He’s one of the most respected superstars in the World Wrestling Federation locker room. He’s also a good friend of Kevin Nash’s and Scott Hall’s. It makes Triple H’s perspective on the nWo’s arrival all the more interesting. In this interview Monday afternoon with WWF.com, The Game discussed the nWo, as well as his match with Kurt Angle at No Way Out and more.



WWF.com: What did you think of your match last night?
Triple H: It was good. It wasn’t quite the result I was hoping for, but nonetheless I thought it was good.

WWF.com: How are you feeling?
Triple H: I’m a little beat up, but not too bad. It was my first singles Pay-Per-View match back, and at Pay-Per-Views you put a little more out, even though you don’t necessarily intend to. So I’m a little sore today but not too bad.

WWF.com: How are you feeling in general, almost two months after your comeback?
Triple H: So far so good. I feel great. My wind is not where I want it to be, but that just takes time. You can do all the cardiovascular in the world, it doesn’t get you in shape like being in the ring does. The only thing that gets you in shape for being in the ring is being in the ring. And that’s just time. I’ve only been back for a few months and I’m not quite where I want to be. It’s hard to be back where you want to be when you’ve only been back for a brief period of time, when you want to be where you were after you had been on the road for 10 years. It’s going to take a little while.

WWF.com: Are you not as quick as you used to be?
Triple H: You know, honestly I think people look for things when you get hurt. I don’t feel any more sluggish in the ring. I don’t think, watching myself, I look any more sluggish in the ring. Whether people think that or not, that’s their own opinion. Certainly I’m going to have to move a little bit differently in the ring. I tore my quad off. But I figure I’m just about where I want to be. In another few more weeks or another month, I’ll be right where I want to be, I think.

WWF.com: Can you expand on that? What do you mean when you say you have to move differently?
Triple H: It’s really not a specific thing. It’s just that you’re body is going to move a little differently. I have different strengths and weaknesses in my leg than I had before. I just have to move differently in the ring. It’s not a conscious thing, it’s just that’s how your body works. You work around your body’s limitations. It’s not something that you consciously do. It just happens.

WWF.com: Are you going to be quicker now that you got rid of the old ball and chain, so to speak?
Triple H: (laughs) Quicker witted, I think, yeah. That’ll be the biggest benefit.

WWF.com: How do you think the whole wedding scene went? It sure seemed like the audience liked it.
Triple H: Yeah, I think it worked out very well. I think since I’ve been back, fans have been dying for me to have the confrontation with Steph. I think it was inevitable that it happened, and I think when it did, it happened in the best possible way. We got maximum benefit out of it.

WWF.com: What do you think of the nWo coming in?
Triple H: The nWo is a strong force. Do I think they’re a poison? No. I think that a lot of things in our business get blown out of proportion as time goes on. I think that they’ll be good for business in the long run. I think there’s three more big-name guys for us to dance with.

WWF.com: Are you in a potentially weird spot because, on one hand, you’re a well-respected locker room leader, but on the other hand, you’re friends with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall?
Triple H: No, because I think those guys will prove themselves. I think that they will make their own way. I think that one of the things about the locker room here is that guys will be leery of them because of past reputations. But then it’s up to them to make their own way and to prove to the guys how they want to be treated, how they’ll treat the guys, and how they’ll do business. And if they do all those things right, then nobody’s going to have a problem with them, and nobody will be in an awkward position. But friendship aside, business is business. I can be friends with somebody and separate business and friendship. Business is business and I won’t let it affect that.

WWF.com: Did the so-called Kliq bring about low locker-room morale in the 1990s?
Triple H: I don’t necessarily think they brought about low locker-room morale. I think that as guys left … It’s hard to leave a company when you’re leaving a company to go someplace else, and have there be no hard feelings. I think that as guys left, feelings were hurt on both sides and there were some animosities left there. And I think that’s where the reputation came from more than anything else. I don’t think it was necessarily bad locker-room morale, but business wasn’t as good then. And when business isn’t good, it’s hard to be up all the time.

WWF.com: So you’re not concerned about the locker-room morale today?
Triple H: I’m concerned about it, but I’m not overly concerned about it. I want the guys to understand that this is not WCW. There is no, “These are the guys, and nobody else gets a shot.” You make your own way here. The one thing that guys need to realize – as everybody else does – is that being in someplace a long time doesn’t mean you deserve anything. One of the things that kills me about the guys who write the so-called dirt, and all that stuff, is when they put out, “That guys has been there a long time. He deserves a push.” You know how you get a push in this business? Going out every night and performing so good that they have no choice but to use you. It’s not a thing of you just hanging around and biding your time, and sooner or later you get a push. You go out and you make it so that they have no choice. You make the fans dig you. You make the matches great. You do business, and you go out there and make them see you as the player that you are. And once you’ve done that, then you’re good to go. Too many guys sit back and say, “Well, I deserve.” Or, “I think I should have gotten.” Or, “I should be given.” That’s not the way it works.

WWF.com: You actually seemed to have answered my next question: What do you say to guys who are concerned about losing their spot?
Triple H: You go out there and you bust your ass every night. You have the best possible match that you can every night with everybody that you work with. You do everything that they ask you to do better than they expected you to do it. You cannot hide talent. You cannot keep talent down. When I had all my problems with the “Curtain Call” and all that stuff, did I come back from it? Yeah. Because I went out every night, busted my ass, did everything I was told, and tried to have great matches with everybody I went out with. I worked to the best of my ability to make everything I did as good as it could possibly could be so they had no choice but to put me in a position.

WWF.com: Now that No Way Out’s over, are you getting that WrestleMania feeling?
Triple H: I was already starting to get the WrestleMania feeling. No Way Out was a detour. But it’s already there. It’s a matter of time. I can’t wait. WrestleMania is always such a thrill for everybody and it’s a highlight for us. It’s the Super Bowl. There’s no experience like it. WrestleMania is the ultimate.

WWF.com: Shawn Michaels is going to be at FAN AXXESS. Are you looking forward to seeing him?
Triple H: Yeah. I look forward to seeing Shawn. I look forward to seeing everybody that I haven’t seen in a long time. WrestleMania, again, is a great atmosphere. It’s a great environment. The feeling and the excitement of everybody there is tremendous.



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