Triple H : Thy Kingdom Come - DVD Review

Triple H: Thy Kingdom Come DVD Review


I've been looking forward to this one for a while, and no matter how you feel about HHH, he has deserved a three disc set for so long. This isn't the first documentary that HHH has had. He also had one on the 'Triple H: The Game' DVD which is now a tagged classic. That feature only went up to his Wrestlemania 18 win and only lasted about an hour, so it didn't really cover much. Finally he has the two hour documentary treatment which WWE has come to master in recent years. Is this another great one? Let's find out.




Disc 1 :



It should be noted first that there some great choices for the talking head, interview sections with guys like The Rock, 90s DX, Kevin Nash, Batista, his parents, Harley Race, Brock Lesnar, and, for what seems like the first time, the Undertaker! And that's not even all of them! Undertaker was definitely the most interesting talking head, as it was cool to hear his opinion on things and it was refreshing to hear him out of character. It was interesting hearing him talk about his advice to HHH that inspired him to marry Stephanie. It was incredible to see Taker getting emotional over the finish of the Hell in a Cell match at Mania, when he stood at the top of the stage with both HHH and HBK. There's even some backstage footage of that match where you can see Stephanie and Vince getting emotional after what they had witnessed. In fact, right after the feature had ended, I took out the disc and popped in disc 1 of Mania 28 just to watch that match again, and it might just be the greatest match of all time. Obviously that's just my view, but it is such an incredible match.


Anyway let's get back on track before this becomes more about the Undertaker instead of HHH.


I liked seeing some of the early footage from Killer Kowalski's wrestling school which HHH attended, and you can see HHH's hilarious-looking mullet. Hearing the Kliq talking about how they first met HHH was interesting, as they decided that he was the designated driver because he didn't drink or do drugs. I was surprised that they mentioned and praised Chyna as much as they did, as I thought they would distance themselves as much as possible now that she has a porn career. HHH had enough charisma on his own to carry the two hour long feature, but the talking heads make it so interesting as well, seeing as a lot of them are wrestling legends. Overall this was another great documentary made by the WWE, and it's the one that HHH has deserved for so many years. You can clearly see that a lot of work has been put into it, and it's worth the price of the DVD or Blu Ray. Definitely recommended.  9/10




Disc 2 :



Jean-Paul Levesque vs Ricky Steamboat
Very early match for the Game, from WCW Saturday Night in September 1994. I think this would have been his first ever match, but that's already on his King of Kings set, so they were right to leave it out. HHH performed well against the veteran Dragon here. I was expecting a squash, but it ended up being a solid back and forth technical bout. Too bad it only lasted about five minutes. Still, it was good while it lasted. **



Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs Dude Love
From One Night Only 1997. These two have had some great contests against each other in 1997 including their cage match, falls count anywhere, and their Canadian Stampede match. The chemistry was once again brilliant between the two and it made for a tremendously fun match that the crowd was really into. This could definitely stand with their other 90s matches. ***1/2



Triple H vs The Rock : 60 Minute Iron Man Match
From Judgment Day 2000. Finally this match is on a DVD set! Now we just need the Fully Loaded HHH match. Shawn Michaels was the ref for this match. For everyone who has heard so much about this match but has never seen it, you will not be disappointed. Every minute felt like it was adding to the match and it was never dull or boring, unlike some other Iron Man contests. The match ended 6-5 to HHH , as Undertaker made his goosebump-inducing return and got the Rock disqualified. Just brilliant and probably the best Iron Man match in WWE history. ****3/4



Triple H vs Kurt Angle : No DQ
From Unforgiven 2000. Mick Foley is the guest referee for the match. This was the culmination of an angle that had been building for quite a while, as Angle had been trying to seduce Stephanie McMahon, and HHH just couldn't take it anymore and had to kick his ass. It wasn't the brawl that I thought it was gonna be, even with some brawling elements, but it was still a very entertaining match, due to the great chemistry of both guys. Angle's belly-to-belly suplex on the announce table was awesome. The work on HHH's ribs was well done. The ending did seem to come out of nowhere, but everything before that was great. ***1/2



Disc 3 :



Triple H & Stone Cold vs Kane & The Undertaker
From Backlash 2001. Nice to see that the Two-Man Power Trip was included here. The Tag Titles, IC and WWF Titles were all on the line here. The Brothers of Destruction held the Tag Titles, whilst HHH held the IC Title, and Austin the WWF Title. How they managed to fill up the rest of the card I'll never know. This does seem like a really big match though. One title was guaranteed to change. The match had a nice pacing throughout and it never really became boring until some of Austin and HHH's heel segments, but that was about it. It was a bit overbooked by the end, but it was still fun. ***1/4



Triple H vs Rob Van Dam 
From an episode of Raw in June 2003. This took place one week after Kane was unmasked, after losing to HHH, and RVD was his tag partner at the time, so I have a feeling that he'll get involved. Nothing really special about the match except for a nice moonsault from RVD and HHH bringing out the Indian Deathlock. The work on RVD's leg was pointless as he no-sold it as soon as he got his comeback. It felt quite sloppy at times too. I was wrong about Kane interfering too. Quite an unmemorable match. **



From my Royal Rumble 2004 review:



Triple H vs Shawn Michaels : Last Man Standing Match
Check out the blade job for the match :

Yeah it was pretty gruesome. This one had a hard time living up to the classic match that these guys had on Raw in December, but that didn't stop it from being a great match. Usually when these two have a match involving no DQ (aside from their dull 3 Stages of Hell match) it ends up being great and this was no exception.  Even the double count-out finish was fine, since that ended up leading to the five star, Triple Threat match at Mania 20. It's not the best match they've ever had, but to me, it was a lot of fun. ***1/2



Triple H vs Ric Flair
This was a first round match of the tournament that would decide who the No.1 contender for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania was. Nice that they put a rare HHH/Flair match here instead of the others that are already on DVD. Probably not a good idea to have the IC Champ lose in the first round, but oh well. This wasn't nearly as good as their PPV matches, but it was still pretty damn fun, as these are two guys that know each other very well. Short, but entertaining match. **1/4



Triple H vs King Booker
From Summerslam 2007. This was the second return match of the night as Mysterio made his return earlier makes his return. HHH was here after missing eight months of action. This would be Booker's final PPV appearance until the 2011 Royal Rumble. Pretty dull match here which wasn't expected. HHH hits the pedigree to win. *3/4



Triple H vs Randy Orton : Last Man Standing
From No Mercy 2007. This is now HHH's third match of the night. He didn't have much of a chance after already facing Orton and Umaga. These guys have had three Last Man Standing matches together, and this is easily the best of the bunch. This is also probably the best HHH/Orton match, and believe me there have been plenty! HHH had a lot of sympathy from the fans after they had seen how exhausted he was from the earlier matches. A very well paced Last Man Standing match here, with even some great storytelling, as Orton tried to punt HHH like he had punted HBK, and HHH wouldn't end it like that! Awesome match. ****



Triple H vs Jeff Hardy
This took place in the UK on Smackdown 2008. This feud wasn't even mentioned on the documentary, which is a shame since it gave both guys some awesome matches. The crowd wasn't really into this one. This wasn't as good as their previous encounters, but then again it is just a TV match. I did find myself bored at times, but maybe I've just been watching this DVD for too long. Not bad, but nothing really stood out. **1/2




Triple H vs Chris Jericho
From Raw November 2009. Has Jericho ever beaten HHH in a one-on-one match? If Jericho wins, HHH has to face Jeri-Show in a handicap match the next week, but if HHH wins, Jericho has to face DX in a handicap match. This is really just here to build to the TLC PPV main event. An entertaining match here from two veterans. Pretty fun match, even with the interference from HBK and Big Show. **3/4



9/10. Well you get an awesome documentary and some nice match selection, as I believe that none of these have appeared on any other DVD sets. Plus it's worth the money just to get that amazing Iron Man match. This is an easy recommendation from me.