Triple H

Triple H
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Triple H
An image of Triple H.
Statistics
Ring name(s) Terra Ryzing[1]
Jean-Paul Levesque[2]
Hunter Hearst Helmsley (HHH)[2]
Triple H
Billed height 6 ft. 4 in. (193 cm)[2][3]
Billed weight 255 lb. (115.7 kg)[3]
Born July 27, 1969 (1969-07-27) (age 39)[2][4]
Nashua, New Hampshire[2][4][5]
Resides Greenwich, Connecticut[2]
Billed from Greenwich, Connecticut[2][3]
Trained by Killer Kowalski
Debut March 1992

Paul Michael Levesque[5] (born July 27, 1969)[5] is an American professional wrestler and actor,[6] better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He currently wrestles for the SmackDown brand of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he is the reigning WWE Champion.[7]

Before joining WWE, Levesque began his wrestling career with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993, wrestling under the ring name Terra Ryzing.[1] He changed his ring name to Jean-Paul Lévesque before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1995.[2] His initial on-screen persona was that of wealthy sophisticate Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He later changed his name to Triple H and adopted an alternative image in the stable D-Generation X (DX). After the dissolution of DX, Triple H was pushed as a main-event wrestler, winning several singles championships.[3] As part of a storyline, Triple H married Stephanie McMahon, who later became his real-life spouse. In 2003, Triple H formed another stable known as Evolution,[3] and in 2006, briefly reformed DX with Shawn Michaels.[8]

Overall, Triple H is a twelve-time world champion: a seven-time and current WWE Champion, and a five-time World Heavyweight Champion.[9][10] In addition, he won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 Royal Rumble, and was the second Grand Slam Champion.[3]

Outside wrestling, Levesque has made numerous guest appearances in film and on television. He is starring in the WWE Film, Journey of Death, which is due to release in 2009.[11]

Early life and career

Paul Levesque was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. In his youth, Levesque was a fan of professional wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Ric Flair.[2][4] He became aware of bodybuilding at the age of fourteen, and after graduating from high school in 1987, he entered several body building competitions.[12] He was crowned Teenage Mr. New Hampshire at the age of nineteen. During this time, he met Ted Arcidi and began to consider a career in professional wrestling.[4][12]

Levesque enrolled at Killer Kowalski's wrestling school in 1992 after it was recommended to him by Arcidi.[4][12] He joined the Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF), which used trainees from Kowalski's school in their promotion. Here, Levesque became the IWF Heavyweight Champion and started using the name Terra Ryzing.[1]

Professional wrestling

World Championship Wrestling

In early 1994, Levesque signed a one year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW).[4][13] In his first televised match, he wrestled as a heel and defeated Brian Armstrong.[2] He continued using the name Terra Ryzing until mid-1994, when he was renamed Jean-Paul Lévesque.[2][14] This gimmick referred to his surname's French origins and he was asked to speak with a French accent, as he could not speak French.[15] During this time, he began using his finisher, the Pedigree.

Lévesque had a brief storyline feud with Alex Wright that culminated at Starrcade.[2] Between late 1994 and early 1995, Lévesque briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal, whose snobby British persona was a good match with Lévesque's similar persona.[14] The team was short-lived, however, as Lévesque left for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in January 1995 after WCW shot down his request to be pushed as a singles competitor.[1][14][15]

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

The Connecticut Blueblood (1995–1997)
Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1996.

As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started off his WWF career as the Connecticut Blueblood, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.[15] He appeared in taped vignettes, in which he talked about how to use proper etiquette, up until his wrestling debut on the April 30, 1995 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge.[16]

Although he was heavily pushed in the first few months after his debut, his career stalled during 1996, starting off with being mired in a feud with Duke "The Dumpster" Droese following a loss in the Free For All at the 1996 Royal Rumble.[17][18] Up until that event, his angle included appearing on television each week with a different female valet.[2] Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII, and after his loss to Ultimate Warrior, as part of the storyline, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero came to her rescue, starting a feud between the two wrestlers.[19]

On May 28, 1996, Helmsley appeared on WWF Superstars against Marty Garner.[20] When Levesque attempted to perform the Pedigree, Garner mistook the maneuver for a double underhook suplex and tried to jump up with the move, causing him to land squarely on top of his head and suffer neck damage.[20] Garner sued the WWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on The Montel Williams Show.
The MSG Incident.

Levesque was known backstage as one of the members of The Kliq, a group of wrestlers including Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall, who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF creative team.[17] He was slated to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but was demoted from championship contender to "jobber to the stars" after the Madison Square Garden Incident, in which the Kliq broke character after a match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall.[21] Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. Mr. Perfect became his manager and he was booked to win his first Intercontinental Championship on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero.[21][19] When Mr. Perfect left the WWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Helmsley turning his back on his manager as soon as he won the Intercontinental Championship. He held the belt for nearly four months before dropping it to Rocky Maivia on the February 13, 1997 special edition of Monday Night Raw, called Thursday Raw Thursday.[22] For a very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Mr. Hughes, who was his storyline bodyguard.[23] After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13.[24] During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard.[25]

D-Generation X (1997–1999)

Main article: D-Generation X

Helmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the King of the Ring tournament on June 8 by defeating Mankind in the finals.[21][26] Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude formed D-Generation X (DX). This stable later became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos—spawning the catchphrase "Suck It", using a "crotch chop" hand motion,[27] and sarcastically deriding Bret Hart and Canada. By that point, Helmsley had fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick, appearing in T-shirts and leather. During this period, his ring name was shortened to simply Triple H.[21] Even after the DX versus Hart Foundation storyline ended when Bret, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith defected to WCW, Helmsley continued to feud with the sole remaining member Owen Hart over the WWF European Championship. This culminated in a match between the two at WrestleMania XIV, with the stipulation that Chyna had to be handcuffed to then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Helmsley won after Chyna threw powder into Slaughter's eyes, momentarily "blinding" him and allowing her to interfere in the match.

After WrestleMania, Michaels was forced into temporary retirement due to a legitimate back injury sustained at the Royal Rumble,[28] and on-screen, Triple H took over the leadership position in DX,[21] claiming that his now-former associate had "dropped the ball". He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with the New Age Outlaws.[21][29] It was also during this time that Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF heel, The Rock.[12] This storyline rivalry eventually led to a feud over The Rock's Intercontinental Championship, which Triple H won in a ladder match at SummerSlam.[12] He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury.[12] When The Rock won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series,[30] the rivalry between the two continued, as DX fought Vince McMahon's Corporation stable, of which The Rock was the main star. Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25, 1999 edition of Raw in an "I Quit" match against The Rock, but the match ended when Triple H was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane.[12] This began a new angle for Triple H, as Chyna betrayed him by attacking him after the match and joining the Corporation.[12]

As part of the storyline, at WrestleMania XV, Triple H beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX.[12] Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping Shane McMahon retain the European Championship and joined the Corporation.[12] After Triple H's heel turn in early 1999, he moved away from his "DX" look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks, and adopting a shorter hairstyle.[12] His gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot.[12] After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin at SummerSlam in a Triple Threat match, which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match by pinning Austin,[31] but the following night on Raw, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.[12]

Triple H dropped the WWF Championship to Vince McMahon on the September 16, 1999 edition of SmackDown! before regaining it at Unforgiven in a Six-Pack Challenge that included Davey Boy Smith, Big Show, Kane, The Rock, and Mankind. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at No Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show at Survivor Series.

McMahon-Helmsley Era (2000–2001)
Triple H signaling to the crowd

By January 2000, already a three-time WWF champion, Triple H had dubbed himself "The Game," implying that he was at the top of the wrestling world, and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross. His storyline feud with Vince McMahon continued, with McMahon winning the title from Triple H during an episode of SmackDown!.[32] As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; this period was known as the "McMahon-Helmsley Era".[33]

Triple H feuded with Mick Foley in early 2000 in a storyline that ended with a Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out that sent Foley into retirement.[34] Triple H pinned The Rock at WrestleMania 2000 to retain the title,[35] but lost it at April's Backlash to The Rock.[36] He regained it three weeks later, in an Iron Man match at Judgment Day,[37] only to lose it back to The Rock at King of the Ring.[38] Hunter then entered into a storyline feud with Chris Jericho, which culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Fully Loaded.[38]

A later storyline feud between Triple H and Steve Austin started when it emerged that Triple H had paid off Rikishi to run down Austin at Survivor Series, causing him to take a year off action. In reality, Austin's previous neck injuries started bothering him again, forcing him to have surgery. In 2000, Triple H and Austin had a match at Survivor Series that ended when Triple H tried to trick Austin into coming into the parking lot to run him over again, only to have Austin lift his car up with a forklift and flip the car onto its roof 10 feet high. Triple H returned a few weeks later and attacked Austin. The feud continued into 2001 and culminated in a Three Stages of Hell match in which Helmsley defeated Austin. In 2001, Triple H also feuded with The Undertaker, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven.[39] He later teamed with his former nemesis Austin to form The Two-Man Power Trip, capturing both the WWF Tag Team Championship and the Intercontinental Championship twice by the end of the next pay-per-view.

During the May 21, 2001 broadcast of Raw, he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury.[2] In the night's main event, he and Steve Austin were defending the Tag Team title against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in the Walls of Jericho submission hold. Triple H ran-in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle,[2] causing it to come completely off the bone.[4] Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match.[4] He even allowed Jericho to put him in the Walls of Jericho, a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps. The tear required an operation, which was performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. This injury brought an abrupt end to the McMahon-Helmsley Era, as the rigorous rehabilitation process kept Triple H out of action for over eight months,[2][4] completely missing the Invasion storyline.

Return from injury (2002)
Triple H after winning the Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania X8

Triple H returned to Raw as a crowd favorite on January 7, 2002 at Madison Square Garden.[4] He was booked to win that year's Royal Rumble to receive a WWF Undisputed Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania X8.[40] At WrestleMania X8, Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the WWF Undisputed Championship.[2][40] After holding the title for a month, Helmsley dropped it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash.[40] Triple H then became exclusive to the SmackDown! roster due to the WWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with Jericho, culminating in a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day.

In the interim, between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, the McMahon-Helmsley era was brought to an official on-screen conclusion. By the time he returned, Triple H's on-screen marriage to Stephanie McMahon was on the rocks, so Stephanie faked a pregnancy in order to get him back on her side.[41] When he learned that it was fake, he dumped her publicly on Raw when they were supposed to renew their wedding vows.[41] Stephanie aligned with Jericho afterward,[41] but she was forced to leave action after losing a triple threat match on Raw the night after WrestleMania when she was pinned by Triple H.[42] The divorce, and thus the storyline, was finalized at Vengeance.[43]

Meanwhile, Triple H's old D-Generation X companion Shawn Michaels had made his return to WWF and joined the New World Order (nWo), and Michaels and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple H over to Raw in order to put him into the group. Vince McMahon, however, disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as the Raw brand's new General manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and woo Triple H over to the Raw roster. Triple H did indeed jump over to the Raw brand, reuniting with Shawn Michaels, but on July 22, he turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion. The following week, as part of the storyline, Triple H smashed Michaels' face into a car window to prove that Michaels was "weak". These events led to the beginning of a long storyline rivalry between the former partners and an eventual "Unsanctioned Street Fight" at SummerSlam, in which Michaels came out of retirement to win. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Michaels was carried out of the ring.[44]

Before September 2, 2002, WWE recognized only one champion for both the Raw and SmackDown! brands. After SummerSlam, champion Brock Lesnar signed a storyline contract to become exclusive to SmackDown!, leaving Raw without a champion. Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H in the form of the old WCW Championship belt.[45] Triple H then received a push by having numerous successful title defenses, but he eventually dropped the belt to Shawn Michaels in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series.[46] He regained the title from Michaels a month later in a Three Stages of Hell match at Armageddon.[46]

Evolution (2003–2005)

Main article: Evolution

Triple H as the World Heavyweight Champion.

In January 2003, Triple H formed a stable known as Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. The group was pushed on Raw from 2003 to 2004, the height of their dominance occurring after Armageddon when every member of Evolution left the pay-per-view holding a title.[47] Triple H held the World Heavyweight Championship for most of 2003. At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Triple H and Shawn Michaels fought in a Last Man Standing match to a double countout, so Triple H retained the title.[47] Triple H dropped the title to Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX,[48] and he was unable to reclaim the belt from Benoit in subsequent rematches, including a rematch from WrestleMania between Triple H, Benoit, and Shawn Michaels at Backlash.[48]

He then ended his angle with Michaels, defeating him in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood.[48] After another failed attempt, losing to Benoit at Vengeance, he focused on Eugene, beating him at SummerSlam.[49] Triple H then regained the title from former associate Randy Orton at Unforgiven.[50] Following a triple threat World title defense against Benoit and Edge on the November 29, 2004 episode of Raw, the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time.[51] At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won the Elimination Chamber to begin his tenth world title reign.[52] At WrestleMania 21, Triple H lost the championship to Batista,[53] and subsequently lost two rematches at consecutive pay-per-views: Backlash and Vengeance.[54][55] Following this, Triple H took some time off from wrestling, suffering from minor neck problems.[56]

Triple H returned to Raw on October 3, 2005 as part of WWE Homecoming. He teamed up with Flair to defeat Chris Masters and Carlito. After the match, as part of his new storyline, Triple H turned on Flair with his sledgehammer, sparking a feud between the duo.[57] They met in a Steel cage match at Taboo Tuesday for Flair's Intercontinental Championship, a match that Flair won.[58] Subsequently, Triple H defeated Flair in a non-title Last Man Standing match at Survivor Series to end their feud.[58]

D-Generation X revival (2006–2007)

Main article: D-Generation X revival

DX doing their signature pose

Although Triple H failed to win the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble in January 2006 to earn a title shot, another championship opportunity arose for Triple H in the Road to WrestleMania Tournament. He won the tournament, granting him a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania, Triple H and John Cena fought in the main event for the title, which Triple H lost via submission.[59] Later that month at Backlash, Triple H was involved in another WWE Championship match, fighting Edge and Cena in a Triple Threat match, where he lost again. In an act of frustration, a bloodied Triple H used his sledgehammer to attack, in storyline, both Edge and Cena and then performed a number of DX crotch chops.[60] Triple H unsuccessfully attempted to win the WWE title from Cena on numerous occasions, blaming his shortcomings on Vince McMahon, which eventually lead to a storyline feud between the McMahons and Triple H.

Shawn Michaels returned on the June 12 edition of Raw and soon reunited with Triple H to reform D-Generation X, turning Triple H face once again.[8] DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance in a 5-on-2 handicap match.[61] They continued their feud with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and the Spirit Squad for several weeks. They then defeated the Spirit Squad again at Saturday Night's Main Event in a 5-on-2 Elimination match. They then again defeated the McMahons at SummerSlam, withstanding the attack of several handpicked WWE superstars by Vince McMahon.[60] At Unforgiven, D-Generation X overcame the odds once again, defeating The McMahons and ECW World Champion Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match. During the match, DX embarrassed Vince by shoving his face in between Big Show's buttocks, and DX won when Triple H broke a sledgehammer over the shoulders of Vince McMahon after Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on him.[62]

At Cyber Sunday during DX's storyline feud with Rated-RKO, special guest referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a weapon to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win.[62] At Survivor Series, DX got their revenge when their team defeated Edge and Orton's team in an Elimination Match.[63] In January 2007, at New Year's Revolution, DX and Rated-RKO fought to a no-contest after Triple H suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps (similar to the one he suffered in 2001 but in the other leg) fifteen minutes into the match.[64][65] A successful surgery was performed on January 9, 2007 by Dr. James Andrews.[64]

King of Kings (2007–2008)
Triple H performing his signature ring entrance pose on the second rope following his 2007 comeback

Triple H made his return in August 2007 at SummerSlam, where he defeated King Booker.[66] After his return, he won the WWE Championship at No Mercy after beating the newly named Champion, Randy Orton, making Triple H an eleven-time world champion.[67] In the same event, Triple H also defeated Umaga in his first title defense after Mr. McMahon declared his already-scheduled bout with Umaga, a title match.[68] McMahon then announced, Orton would receive a title rematch in a Last Man Standing match in the final match of the event, which Orton won after an RKO onto the announcement table, thus ending Triple H's sixth reign.[68] Triple H's title reign at No Mercy is the fourth shortest reign in WWE history, only lasting through the duration of the event.[68] In the Raw Elimination Chamber at No Way Out, Triple H gained a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV, by outlasting five other men.[69] However, at WrestleMania XXIV, Randy Orton retained after punting Triple H and pinning John Cena following Triple H's Pedigree on Cena.[70] A month later, at Backlash, Triple H won the title in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match against Orton, Cena, and John "Bradshaw" Layfield, tying the record for most WWE Championship reigns (7) with The Rock.[71] Triple H then retained the title against Orton at Judgment Day in a Steel Cage match and again at One Night Stand in a Last Man Standing match.[72][73] Orton suffered a legitimate collarbone injury during the match, thus ending it prematurely.[74]

Move to SmackDown (2008–present)

On June 23, 2008 edition of Raw, Triple H was drafted to the SmackDown! brand as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft, in the process making the WWE Championship exclusive to SmackDown.[75]

Acting

Commercials

His commercial appearances include ads in May 2006 for Miller Lite where he debates "Man Laws" with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Eddie Griffin and Jerome Bettis.[76] That same month, he also appeared in a commercial for USA Network with Anthony Michael Hall, which cross-promoted Raw and Hall's show, The Dead Zone. Hall's character, a psychic, touches Triple H while he lounges beside a pool and has a vision of him falling asleep in the sun, and fellow wrestler John Cena slapping Triple H's sunburned back and leaving a handprint. He has also appeared in commercials for bodybuilding supplements such as Stacker 2 and YJ Stinger. Levesque also appeared in a Wendy's commercial holding up a Triple Classic Burger calling it the "Triple H Burger".[77]

Film

Levesque appeared in the movie, Blade: Trinity, as a vampire enforcer named Jarko Grimwood.[11] He is also starring in the WWE Film Journey of Death with Clive Owen, which is due to release in 2009.[11]

Levesque has also appeared in several WWE Home Video releases, including Triple H: The Game and Triple H: That Damn Good in 2002, D-Generation-X, a reissue of the VHS version, in 2006, and The New and Improved DX in 2007. Triple H: King of Kings, a DVD covering his career so far, was released on March 25, 2008.[78]

Guest appearances

Levesque appeared in an episode of the USA Network series Pacific Blue on August 9, 1998.[79] In December 1998, he did a guest appearance in The Drew Carrey Show.[80] He was also featured in the August 14, 2005 episode of MTV's Punk'd in which he was led to believe that he had ruined a wedding by hitting the bride in the face with a door and damaging her nose until Ashton Kutcher and Stacy Keibler showed up. Additionally, his television appearances include guest spots as Triple H on MADtv and Saturday Night Live, and as a character on an episode of The Bernie Mac Show. Levesque also won the WWF edition of The Weakest Link, in which he and Stephanie McMahon were the final two contestants. Levesque has also been a guest announcer for the Mr. Olympia competition.[64]

Personal life

Before marrying Stephanie McMahon, Levesque was in a relationship with Joanie Laurer (who appeared as Chyna).[33] They dated for four years from 1996 until 2000.[2] Levesque married Stephanie McMahon on October 25, 2003. He and Stephanie welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Aurora Rose Levesque, on July 24, 2006.[81] On July 28, 2008 Levesque welcomed his second daughter with McMahon, Murphy Claire Levesque.[82]

He has a sister named Lynn,[4] and he is an uncle to her two children: Peter and Nayssa. Levesque is also an uncle to brother-in-law Shane McMahon's two sons: Declan and Kenyon. His in-laws are Vince and Linda McMahon.

In late 2004, Levesque released a book entitled Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body. Mostly devoted to bodybuilding advice, the book also includes some autobiographical information, memoirs, and opinions.[83]

In a November 14, 2006, interview with rapper The Game, it was revealed that Levesque is involved in a lawsuit with him over the rights to the name, "The Game".[84]

WWE Friday Night SmackDown

WWE Friday Night SmackDown is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that is currently airing on MyNetworkTV in the United States. The show's name is also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program; the other programs and brands are Raw and ECW. It is the only television broadcast for the SmackDown brand. From its launch in 1999, SmackDown was shown on Thursday nights, but as of September 9, 2005, the show moved to Friday nights. The show originally debuted in the United States on the UPN television network on August 26, 1999, but after the closure of that network, Friday Night SmackDown was moved to The CW in 2006. The showed remained on the CW network for two years until it was announced that it would move to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. The show is shown in Mexico on TV Azteca and in the United Kingdom on Friday nights on Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports HD3; due to the time difference, Friday Night SmackDown premieres a few hours earlier in the United Kingdom than the United States.

Original format

SmackDown! as it was originally titled first appeared on April 29, 1999 as a single television special on UPN. On August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on UPN, in Kansas City, Missouri. Like WCW Thunder, SmackDown! was recorded on Tuesdays and then broadcast on Thursdays. The new WWF show was so popular that WCW moved Thunder to Wednesdays in the hope of holding on to fans rather than losing them to WWF. SmackDown!, like Thunder, made heavy use of the color blue.

The first SmackDown! set was unique as it featured an oval-shaped TitanTron (which was dubbed the "OvalTron"), entrance and stage which made it stand out from the Raw set and its rectangular TitanTrons. An added feature to the original set was the ability for the OvalTron to be moved to either the left or right of the stage. Throughout the show's early existence, top WWF superstar The Rock routinely called SmackDown! "his" show, in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases, "Laying the smackdown." In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown!'s second anniversary, the show received a new logo and set. The last SmackDown! to use the previous television set saw Alliance member Rhyno Gore WWF member Chris Jericho through the center screen, destroying part of the set.

Brand Extension

Main article: WWE Brand Extension

In early to mid-2002, WWE underwent a process they called the "Brand Extension". WWE divided itself into two "de facto" wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures. Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split was a result of WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension was publicly announced during a telecast of WWF Raw on March 25, 2002, and became official the next day.
WWE SmackDown! logo (2001-2005)

Wrestlers now would become show-exclusive, wrestling for their specific show only. At the time this excluded the WWE Undisputed Championship and WWE Women's Championship, as those WWE titles would be defended on both shows. In August 2002, WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar refused to defend the title on Raw, in effect causing his title to become exclusive to SmackDown! The following week on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff awarded a newly instated World Heavyweight Championship to Raw's designated #1 contender, Triple H. Due to the fact that since the WWE Undisputed Championship was now SmackDown! exclusive it was no longer seen as "Undisputed". Following this, the WWE Women's Championship soon became Raw-exclusive as well. As a result of the Brand Extension, an annual "draft lottery" was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.

On June 6, 2005, WWE Champion John Cena switched brands from SmackDown! to Raw as part of the month-long Draft Lottery. This effectively left SmackDown! without a World Title. During this time, United States Champion Orlando Jordan was billed as the top champion on the show. On June 23, 2005, in Tucson, SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced a six-man elimination match between John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Booker T, Chris Benoit, The Undertaker, Christian (replacing The Big Show, who was picked by Raw in the lottery), and Muhammad Hassan to crown the first SmackDown! Champion. On the June 30 episode of SmackDown!, JBL won the match. Long appeared afterward and stated that even though JBL had won the match, SmackDown! did not need a Championship anymore. Batista, the World Heavyweight Champion, entered the ring as SmackDown!'s final draft lottery pick. Long also revealed that JBL was the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.

[edit] Friday Night SmackDown!
The Friday Night SmackDown! logo used from September 9, 2005-January 18, 2008

It was possible that WWE's "lame duck" status with Viacom on Spike TV is what prompted its moving SmackDown! to the Friday night death slot for the Fall 2005 season. However, it worked out for both parties involved, as the show did better in the ratings than it had on Thursdays, while UPN received much better ratings on Fridays than it did before, with its movie night. In addition, UPN had been able to hold on to the ratings from Thursday nights, most notably with comedian Chris Rock's Wonder Years-like sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. In January 2006, prior to the announcement of the CW Network, it was announced that UPN had renewed SmackDown! for two more years.[2]

Following the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise, SmackDown! was renamed Friday Night SmackDown! and moved into Enterprise's former timeslot in the United States. WWE promoted this move with the tagline "TV that's changing Friday nights." Friday Night SmackDown! made its season premiere on September 9, 2005. The program still aired on Thursdays in Canada on the Score. In the United Kingdom and Australia, their stations Sky Sports and FOX8 air SmackDown! on Fridays before the United States due to the time difference. This is the first time a major weekly WWE show airs internationally before it hits screens in the U.S.

The events of Hurricane Katrina affected the first edition of Friday Night SmackDown! in the U.S. due to a special fundraising concert (see Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast) that aired on UPN at the same time that the first edition would have been broadcast, resulting in only the second hour of the show being shown on UPN. The first hour was instead streamed from WWE's website. Other countries, including Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and the Philippines received the full two-hour show. WWOR-TV (My 9, New York, New York) also aired both hours of the show on tape delay on Saturday, due to a previous commitment to broadcast the New York Yankees on Friday nights.

At the SmackDown! taping on January 10, 2006, Batista had to forfeit the World Heavyweight Championship because of a triceps injury. SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long made a Battle Royal for the vacant title. The winner was at the time Raw superstar Kurt Angle, who later switched to the SmackDown brand. In a break from their traditional role of acting as if SmackDown! is not pre-recorded, WWE.com had a photograph of Angle holding his new title on the main page. WWE also did this when Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to win the World Heavyweight Championship from The Undertaker and when The Great Khali won a battle royal after Edge's injury.

On the April 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long announced that the King of the Ring tournament would return after a four year hiatus as a SmackDown!-exclusive tournament. The tournament ended at Judgment Day 2006 with Booker T as the winner, defeating Bobby Lashley in the final.

On June 9, 2006, Tazz left the SmackDown! brand to join the new ECW brand, leaving the color commentator position on SmackDown! vacant. However, on June 11 at One Night Stand 2006, JBL revealed that he would be the new color commentator for SmackDown! He stayed in that position until December 2007 when he left SmackDown! to become an in-ring competitor on Raw. Jonathan Coachman replaced him afterwards.

[edit] The CW Network

[edit] 2006
Variations of the SmackDown! fist and mirrors set were used from August 16, 2001 - January 18, 2008.

On September 22, 2006, Friday Night SmackDown! debuted on the The CW Television Network, a joint venture between CBS Corporation, owner of UPN, and Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Time Warner, majority owner of The WB.

For four weeks before the official premiere (and in preparation for the impending removal of UPN in several markets by the debut of MyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006) of Friday Night SmackDown! on the CW on September 22, 2006, Tribune Broadcasting television stations in six major markets (including WPIX in New York City and KTLA in Los Angeles) aired WWE's Friday Night SmackDown! early in September 2006.[3] Two other future affiliates of The CW, WCWJ in Jacksonville, Florida and WIWB in Green Bay, Wisconsin, also aired SmackDown! in early September as well.

The transition to the CW caused an interruption in the broadcast of SmackDown! in the state of Utah beginning in June when KPNZ in Salt Lake City stopped airing all UPN programs early. The show is now seen on KUCW. In Hawaii, SmackDown! returned in late 2006, airing on a CW digital subchannel of Honolulu's FOX affiliate KHON (Channel 2), which has received statewide carriage over Oceanic Time Warner Cable. Since the move to the CW Network, Friday Night SmackDown! has shown a major increase in ratings now averaging a 3.0 national rating. In addition, SmackDown! has become the second highest watched program on The CW.

[edit] 2007

On April 20, 2007, SmackDown! celebrated its 400th episode. Ratings success soon followed. On June 8, 2007, Friday Night SmackDown! made CW history by making a three-way tie with CBS and ABC in the key ad demographic, adults 18-49 by drawing a 1.5 rating each. On June 22, 2007, Friday Night SmackDown! again made CW history by tying the network for first place in the key ad demographic, adults 18-49, and being the second most watched network program at 9 p.m. for the night. The CW had not performed as well at any time slot since America's Next Top Model in March 2007. The next week on June 29, 2007, Friday Night SmackDown! helped The CW claim the top spot in the key demographic, Adults 18-49 for Friday. CBS got the overall lead but The CW got top spot for the Adults 18-49 by registering a 1.4 rating followed by CBS and NBC at 1.3, ABC at 1.2, and FOX at 0.9.[4][5] Then on Friday, July 13, 2007, Friday Night SmackDown! made network history by placing first in the 18-49 demographic and becoming the most watched show at the 9 p.m. hour on network television. This is the first time anything has placed this well on The CW. SmackDown! became a hit show on Friday nights winning the demographics for young males, and ranking second on the demographics (18-49) for Friday nights.

On October 16, 2007 it was announced that the SmackDown! and ECW brands would begin a "talent exchange", allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand, due to the fact that ECW is broadcast live on the same night and from the same arena where Smackdown is taped.[6][7]

[edit] 2008

In January 2008, SmackDown! debuted in HD with Raw and ECW and dropped the exclamation point from the end of its name. The "SmackDown fist" was removed as well as all WWE shows started using the same, standard set. On February 8, 2008 it was reported that World Wrestling Entertainment and The CW had ended negotiations to keep Friday Night SmackDown on the network. WWE stated that negotiations with other networks has begun and that Friday Night SmackDown would continue to air on The CW through the end of the 2007-2008 broadcast season.[8][9] On February 26 WWE issued a press release announcing Friday Night SmackDown's move to MyNetworkTV.[10][11] On May 19, 2008, MyNetworkTV president, Greg Meidel, announced that WWE television would premiere on the network in October 2008, with a recap of WrestleMania XXIV being shown on October 2, 2008, and SmackDown premiering on October 3, 2008.[12][13][14]

In April 2008, Mick Foley replaced Jonathan Coachman as Color commentator. Following the 2008 WWE Draft, Jim Ross became the new play-by-play announcer for SmackDown, while Michael Cole moved to Raw. The WWE Champion Triple H was also drafted to SmackDown, which gave SmackDown two world championships to be featured on the brand. On June 30, 2008 on Monday Night Raw, CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated the World Heavyweight Champion Edge, bringing the World Heavyweight Championship back to Raw. In August 2008, Tazz replaced Foley as the color commentator.

[edit] MyNetworkTV

Friday Night SmackDown debuted on MyNetworkTV in the United States on October 3, 2008, which featured performers from the Raw, ECW, and SmackDown programs. WWE SmackDown also debuted with a new theme song. The premiere episode on MyNetworkTV attracted 3.2 million viewers. While the viewership dropped, SmackDown pulled the highest ratings to date for MyNetworkTV and pushed the network to fifth place beating out its former broadcaster The CW. The premiere was also first place in male 18-49 demographics.[15]

[edit] Induction into Merriam-Webster

On July 10, 2007,[16] Merriam-Webster announced it would induct the word smackdown[17] into Webster's Dictionary. According to Merriam Webster, a "smackdown" is:

* The act of knocking down or bringing down an opponent
* A contest in entertainment wrestling
* A decisive defeat
* A confrontation between rivals or competitors

[edit] Production
SmackDown's version of the universal WWE HD set used from January 21, 2008 -present.

Friday Night SmackDown is usually taped on Tuesday evening and aired Friday evening on MyNetworkTV the same week. Occasionally, it is taped on Monday nights before or after Raw in what is called a "Supershow". SmackDown has also aired live on occasion.

The most recent theme song for SmackDown was "Rise Up 2006" by Drowning Pool, a new version of "Rise Up!" performed by new lead singer Ryan McCombs and featured as a bonus downloadable track on the WWE Wreckless Intent album. It debuted a new as yet untitled theme song on its MyNetworkTV debut.

Friday Night SmackDown began broadcasting in HD beginning with the January 25, 2008 edition of SmackDown, where a new set debuted that is shared among all three WWE brands. Following the first broadcast in HD, the iconic exclamation mark used since the show's inception was removed from all references pertaining to "SmackDown" including the official logo. [18]

FIFA 09

Za sve obožavatelje najvažnije sporedne stvari na svijetu i video igara donosimo odlične vijesti. Naime, dugoočekivana nova verzija megapopularne nogometne video igre "FIFA 09" trebala bi se na policama radnji naći već 3. oktobra. Nova verzija remek djela kompanije Electronic Arts sadrži preko 250 poboljšanih i novih opcija, uključujući i mogućnost online igranja nogometne utakmice s 20 igrača, unaprijeđenu vještačku inteligenciju golmana i detaljnije razrađen prvi udarac. "Unijeli smo dosta poboljšanja u poređenju s prošlogodišnjom verzijom i htjeli smo timu dati dovoljno vremena da kreira najbolju moguću igru", kazao je američkim medijima stariji menadžer proizvodnje Trevor Uzice. Još je dodao: "Svakako smo odlučili da nastavimo raditi na stabilnim temeljima od prošle godine, budući da smo tada kreirali nauspješniju verziju video igre FIFA, promatrajući njen kvalitet, ali i prodajne rezultate." Američka kompanija koja se bavi razvojem, izdavanjem i distribucijom video igara također je potpisala ugovore o suradnji s engleskim premierligašima Arsenalom i Chelseaom. "Nastavljamo surađivati s Arsenalom u oblasti marketing inicijativa, a drago nam je što smo i s Chelseaom potpisali ugovor na tri godine i tako postali njihov ekskluzivni partner", kazao je Uzice. U novom naslovu "FIFA 09" moći će uživati korisnici personalnog kompjutera, te igraćih konzola PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii i Xbox 360

PES 2009

Nedugo nakon što nam je stigla nova FIFA, koja je u taj serijal donijela posve nove standarde, pojavio se i novi Pro Evolution Soccer.

Prvi pogled na Pro Evolution Soccer 2009

PES 2009 je nesumnjivo izvrstan virtuelni fudbal. Međutim, svejedno nam je žao što u PES-u nismo dobili više igračkih novina. Najveća stvar ovog naslova svakako je službena Uefina Liga prvaka.

Podržani su svi aktuelni timovi, ali PES i dalje muku muči s licencama.

Naime, i dalje postoje neke greške i nedosljednosti u vezi s pojedinim igračima i klubovima. Međutim, nema veze jer je tu i stari dobri editor u kojem igrači mogu sami stvarati vlastite timove.

Takođe, tu je i mod Become A Legend, vrlo očiti odgovor na FIFA Be A Pro. Uglavnom, ovdje ne upravljate cijelom ekipom, već samo pojedinim igračem.

Što se tiče tehnikalija, PES je definitivno zastario. Tačno, odvija se uz zavidnu brzinu, ali fale mu neki grafički detalji na koje smo se navikli u FIFA. Ipak, najvažnija je sama igrivost.

PES u tom pogledu i dalje briljira. Zajednički nazivnik za njegovo iskustvo natjeravanja lopte je - zabava.

Igra je vrlo dinamična i fluidna, a umjetna inteligencija bolja nego ikad. Jasno, o igri bez kontrolera nemojte ni sanjati, jer ćete jedino uz njegovu pomoć obavljati brojne PES-ove poteze i trikove.

PES 2009 ni u kojem slučaju nije savršen proizvod. Znamo da će nam njegovi ljubitelji ovo strašno zamjeriti, ali moramo biti pošteni i realni. Recimo to ovako; niti je bolji, niti lošiji od nove FIFA. Bilo bi idealno kada bi se ove dvije igre spojile i tako stvorile ultimativni virtuelni fudbal.

U svakom slučaju rasprave u vezi s tim koji fudbal je bolji - PES ili FIFA ponovo se vode i nakon izlaska novih verzija obje simulacije, i uvjereni smo da će još dugo trajati.

Ono što se može reći na osnovu prikazanog jeste da fanovi PES-a ni nakon ove verzije neće preći na FIFA, što je najbolji pokazatelj kvaliteta Pro Evolution Soccera.