Triple H/Awesome

January 23, 2000 -- In the final months of the millennium Triple H established the face of the WWE, becoming the heel champion, reforming D Generation X as a heel stable in league with the boss' daughter, and became a Complete Monster the likes the WWF had not seen in years. In 2000 he fired Mick Foley, only to hire him back when The Rock and every other wrestler under contract threatened to walk out. Then The Game beat Mankind in a vicious brawl, only to be driven off by a bleeding, unmasked Mankind, who H treated as if he'd seen a ghost. Mankind was meant to fight Triple H at the Rumble, but after he was beaten said he wasn't up to it. Cactus Jack was though. Triple H treated this as Angel turning to Angelus.
- The match itself was treated as the best since the second Hell in a Cell in 1998, which was adored because of the high spots and excluding that the Royal Rumble street fight was considered the best match since the first Hell in a Cell in October 1997. Triple H and Cactus Jack spent the first two minutes in the ring, then the next ten tearing each other apart in the crowd. Then Cactus found his secret weapon, a 2x4 wrapped in barbed wire. The two would exchange blows with this before Cactus was slammed on the announce table. He was able to fight back while handcuffed until The Rock blasted Triple H with a chair, then he brought out thumbtacks. This backfired, as Triple H slammed Jack on the tack, then hit the Pedigree, then a Pedigree on the tacks for the win.
- Backstage footage showed the injuries Triple H suffered during the brawl, including lacerations all over his face from barbed wire, splinters from being slammed on wooden pallets and suspected broken bones.
At the following PPV Triple H and Cactus Jack would fight again. This earns a CMOA because Triple H lamented not being hit with the actual barbed wire, at the Rumble Cactus was and when it was his turn another 2x4 was used. Triple H wanted to be hit with the real thing, and here he got his wish.
- And then Foley set the thing on FIRE!
May 25th, 2001 -- The Two-Man Power Trip (Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H) are defending the WWF Tag Team Championship against the team of Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. Near the end of the match, Triple H attacks Jericho from behind while the latter has Austin in the Walls of Jericho. As Hunter's attack lands, he suffers a massive tear of the quad muscle in his leg. Despite being in overwhelming pain, Trips not only finishes the match, but he also takes the Walls of Jericho on the commentators' table (which did nothing to help his condition). This injury would keep Triple H on the shelf for most of 2001 (which allowed him to miss the InVasion storyline), and he wouldn't be seen again until...
January 7th, 2002 -- After nearly eight months, Triple H returns to WWE and serves notice to everyone that he's going to enter the Royal Rumble. The pop he gets when he steps out on the entrance stage is one of the loudest in pro wrestling history.