SUMMARY
- Triple H and Shawn Michaels formed one of the most iconic duos in pro wrestling history.
- However, in 2002, the duo broke up in a way that shocked WWE fans.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels are both legends of the professional wrestling world, and they’ve achieved a lot of success in the WWE. Both of these in-ring stars enjoyed a lot of success as singles performers, but their work as D-Generation has also been one of the most memorable parts of their respective careers in the industry.
Even though they had each other’s backs for a long time in the Stamford-based promotion, like many other teams, this duo also broke up due to internal friction. In fact, the awful moment when The Game backstabbed Shawn is arguably one of the biggest betrayals of all time in the biggest wrestling promotion in the entire world.
This shocking incident took place back on the July 22, 2002, edition of Monday Night RAW, as Michaels faced betrayal at the hands of his former teammate. The Heartbreak Kid and Hunter were both standing inside the ring for a segment, and the 14-time World Champion was cutting a promo when he unexpectedly gave a pedigree to Shawn Michaels.
Triple H betrays Shawn Michaels – WWE RAW July 22, 2002. pic.twitter.com/qc1faSACzS
— Pro Wrestling Feed (@prowrestlefeed) May 20, 2024
As their friendship was well-known to the WWE Universe due to their tenure as DX, this was an absolutely shocking turn-on for the audience, and it was clearly visible from their reaction to the betrayal. After attacking his former friend, Triple H tore apart the D-Generation X t-shirt he was wearing and walked off, thus confirming the end of their run as a tag team in the Stamford-based promotion.
It must be noted that this whole saga took place soon after Michaels made his comeback to the industry after being out of action for four years. After getting cleared, HBK returned to television in June 2002, as Kevin Nash introduced him as the newest addition to nWo. But his journey with this faction ended even before it properly began.
After Scott Hall was unexpectedly released from the company due to some external activities, the storyline was dropped abruptly. Soon after this, Shawn Michaels and Hunter were presented as friends who looked set to reform DX. But things didn’t go as expected by the audience, and The Game turned on him, which is still one of the biggest betrayals of all time in the history of the WWE.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ rivalry was an exceptional one
Soon after their breakup as a team, The Heartbreak Kid was attacked by an assailant, and Hunter went the detective route to try to figure out who attacked Michaels. But in the end, it was none other than Hunter who did the whole thing, and this eventually set up a match between them for the 2002 edition of SummerSlam.
Their match at the mega event was one of the best encounters of the entire year, as both superstars gave it their all in the ring. As their feud began after a betrayal, it was a very personal one, and the intensity was clearly visible during their match. What made this single bout an extremely interesting one was the special stipulation associated with it.
The then-RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff had made this an unsanctioned match, which meant anything was possible and WWE wouldn’t be liable or responsible for any injuries or consequences. It was probably the only thing that this high-profile storyline needed to set the stage on fire, and they did exactly that during the match at SummerSlam 2002.
The WWE Universe expected this match to be an absolute banger ever since it was announced, and the quality of skills these two had was the primary reason behind it. In addition to that, the kind of storyline it was, everyone was sure that they’d end up doing their best work inside the ring, and it eventually happened.
Both superstars tried everything in their arsenal to get the three-count, but they weren’t successful until HBK tried to deliver a Sweet Chin Music to Hunter. As Triple H saved himself and attempted a pedigree, Michaels countered with a jackknife cover and defeated Hunter. But he wasn’t even able to celebrate his win.
After the match, The Heartbreak Kid was celebrating his victory when the 14-time World Champion hit him with a sledgehammer to the back. Following this, the WWE CCO hit him with another, and Shawn was left unconscious. The attack was so vicious that Shawn Michaels had to be taken out of the ring with a stretcher, and it shows why it was truly one of the most brutal matches of the legend’s career in the professional wrestling industry.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels are the best of friends in real life
While the rivalry Hunter and The Heartbreak Kid had after the end of their tag team run in 2002 was exceptional, it wasn’t their last on-screen work together. Even after this feud, they reunited as a team and continued their dominance in the promotion, and then again went on their separate paths as singles stars. But their friendship wasn’t limited to TV, as Triple H and Shawn Michaels are the best of friends in real life.
Both of these legends have a lot of respect for each other, as WWE veterans as well as on individual levels, and they’ve been pretty vocal about it throughout their careers in the pro wrestling industry. Even though they’re now no longer active as in-ring performers, they work pretty closely with each other for the next generation of stars for the Stamford-based promotion.
Hunter has taken the company into the Paul Levesque Era after taking over the role of leadership, as Vince McMahon is no longer a part of the organization. On the other hand, his friend Shawn is doing great in creating the next lot of superstars for the professional wrestling world, as he’s associated with WWE’s developmental territory yellow brand, NXT.
Until now, they’ve done spectacular work in their respective roles, and it seems like this duo of veterans is going to continue their dominance over the promotion through these executive roles. But the question is, will we ever get to see them work together on some storyline down the line? The chances aren’t that high, but it remains to be seen what the future holds for these pro wrestling legends.