WWE Rivals (TV Series)

Triple H vs. Mick Foley (2022)

Paul Levesque: Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer

Photos 

Quotes 

• Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : You sort of can look at it as a period of time when Austin would leave, Rock would be on the way out. If I don't rise to that, like, there's a big gap. Foley doing that for me certainly was not only impactful and meaningful to me but impactful and meaningful to the WWE, as well.

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : [after using thumbtacks in a match against Vince McMahon's wishes]  It's much better to do something and ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for approval. And, uh, Mr. McMahon wasn't even angry at us. It'd be impossible to be angry after all we'd done. At that time, word didn't get around like it does now, like about the bad knees and the bad... you know, I had a lot of wear and tear on my body at that point. And at that point, I start thinking about the, uh, you know, the physical toll that the match had taken on both of us.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : I think at that point in time, he was serious about "I'm going to step away and I'm not gonna do this any longer" and medically needed to be done in-ring for a while.

  Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : You're in the middle of looking at two guys that gel, have great chemistry, and the audience is totally invested in. And all of a sudden, one of your performers comes and says, "I'm ready to hang it up." The carpet's pulled out from under you, and you're like, "Okay, what next?"

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : [recounting his match with Hunter at the 2000 Royal Rumble]  We built this match up to be something incredibly special. Cactus Jack returns to Madison Square Garden. It's my match, and this is where you have this great heel, and he's going to get his comeuppance.

  Kevin Nash - WWE Hall of Famer : Triple H had to go against somebody that was basically, eight years earlier, lighting himself on fire in Japan.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : I think both for Mick and I to know that we were going into the Garden, we're being handed the main-even spot at the Rumble. For both of us, it was something we wanted to prove we both should be in that spot and we both should hang in that spot, and that should be where we belong.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Just two years after we had a series of epic encounters, but in a way, we're two new characters. It's Cactus Jack and Triple H. It's not Mankind and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Beauty and the Beast. It's two forces.

• Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : One of the things that makes Mick an incredible performer is his ability to take characters and morph them into who he is, but then also be able to deliver any kind of match that you want.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : It was like a dream come true, Cactus Jack in Madison Square Garden. And I grew up taking trains there, hitchhiking. And now we are rocking the house, and it's the best match of the year for me.

• Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : Mick Foley was the underdog. Mick was the ultimate underdog, because you had seen how tough and how durable Mick Foley was, and go through hell, and get up and come back.

  Self - WWE Analyst : Throughout the late '90s, Mick Foley continued to flip from one character to another. Three characters that talk differently, act differently, and fought differently.

  Kevin Owens - WWE Superstar : Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love, it didn't matter which character he was portraying, you had a level of Mick Foley in all of them.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : You have to be willing to adapt and to create something new, that evolution of who you are and what you do.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I never realized what a big deal it was until I actually had the WWE Championship in my hands.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Seeing him successfully shift himself out of those characters was definitely inspiring. At the same point in time, Rock and Austin have these moments and do all this stuff. As that's happening, I'm thinking, like, "We need a Darth Vader here."

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : Hunter had everything you need. Really smart guy and a terrific wrestler, but he knew he had to transform himself. And I think at the time if you had talked to him, he would probably know "This is my coming of age. This is my rite of passage. This is what I have to go through to be that guy."

  [a clip of Hunter's "I am The Game" sit-down interview with J.R. is shown] 

  Peter Rosenberg - WWE Analyst : Who knew in that moment that just those words would change him and take him to an entirely different level?

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : King of the Ring is kind of tailor-made to be something that gives someone credibility or says to the viewer, "That's a top guy."

  [clips of Triple H's victory over Mankind are shown] 

  Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : The snob won, and the snob had to cheat.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : To be able to do it with Mick, he was a great opponent for me for that, and it helped put me at a different level.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Triple H gets to be the King of the Ring. And the sympathy I gathered, not only from losing the match but from suffering that beatdown after the match, this was like, "That's uncalled for. That's... that was unprovoked. We like that guy." And it just became this great study in contrasts.

  Peter Rosenberg - WWE Analyst : It was a story that, as time went on, you just continued to enjoy. 'Cause you knew they were gonna take it places you'd never seen before.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : We had this really great chemistry together, neither one of us being top-tier main-event guys at that point in time, but being able to create something special. He was willing to do anything and take any bump and do anything crazy and put his body on the line. He liked it when it came back the other way. I don't think he got to work with that many guys that were that way.

  Self - WWE Analyst : When you've got these two superstars having battles that are spilling all over arenas, there's only one logical thing to do. Lock 'em in a cage.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : [clips of his and Hunter's steel-cage match at SummerSlam are shown]  The fans, they were, like, kind of yearning for this bright spot in this dark character of Mankind. They loved this guy. They wanted to see that transformation.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : We would have that match, and it would sort of be the culmination of that storyline, but also a start of Foley and Dude Love.

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Mr. McMahon caught wind of this fictional character I'd created named Dude Love. Well, I created him when I was 18 years old, made a couple of home movies.

  Self - WWE Analyst : Not only did Mankind used to be Cactus Jack, but as a kid, he didn't have aspirations on-on being this mutilator. He had aspirations to be a heartthrob.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Mr. McMahon wanted our universe to see this guy, wanted that dream to come to fruition.

  Kevin Nash - WWE Hall of Famer : Mick was never gonna go anywhere further than mid-card if he didn't have those layers.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : For that time period, I remember Vince McMahon saying, "Dude Love makes people feel good." Dude Love was an unqualified hit. But there's that other guy. He grew in legend in WWE where he becomes almost like that mythical creature.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Dude Love was kind of like the comedy character. Mankind, he was kind of always on the end of the ass-kicking. Cactus Jack was a psycho.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : A lot of credit goes to Triple H, who sells it as if it's a ghost from wrestling past. It becomes the biggest response I've ever received.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : To simultaneously be able to pull off three different characters at the same time, that's really difficult to do.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : When he shifts his personality into that guy, it's a whole different world.

  Kevin Owens - WWE Superstar : Even though Mankind was crazy, Cactus Jack was always the one like, oh, this is a problem. And Triple H made it clear through his actions that Cactus Jack was on another level.

• Peter Rosenberg - WWE Analyst : What makes the street fight different is that it often goes other places. Street fights can go anywhere.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Physically, they're incredibly demanding. The mental game, you have to be a little bit off your rocker to wanna do a lot of stuff in 'em. But people enjoy it.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : After this suplex on this wooden pallet, that Triple H is just pouring blood down his calf and into his boot.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : I remember looking down and seeing a piece of wood sticking out of my leg. I knew that was a pivotal moment for me.

  Bruce Prichard - WWE Executive Director : Through those moments, no matter what you think of him, you see things like that and you see the toughness. You gotta respect the hell out of him.

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : This guy went out there and didn't call for the medics. They didn't call for the doctor. Nowadays, you would probably do all of that, or the doctor would call on you.

  Self - Host : Yeah, they'd make him stop.

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : They would make you stop. It-it's kind of, also, this rite of passage. You know, eventually you're gonna work hurt. And when you do, it's just part of... it's part of the game.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : If there are doubters out there, I don't think anybody ever questioned his toughness again.

• Self - Host : All rivalries come to a point. This one came to... a retirement match. It's gotta be easier if you know that going in, but I feel like as a part of that storyline, no matter how scripted it is, it has to be painful, but it also has to feel great.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I thought going into the Royal Rumble that was going to be my final match. I think I talked to Mr. McMahon. I brought up the idea of a loser must retire. But now we're going to put a sense of finality to it.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : What more can you do as a heel than take a loveable character, like you force him to then retire?

  [a clip is shown of Cactus challenging Hunter to a Hell in a Cell match] 

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : At that point in time, the Hell in a Cell match was mythical. And they'd gone from the classic that 'Taker had and Shawn had. And then you have 'Taker and Foley.

  [a clip of Undertaker throwing Mankind off the top of the cell is shown] 

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : How do you begin to follow that?

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : Guys like Mick Foley are a rare breed. I mean, that's really cool to say, "All of my career, everything I've done, I'm going to give it all to you tonight."

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I had the legend of the cell to my name. But I said, "Okay, let us take that ball and run with it as far as we can." I-It's quite a task to get ready for something like Hell in a Cell. I more or less have to metamorphosize into a different human being. Generally, I needed just some type of jolt with something big. And once there was a big move...

  [a clip of Triple H throwing the steel ring stairs at Cactus is shown] 

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I would be jolted into that alternative reality.

  Becky Lynch - WWE Superstar : I remember watching this match and everything that Mick went through and how hard he fought, thinking "He has to win this. This can't be the last Mick Foley match ever."

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : I have to do my part to make sure that this is as epic as it deserves to be for him.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : [clips of the match are shown]  We've had an exciting match, and we just have to find a way to create a memory. Well, there's an art to presenting your toys, and so you're not rushing it. You want people to enjoy what is essentially an hors d'oeuvres of violence.

  [a clip is shown of Cactus lighting a barbed-wire 2x4 on fire and preparing to piledrive Hunter onto it] 

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Once I let go of him, I have no control.

  [a clip is shown of Hunter countering the move; as he backdrops Cactus onto the cell, a panel breaks and a portion of the ring collapses as Mick lands] 

• Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : [recounting his and Mick's street fight]  Going into that sequence at the end, and we both want it to be great and we're willing to do anything to make it great.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Mr. McMahon came into the dressing room and said, "No thumbtacks." And as soon as he walked out the door, Hunter turned to me and said, "You already put them under the ring, right?" I said, "Yeah, yeah. I got it covered."

  [a clip of Cactus kicking out of the Pedigree, Triple H's finishing move, is shown] 

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : When I kicked out, I mean, the roar was deafening. I hadn't received reactions like that, and that has a lot to do with the guy I'm in the ring with.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : [clips of him winning the match are shown]  That match was a bona fide main event-making match for the both of us.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : That was up there in the top five for sure of my entire career.

  Undertaker - WWE Hall of Famer : It added ten layers to the Triple H character, because he had survived Cactus Jack.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : He really put the... the stamp on me of being a guy that could hang with anybody in... in a... in a physicality standpoint.

• Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Hunter Hearst Helmsley was sort of built on the northeastern Connecticut snob, the very proper, you know, American former Englishman.

  Kane - WWE Hall of Famer : It was a bit of a cartoonish character. And it had some good dimensions to it, uh, but in the end, he was defined by the character.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : That was Hunter's character to get in the door, I think. And it was something that he did well, but that character kind of had a ceiling on it. And... and he offered so much more.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : You have to have a backstory. You have to have a personality. You have to have something that makes you resonate with people. Otherwise, why do they... they can watch anybody wrestle.

• Beth Phoenix - WWE Hall of Famer : The best rivalries across history involve a protagonist and an antagonist. That-that's what we understand more than anything.

  John Bradshaw Layfield - WWE Hall of Famer : Foley was one of these guys that once you give your body for so long, fans start appreciating you.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : [a clip is shown of him winning the match]  I think it was important for him to go out in the biggest way possible. For me, the fact that he was willing to do that for me on the way out was incredible and something that I can never forget.

  Becky Lynch - WWE Superstar : I remembered just being in tears, in tears at the thought that that was the last Mick Foley match that we were gonna see in WWE.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I turn around, and it's the classic blood, sweat, and tears. It's there on my face, plain as day. Blood mixed with sweat, tear in my eye. Triple H allowed me to ride off into the sunset with my head held high. He allowed me the type of exit that, uh, you know, most people can only dream about. I went to a much nicer hotel than I otherwise would have stayed in, had a nice room service meal. Sat on my bed and cried like a baby, because it was over.

  Self - Host : He felt like one of us by the time that story was done, and everybody loved him. And it was heartbreaking to see him go. And the respect that he earned comes out in that moment more than any because we know it's the last time. It's that final standing ovation. And so that's how I'm gonna remember this rivalry from now on.

  Cody Rhodes - WWE Superstar : There's a time, I feel like, for every fan of wrestling when they finally, "That's my guy. That's my girl. That's... I-I gotta watch this." And that was for me for when I really went all-in on Triple H. Hunter did look the part, did work the part. But if he didn't have someone to beat the piss out of, if he didn't have somebody to sell, sell Triple H, and it's not Triple H to do that. It's the opponent. If he didn't have that, it doesn't work. And Mick's humanization and all that doesn't come out unless he's got a bully.

• Self - Host : [discussing the evolution of Triple H's character]  What was that moment like watching the transformation to the promo of "I am the Game," which is what we all know him as today, the modern fan, anyway?

  Cody Rhodes - WWE Superstar : There is the difference between just a wrestling promo and, I guess, a piece of art. There's a lot of good wrestling promos, and then there's things that you don't ever forget.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Especially as a bad guy, your "why" has to carry some believability and some reality to it, even if it's warped. There's gotta be truth in there. And to be able to sit down and have that kind of interview where you can emote that passion, you know, it's-it's a mission statement.

  Cody Rhodes - WWE Superstar : When it's real, it's hard to beat. It's hard to top. And-and veering that way always is... is the best, and it worked out incredibly for Triple H.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Didn't plan it ahead of time, it just came out. But the next week when I walked out, I would start seeing signs everywhere. So you do something that clicks, you run with it.

  [clips of him beating Mankind for the title are shown] 

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : The guys inside the business will joke about it, like there's a moment when you win that title for the first time where it's all real. And you sort of get that feeling, which was, you know, certainly a validation level of reaching the top. I was determined, 'cause I wanted to be the most hated guy there'd ever been.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : He's on the precipice of greatness, but he still hadn't had that one decisive moment. A signal to everyone watching, this is someone to be reckoned with.

• Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : [reminiscing with Mick]  That Rumble match to me was a different level for both of us, and-and that kind of made me answer the question of, am I a player? Am I tough enough to be in that role? Whatever... whatever that question was. I think we both came out of that looking like main-event guys.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : When I was laying in that hole, I just thought, "This... this went really well."

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Yeah.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : "This went really well." Didn't know I'd end the night crying like a baby.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Real emotion. We believed everything. You know what I mean? Like-like, the guys that are the best at it, when they walk through that curtain, it's all real.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : I was able to ride off into the sunset with the matches that I loved having.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Yeah.

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : And I think that was so important to me. I've got an opportunity here for you. I think I've got one more left in me. I got a bag of tacks in the warehouse.

  [Hunter laughs] 

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : Just like Stallone and Apollo Creed at the end of "Rocky".

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : And there's no cameras and right when we go to throw the first punch, it ends.

  [they pantomime a freeze-frame of throwing simultaneous punches] 

  Self - WWE Hall of Famer : And cut.

  Triple H - WWE Hall of Famer : Yeah, I'll agree to do that one. Yeah.