living playing the role of a stuck-up blue blood from Greenwich, Connecticut.
Fans would often enjoy watching the snobbish character get its comeuppance - so WWE bosses wisely handpicked him to face one of the biggest names in wrestling history, who just happened to be plotting a return.
Former WWE Champion The Ultimate Warrior had been lured back into the spotlight in ‘96, and made a return debut of sorts at WrestleMania - at the expense of Triple H - or Hunter Hearst Helmsley as he was then known.
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Rather than getting the chance to lock up and grapple with one of the greats, though, Triple H had his nose rubbed in the dirt - by losing inside just two minutes.
He even nailed his trademark Pedigree in the opening seconds, but Warrior no-sold the move entirely, before unleashing his own patented moves, including a press slam - to end the match in short order at 1 minute, 39 seconds.
Years later, the man left lying in the ring that day would look back at the event in reflective style, telling American Way magazine in 2016: "A lot of people bring it up to me as if it was a sore spot in my career - It's not.
“It's actually something I'm really proud of. Who can say that in their first WrestleMania ever, they got to step in the ring with one of the biggest icons in the business?"
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Even more disastrously for The Game, however, his WrestleMania sacrifice was barely worth it - The Ultimate Warrior was axed by WWE just months later.
WWE cited a breach of contract on the star's behalf for failing to fulfil dates, rendering the huge comeback almost worthless.
In the end, of course, Triple H didn’t go on to fare too badly. He won his first WWE Championship in 1999 and would hold top titles on 14 occasions, as well as being a Royal Rumble and King of the Ring winner.
Since the glory of his in-ring days, he’s transitioned into an executive role behind the scenes at WWE and spearheaded the company’s developmental brand, NXT prior to his current roles.
Warrior would eventually be welcomed back into the WWE fold for the final time, inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2014.
Tragically, he died of a heart attack days later, and just a day after appearing on an episode of WWE Raw. He was 54.