In 2002, Triple H returned to the Royal Rumble after spending time away from the ring for almost a year due to a torn quadriceps injury. The Game emerged victorious in the Royal Rumble elimination match and earned a title opportunity against the then Undisputed WWE Champion Chris Jericho. Hunter and Chris had a heated rivalry with the former’s wife on Jericho’s side.
The duo locked horns at WrestleMania X8 with the Undisputed WWE Championship at stake. A match filled with action and drama concluded after Triple H hit Stephanie McMahon and Chris Jericho with a pedigree and pinned Jericho to claim the Undisputed WWE title.
However, in the lead-up to his return at Royal Rumble, Chris Jericho pitched an exciting storyline to Vince McMahon involving himself, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H.
Chris Jericho recalls storyline he pitched involving a love affair with Stephanie McMahon
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon tied the knot back in 2002. Even before their real-life marriage, the couple was paired on TV as kayfabe husband and wife. After The Game was on the shelf for months due to his injury, WWE was prepping his massive return.
In the process, Chris Jericho pitched an idea to spark a feud between him and Triple H. In his book “Undisputed: How to Become The World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps”, Jericho detailed his idea that entailed a returning Triple H finding out that his wife Stephanie McMahon straying while he was away.
“I thought Stephanie having an affair with her former worst enemy was the perfect twist to the story. She would justify her actions by saying, ‘You know how hard it is for a woman to be on the road by herself—she has needs! Needs that can only be satisfied by a champion.’
I would justify my actions by saying I knew that HHH would be returning to gain revenge for me causing him to tear his quad in the first place. Therefore, I needed to gain a psychological edge against him, and what better way to do that than by shtuping his wife?”
As per the details in his book, Triple H would win the Rumble and have a heart-to-heart moment with the fans the following night on Raw when suddenly, Jericho would interrupt him only to reveal that his wife was cheating on him with RVD.
Furthermore, Jericho would show The Game footage from a hidden camera that he planted in Stephanie’s room.
In the video, Stephanie would be laying with another man with a long ponytail. The mystery man would then roll over and reveal himself to be none other than Y2J himself. This would allow Jericho an opening to assault the Game in the ring.
The Storyline, however, never made it on TV as Vince McMahon thought that the returning Triple H would already know that his wife had been unfaithful while he was missing in action.
Kurt Angle recalls his on-screen affair with Stephanie McMahon
During the early 2000s, even before Triple H was out of action due to torn quadriceps, WWE was running a love triangle storyline involving Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Kurt Angle.
Speaking on his podcast The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic Hero expressed that his on-screen love affair with Stephanie ended too soon. He felt that the WWE missed out on selling an exciting long-term story involving Kurt and Stephanie as the heel couple feuding with Triple H.
According to Kurt, the angle had the potential to be one of the hottest storylines ever on WWE TV but, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H were dating for real which could have been the reason why the storyline was curtailed.
“I honestly believe the storyline could have been one of the hottest storylines ever in the history of the business if we continued on, especially if I would have paired with Stephanie because, you know, Stephanie and Triple H were the real deal. They had a real relationship, and to have that type of heat I would have from it would have been incredible.” Said Angle.
Angle further added that he enjoyed working with the real-life couple. He also pointed out that sometimes things got uncomfortable during shooting intimate scenes with Stephanie McMahon. Overall, Kurt Angle found his experience to be a mix of “stressful and fun”.
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