10 Things From The McMahon/Helmsley Era You Totally Forgot
The McMahon-Helmsley Era created a great storyline for WWE during the popular year of 2000. Triple H marrying Stephanie McMahon made them the top powerful heel couple running the show. Stephanie was finding her footing as a heel character for the first time, and Triple H witnessed his career reaching the next level.
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WWE told a lot of interesting storylines with other wrestlers either aligning with them or becoming an enemy. The McMahon-Helmsley Era proved that the authority figure still worked after the Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon rivalry paused. Each of the following moments have been forgotten from that special time in WWE and the angle that defined it.
10 Vince McMahon As Their First Rival
The start of the McMahon-Helmsley Era featured a rare time of Vince McMahon playing a face in WWE. Vince was feuding with Triple H and was betrayed by Stephanie McMahon when his daughter revealed she was plotting with Triple H all along.
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The heartbreak of Vince saw him leaving WWE, which allowed Triple H and Stephanie to run the show. Vince returning saw the feud continuing as the biggest angle of WrestleMania 2000 until turning heel to become part of the act.
9 Triple H & Stephanie's Faces On Titan Tron
One of the funniest things done by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon when gaining power was to put their faces on the Titan Tron. The McMahon-Helmsley Era started with them changing the look by adding that egotistical aspect to the show.
WWE wanted to make the fans treat Stephanie and Triple H as the most hated characters on the show. The visual of their faces on the stage set-up made you despise them, even when they weren’t in the ring.
8 Forcing The Rock & Mick Foley Into Pink Slip On A Pole Match
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon came up with a brilliant and ruthless idea to punish their two biggest enemies. The Rock and Mick Foley emerged as the face wrestlers to stand up against the McMahon-Helmsley Era the most.
A pink slip on a pole match saw Rock and Foley fighting for their jobs with the loser getting fired. Rock won the match to unintentionally get Foley fired, but he staged a protest to demand Foley get rehired by holding up the show the following week.
7 Epic Run DMC Music Video
The D-Generation X 2000 reunion saw them becoming the allies of Triple H to help him retain the WWE Championship. WWE changed the theme song to take away from the usual face reaction when DX enters the arena.
Run DMC’s We the Kings was made for DX, and they even filmed a music video. The McMahon-Helmsley Era members all had a fun time, causing chaos filming it. WWE deserves some credit for having such a great song and music video to change course.
6 Mick Foley Snapping To Become Cactus Jack
The rivalry between Triple H and Mick Foley peaked in early 2000 when Foley became a thorn in the side of the McMahon-Helmsley faction. Triple H getting the better of Foley and brutally attacking him in the build caused Mick to snap.
The Mankind character ended, and Foley used the old Cactus Jack gimmick to represent his violent side. Triple H sold the change perfectly by being scared of Foley’s darkest side coming out. Cactus vs Triple H delivered outstanding outings at Royal Rumble 2000 and No Way Out 2000.
5 Kane's Big Return Getting Revenge
Kane became one of the rivals of the McMahon-Helmsley Era faction when X-Pac turned on him. The odd couple tag team was over big time with the audience, but X-Pac betrayed him to reunite with Triple H in the new version of D-Generation X.
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WWE wrote Kane off for a short while after one too many beat downs by the group. The return of Kane came at the end of an all-time great Raw ten-man tag main event. Kane received a massive pop to clear the ring and come back with Paul Bearer as his manager.
4 Billy Gunn Getting Kicked Out Of DX
An injury to Billy Gunn led to him being taken off television for many years. Gunn was a fixture in the D-Generation X faction as part of the McMahon-Helmsley Era for the reunion. However, WWE decided to write him off in an interesting manner.
Triple H blamed Gunn for a loss and had the rest of the faction attack him for standing against him. Gunn was kicked out of DX with fans expecting him to return to feud with Triple H. The McMahon-Helmsley Era was already reaching the end when Gunn returned, who instead became an ally of Chyna.
3 Unintentionally Responsible For Edge & Christian Using Kazoos
The comedic moments of Edge and Christian helped make them an all-time great WWE team. One trademark of the talented team was that they played kazoos in humorous fashion to imitate other wrestlers’ theme songs.
Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were actually involved in the origin of that callback. Edge and Christian played theme songs on the kazoo to try to cheer up the couple. WWE had them do it on a few more occasions to make it part of their legacies.
2 Squashing The Radicalz Before Uniting
WWE hired all four members of The Radicalz from WCW when they hit free agency and wanted a change. Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn and Eddie Guerrero all banded together and had a mini feud with the McMahon-Helmsley faction for a week.
Triple H and the other members of D-Generation X defeated The Radicalz that week in a highly criticized moment. The Radicalz then joined up with the McMahon-Helmsley Era as allies to play heel for the next few months.
1 Steve Austin Ending Group
The end of the McMahon-Helmsley Era is often forgotten since Steve Austin’s feud was more personal with Triple H alone. Austin returning after getting run over by a car saw Triple H revealed as the person responsible for the hit-and-run.
Triple H still had the support of Stephanie and Vince, with DX members trying to help him. Austin getting the better of the others and facing Triple H in singles matches ended the group’s association. Everyone quietly tried to find new acts as Triple H and Stephanie remain heels together.
