Triple H recently did a Q&A with MensFitness.com to promote his induction into the International Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. Below are some highlights:
Aside from having charisma and a quick wit, what do you think makes WWE Superstars stand out from athletes in other sports?
Triple H: I think the well-roundedness. Charisma, quick wit, the ability to perform in front of tens of thousands but also one or two. Our athletes are very well rounded and some of the best in the world physically, and they also have to have the ability to improvise and do theater at the same time. It’s like playing football and doing Shakespeare at the same time. I think that’s a rare combination. It’s a broader skillset. Also, with all these other sports, they want the athletes to be a cog in the wheel. With WWE, we want you to be larger than life. The bigger your brand is the bigger ours is.
Can you name something you’ve done in your career that helped sports entertainment transcend?
One of the cool things for me is growing up as a gym rat and then being on the cover of Flex and Muscle&Fitness and to be representing fitness and health. That was me transcending the WWE world. One of the things I love most about doing a signing is when somebody comes up to me and says they were inspired to lose 100 pounds, or says, “You’re why I went to the gym in the first place.” That means a lot to me. When you can alter someone’s life in a positive way, that’s huge.
That’s one of the things I’m looking forward to most about this Arnold [Sports Festival] weekend. I want to talk to Arnold about health and fitness and how can he and I and my wife work together to affect the world. I brought it up to him a while ago—when he was on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, everybody knew about it and was striving to do these physical challenges. I feel like that’s all been lost and no one is representing that anymore. As many people work out as ever, or maybe more so, but there’s not that front line where kids today are getting it and making working out fun.
If you had to pinpoint a favorite moment in your career what would it be?
I’ve had a long career. I had a series of matches with Mick Foley in 2000 which was a big turning point in my career. Then, coming back from my quad injury in 2001, a lot of people were saying my career was over. A few years ago I wrestled the Undertaker at Wrestlemania with Shawn Michaels as guest referee. That was sort of a symbol of the end of the Attitude Era and our generation. There’s a moment where the three of us are standing together that I’ll never forget.
