8/14/99
TRIPLE H
BS: We are joined now on the Stranglehold by the
man set to make his mark once again at Summer Slam, HHH.
Perhaps the biggest match of your career, you finally get
that shot at the gold.
HHH:
Well, I'm going to fight Austin and I'm also gonna fight
Mankind at Summer Slam in at triple threat match and definitely
going to leave my mark.
BS:
As you mentioned, last week Mankind made his return and
the last we saw of him was when you wiped him out. You took
care of Stone Cold the other week and then HBK kind of threw
you a swerve, putting Chyna into the match. What is the
status of you and Chyna?
HHH:
Chyna and I've got this business relationship to where we
both want big things in this business, but the reality of
it is, whichever one of us is gonna get there the other
is going to be behind them 100% so that's not really an
issue. I do have an issue with Shawn Michaels sticking his
nose in what doesn't have to be his business anymore. Shawn
takes it upon himself to want to prove to the world all
the time that he made me. Well, I was doing fine in this
business before Shawn Michaels came along and we made DX
and I was doing a lot better afterwards.
So,
he seems to have this vendetta against me and I'll take
care of that when the time is right. As far as Mankind being
in the match, you know, we still got a few days leading
up to Summer Slam and I've taken him out once for a few
months. Something no one else has been able to do, I'll
take him out again if he gets in my way. If it comes down
to Summer Slam and I get the opportunity, he'll never make
the match.
BS:
Last year, Summer Slam was very good for you. You won the
ladder match against the Rock, DX as a whole did very well
at Summer Slam, winning all of their matches. What a difference
a year makes-- DX is disentegrated, you get the world title
shot. What do you think of the course of the past year?
So much has happened in the WWF.
HHH:
On one hand, DX was a huge part of me. It was creatively,
a lot of it was, quite a bit of it was mine. So, there's
always a part when you leave something like that, that you
regret or wish you didn't have to do, but it was time for
me to move on and I could only go so far with DX. I wasn't
going to get the most I could get with being with DX at
the time and needed to move on. So when I look at it from
my side of it, I look at it as it's been a hell of a year
for me.
I'm
right where I want to be right now. This is the ultimate
point of my career, poised at the WWF championship which
is everybody in this business' goal. As far as the rest
of the members of DX go, I'm sure that Chyna is happy. She's
gonna be standing right by my side if I'm the world champion.
As
far as everybody else in DX goes, you know when stuff like
that splits up, everybody's got to take their own stuff
into their own hands.
If
they feel like they're in a lower position because of the
things that happened, that's their business. They've got
to take advantage of whatever the situation is. You make
the best of the situation. I made the best of it and they
need to make the best of it, it's their business and nobody
else's.
BS:
When the dust settles at Summer Slam and you have that gold
around your waist, would that finally provide the vindication
you need? Talk about what that belt will mean to you because
you were friends with everyone in "the Clique", they've
had gold on. And you've talked before about how you were
held back, you were denied, you were punished. Will this
wipe the slate clean? Talk about what this belt means to
you.
HHH:
Well, as far as everybody in "the Clique" having gold, Kevin
Nash and Shawn Michaels are the only two to be WWF champions,
so it will mean a lot for me than moving up in "the Clique".
To me, it means that at that one moment of time in this
business, whether from a storyline or as a shoot, it means
at that moment you are considered the best. That's an important
thing for anyone in this business, it's where everyone wants
to be. You know, 99% of the guys in this business will never
even get to know that feeling. So that would be the best
moment for me in the world.
It
would mean, uh, to me a lot of silencing of critics over
the years that had said different things about my career
because I'm not a, and this will probably put more heat
on me, because I'm not a stooge for the dootchies. Because
I'm not a, uh, I don't fit into that mold of the wrestler.
I don't go around and kiss ass to people that give opinions.
I really couldn't care less about anybody's opinions except
the people that matter and that's Vince McMahon, myself,
you know. It will mean vindication to me, in that sense,
that I shut all those people up and no matter what they
think I am where I am and deserve to be there.
BS:
If you had to pick three of your top matches or toughest
opponents, what would you look back on and say "I was at
my best" or "they gave me their best" and this is a match
that shows what HHH is about?
HHH:
Boy, there's a lot of people, um, for me to pick specific
matches is difficult. The ladder match, I enjoyed the ladder
match last year with the Rock. I wish on one sense that
I would've been healthier. I went into the match with a
really bad knee injury and came out with a worse knee injury.
So I really was not 100% at that match, I was still happy
with the end product but if I could've been healthier I
would've been happier. Without being in a pay-per-view or
anything like that, I truly enjoyed working with Austin.
I feel that Austin and I kind of have a chemistry together
that seems to work out real well and I enjoy that a lot.
I enjoyed working with Shawn. You know when I was a heel
and Shawn was the champion before the whole DX thing, the
matches we had together were some magic, too.
BS:
If you were in charge of Smackdown. If you were the head
booker, the ceo, the commissioner, whatever title needs
to be applied. If Triple H were in charge of the promotion,
what changes would you make and what would you keep the
same?
HHH:
To be honest, I would do a lot of the same. I think the
storylines are a large focus to what we do. I would maybe
try to include a little bit more wrestling into the program.
You know, obviously one of the things we need to do is bring
up new talent. In our business, its constantly striving
to get new guys in and the more people we can have at the
top the better. So, I would really try to focus on the development
of new talent and I would just try to give them more of
the same. I'd
try an even bigger, badder version of RAW. The time that
the show is on will limit some of the language or things,
but I don't necessarily think that's an issue.
I think
that the things we do in our show go way beyond us using
the word "ass" to be hard, or be cutting the edge, or pushing
the envelope. I think we can do that without any of that
and I think we will do that. I think the most important
thing for me would be to try and move everybody up in their
position within the company, get more people into an over
position.
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