Essany - Playing The Game: How Triple H Became the Heir Apparent to the WWE Empire

Chapter 1: Let The Game Begin

Those who have worked with and for the multi-time WWE Champion say Paul Levesque or Triple H as hes known to the WWE Universe is the smartest and most cunning mind in the history of professional wrestling.

Always one step ahead of his friends and two steps ahead of his enemies, Paul Levesque has long aspired to be more than just one of the greatest in-ring performers of his generation. The Game, as hes universally recognized, wanted to become a larger than life titan of the industry he dominated as a performer for two decades.

While never publicly claiming such, it was clear that Levesque wanted to be the next Vince McMahon. But as a businessman widely considered to be keener and more shrewd than Hulk Hogan, Eric Bishoff, and Ted Turner, Levesque would not dare under any circumstances to compete against McMahons revered WWE nor would he jump ship during the companys mid-1990s slump against Turners WCW.

Still, Levesque, some assert, knew he wanted to one day take over the WWE as soon as signed his first development contract with the lone superpower of professional wrestling. All it would take to make it happen was an artful strategy one that would be concealed from public view thanks to WWE executives and fans concentrating their attention on Levesques undeniable star power and unparalleled professional wrestling prowess.

Early Ambitions

Paul Levesque knew he wanted to be a professional wrestler at a very early age.

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire on July 27, 1969, Levesque admired legendary grappler Ric Flair in his youth, wanting to grow up to follow in the Nature Boys footsteps. It was a dream that led Levesque into the world of bodybuilding at the tender age of fourteen.

I was always tall and thin for my age, but I played a lot of basketball and baseball. I never played football. From whenever I can remember, I was a huge wrestling fan. The power and physiques of these guys always impressed me, Levesque recalled in the July 2002 issue of Flex .

By developing his passion for athletics and bodybuilding, it soon became apparent to Levesque and his peers that the young man possessed extraordinary gifts that would bode well for a future in sports.

At about 14, I was aware of bodybuilding. I knew all about Arnold Schwarzenegger, but didn't know much about what working out entailed. Then a gym, Muscles in Motion , opened in town and a friend of mine, who was older than me, took me along to check it out. We went in and there were these monsters and I thought God, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen, he says.
The first time I picked up weights, it felt so natural. I just fell in love with bodybuilding from the start. I loved challenging myself to a hard workout. After the workout, I was exhausted and couldn't move, and after a few weeks, I noticed improvements in my body.

For me, Levesque disclosed, wrestling and bodybuilding are interrelated. The latter enabled me to build my career around the former. You know outsiders look at bodybuilding and see it as a sport that just involves an hour a day, or it's something that people do so they can look in the mirror more often. It's so much more than that. It's a complete lifestyle. It brings so much into your life and changes everything about you--and not only the way you look. It improves your sense of discipline and work ethic. And you learn to cultivate those habits and apply them to other areas of your life and become more productive because of it. By improving your physique, you become bigger and stronger, which makes you more confident, makes you a more outgoing and more worldly person. Bodybuilding is such a positive influence.

By his own admission, traditional sports didnt hold Levesques fascination the way wrestling did. And, as a result, the future WWE star would continue to cultivate his investment into bodybuilding after graduating from high school in 1987. The following year, Levesque first became somewhat of a local celebrity by winning the coveted title of Teenage Mr. New Hampshire for 1988.

I was probably close to 6' and weighed 135 pounds, Levesque recalls of his early teenage years. I was rail thin. But I started to make progress. I became a real gym rat, eventually working at the gym and, by the time I graduated high school in 1987, I was 200 pounds at 6'3". I entered maybe six bodybuilding contests; my best result was winning the Teenage Mr. New Hampshire at age 19. I was 210 pounds for that show. At the time, I was training with Kevin McGaunn, who went on to turn pro after he won the light-heavyweight division at the 1990 USA. In fact, we used to co-manage Gold's Gym in Nashua.

Wrestling with a Dream

It didn't seem realistic or attainable, like I might as well have said I was going to be a trapeze artist, Levesque admits, reflecting on his earliest dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. It wasn't until I got into bodybuilding that the dream of being a wrestler seemed to be a possibility.

Around the time I won the Teenage Mr. New Hampshire, I met Ted Arcidi, who was coming to the end of a short WWF career, Levesque revealed. Meeting Ted sort of made the wrestling world real to me. It was like here's a guy who got into wrestling because of his build and power, made a bunch of money and then invested it in a supplement business. After meeting Ted, I started to seriously think about trying to become a pro wrestler. Eventually, in 1992, I enrolled at Killer Kowalski's famous wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts.

Trained By a Killer

Walter "Killer" Kowalski (October 13, 1926 August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler with a keen eye for budding wrestling talent.

Kowalski wrestled for several promotions during his well-known career, including the NWA and WWE.

Following his retiring from active in-ring competition in 1977, Kowalski started a professional wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts and subsequently trained numerous future professional wrestling superstars, including Ron Zombie, Chyna, Eddie Edwards and Kofi Kingston.

In 1996, Kowalski was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, with Triple H himself presiding over the induction.

For Levesque, inducting Kowalski into the WWE Hall of Fame brought The Games own legacy full circle, as it was Kowalskis school that largely contributed to the sharpening of Levesques raw tools and talents as a future WWE Champion.

The first day I went to the school, Levesque remembers, a girlfriend dropped me off. When she picked me up that night, she asked how it went. I said, Honest to God, it was the most natural thing I've ever done in my life. It was like I'm supposed to do this. I just felt totally comfortable in the ring. It was similar to the first time I picked up a weight--I knew what to do instinctively.