By Ryan Frye
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I am a man of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long, long year, and lay many a man's soul to waste.
It's Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil. It could have been written about me.
Am I the devil? Maybe, just depends on who you ask."
-Triple H, SmackDown 2/26/16
Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
Triple H is man wealthy of many things.
He's wealthy in accolades, as a fourteen-time world champion. He's wealthy in power, as the heir apparent---along with his wife Stephanie---to Vince McMahon’s throne atop the WWE. And because of these things, he's certainly wealthy monetarily as well. He lacks nothing. Whatever Triple H wants, Triple H gets.
He's also a man of taste.
In the 1990s, he wore his jean and leather jackets to suit what fit the times. But as his position within the company changed, so did his attire. Now, largely gone are the jean and leather jackets and, in their place, are Armani suits tailor fitted for The Cerebral Assassin himself.
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith
Triple H has been in the wrestling industry for nearly three decades and in the WWE two of those decades. While the rubble of bygone eras was laid to waste, Triple H adapted and remained.
He has stepped over many of men to get to the top, and that's not something he's ashamed to admit. Because in the wrestling business, the cliché goes that you can make friends or make money. And the only thing Triple H isn't wealthy of is friends.
And I was ‘round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Eric Bischoff may have thought he was Jesus when WCW had overtaken the WWE in the early stages of the Monday Night Wars. But being on the opposite side of things, Triple H was one of the many that gave the WWE a needed injection of attitude to turn things back around. And that they did.
Ultimately, the WWE were the ones to end the war. They bought WCW, buried it, and pissed on its grave. Triple H especially did so, considering that every notable WCW alumni that would ever step foot in the WWE fell to his feet.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Triple H has proven himself to be a psychological master. He plays chess when everyone else is playing checkers. He's always one step ahead of his opponent. He is The Game.
I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
Triple H will stab his friends in the back at the blink of an eye, just ask his DX buddy Shawn Michaels or his Evolution cronies Ric Flair and Randy Orton.
Wearing their blood on his hands wasn't enough. He’d attack with his trusty sledgehammer and nearly end their careers. He didn't care either; to him, they'd outlived their use, and now they were merely another stepping stone.
I rode a tank
Held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Triple H literally rode a tank in the parking lot of a WCW Nitro show as the leader of D-Generation-X. To this day, it's regarded as one of the most memorable moments of the Monday Night War.
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
“Who killed the Kennedys?”
When after all
It was you and me
Triple H would give you a hug just to look for a place to stab you in the back.
In 2013, for example, he played the good cop to Daniel Bryan.
Vince McMahon claimed that Bryan wasn't WWE Championship material, but Triple H seemingly disagreed. That is until Bryan became champion, ate a Pedigree, and fell victim to a Randy Orton Money In The Bank cash-in.
A good cop Triple H was not; he was merely the last line of defense for a corporate machine.
Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reach Bombay
Some might claim that Triple H’s psychological games didn't stop once he left the ring; they carried on to his backstage antics.
And while it's not fair for an outsider to say, reports suggest he laid political traps down that some promising young talents were never able to escape.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is just the nature of my game (repeated)
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
Cause I'm in need of some restraint
Triple H was once a rebellious soul, but, once he realized he couldn't defeat authority, he became the authority.
He betrayed many, including himself, so instead of breaking the rules, he now makes them.
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
Triple H is man wealthy of many things.
He's wealthy in accolades, as a fourteen-time world champion. He's wealthy in power, as the heir apparent---along with his wife Stephanie---to Vince McMahon’s throne atop the WWE. And because of these things, he's certainly wealthy monetarily as well. He lacks nothing. Whatever Triple H wants, Triple H gets.
He's also a man of taste.
In the 1990s, he wore his jean and leather jackets to suit what fit the times. But as his position within the company changed, so did his attire. Now, largely gone are the jean and leather jackets and, in their place, are Armani suits tailor fitted for The Cerebral Assassin himself.
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith
Triple H has been in the wrestling industry for nearly three decades and in the WWE two of those decades. While the rubble of bygone eras was laid to waste, Triple H adapted and remained.
He has stepped over many of men to get to the top, and that's not something he's ashamed to admit. Because in the wrestling business, the cliché goes that you can make friends or make money. And the only thing Triple H isn't wealthy of is friends.
And I was ‘round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Eric Bischoff may have thought he was Jesus when WCW had overtaken the WWE in the early stages of the Monday Night Wars. But being on the opposite side of things, Triple H was one of the many that gave the WWE a needed injection of attitude to turn things back around. And that they did.
Ultimately, the WWE were the ones to end the war. They bought WCW, buried it, and pissed on its grave. Triple H especially did so, considering that every notable WCW alumni that would ever step foot in the WWE fell to his feet.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Triple H has proven himself to be a psychological master. He plays chess when everyone else is playing checkers. He's always one step ahead of his opponent. He is The Game.
I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was time for a change
Killed the czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
Triple H will stab his friends in the back at the blink of an eye, just ask his DX buddy Shawn Michaels or his Evolution cronies Ric Flair and Randy Orton.
Wearing their blood on his hands wasn't enough. He’d attack with his trusty sledgehammer and nearly end their careers. He didn't care either; to him, they'd outlived their use, and now they were merely another stepping stone.
I rode a tank
Held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Triple H literally rode a tank in the parking lot of a WCW Nitro show as the leader of D-Generation-X. To this day, it's regarded as one of the most memorable moments of the Monday Night War.
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
“Who killed the Kennedys?”
When after all
It was you and me
Triple H would give you a hug just to look for a place to stab you in the back.
In 2013, for example, he played the good cop to Daniel Bryan.
Vince McMahon claimed that Bryan wasn't WWE Championship material, but Triple H seemingly disagreed. That is until Bryan became champion, ate a Pedigree, and fell victim to a Randy Orton Money In The Bank cash-in.
A good cop Triple H was not; he was merely the last line of defense for a corporate machine.
Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reach Bombay
Some might claim that Triple H’s psychological games didn't stop once he left the ring; they carried on to his backstage antics.
And while it's not fair for an outsider to say, reports suggest he laid political traps down that some promising young talents were never able to escape.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is just the nature of my game (repeated)
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
Cause I'm in need of some restraint
Triple H was once a rebellious soul, but, once he realized he couldn't defeat authority, he became the authority.
He betrayed many, including himself, so instead of breaking the rules, he now makes them.
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste
Once Seth Rollins tore his ACL, Roman Reigns had his opportunity to become The Authority’s new poster boy.
His path would've been much easier, his body less beaten and his bank account larger. But he declined. And in Triple H’s eyes, that shows no courtesy, no sympathy, and no taste. So at WrestleMania 32, in front of a record audience inside AT&T Stadium, Triple H vows to lay Roman Reigns' soul to waste.
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste
Once Seth Rollins tore his ACL, Roman Reigns had his opportunity to become The Authority’s new poster boy.
His path would've been much easier, his body less beaten and his bank account larger. But he declined. And in Triple H’s eyes, that shows no courtesy, no sympathy, and no taste. So at WrestleMania 32, in front of a record audience inside AT&T Stadium, Triple H vows to lay Roman Reigns' soul to waste.