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Did You Know the Rock and Triple H Had a Tense First Encounter Before Their Legendary WWE Rivalry Even Began?
The Rock and Triple H had a tense encounter when they first met each other before even embarking on their TV rivalry in WWE.
The Rock and Triple H were the two iconic figures in WWE's Attitude Era, headlining WrestleMania and winning the WWE Championship. When they first met in their rookie days, they had a heated confrontation, at least according to Steve Lombardi, better known as The Brooklyn Brawler.
Even though the Great One debuted at Survivor Series 1996, his first non-televised WWE match was in a house show a couple of weeks before the debut match. In that bout, The Rock faced Brooklyn Brawler in the show in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Rock and Hunter met each other for the first time backstage of the show. Steve Lombardi described the incident in an interview in 2022, taking place at the Gathering Wrestling Convention.
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"Hunter walks over; he’s a little skinny guy. He looks like a pirate, and he’s like, ‘Did I hear right? This is your very first match." said Steve about Hunter coming face to face with The Rock for the first time.
When The Rock gave an affirmative answer, the future fourteen-time World Champion said, "You know I’m gonna be the Intercontinental Champion."
As per Steve, The Rock haughtily responded to Hunter's statement, even though he probably didn't mean to be arrogant. The actor-turned-movie star stated that it was the same title Don Muraco wrapped around his waist, and Triple H would love wearing it.
Responding to the comment, The Game told The Rock that he could take a photo with him when he becomes champion, and perhaps he could purchase ring gear.
Triple H kept his word by winning the Intercontinental Championship. A few months after the first confrontation, Hunter won his first Intercontinental Title in October 1996.
He beat Marc Mero to capture the prestigious midcard belt. During this title reign, he feuded with none other than The Rock, who went by the name Rocky Maivia. After keeping the belt around his waist for 114 days, he dropped the belt to Rocky Maivia, who remained champion for 74 days.
Hence, the Intercontinental Championship was influential to the careers of both Triple and The Rock, making it their first singles title in WWE.
In the upcoming years, both The Rock and Triple H were elevated to the main event scene, delivering one of the greatest feuds of all time. They headlined the major pay-per-views. They mainevented WrestleMania 16 in a WWE Championship match.
After establishing his name, The Rock departed for Hollywood in 2004, while Triple H remained one of the biggest stars of the company. He continued thriving in the main event picture of the Ruthless Aggression Era, winning the World Heavyweight Championship numerous times alongside the WWE Championship.
Despite a shaky start to their relationship, almost three decades later, Triple H and The Rock share a good bond today. During their last in-ring face-off at WrestleMania 31, they teased rivalry, but it didn't happen.
Now, Hunter is the creative head of WWE after retiring from actions in the ring. On the other hand, The Rock is among the biggest stars in Hollywood, while he wrestles occasionally, with his last WWE run taking place earlier this year as the Final Boss.
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