In early 1994, Levesque signed a one year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW).[11][12] In his first televised match, Levesque debuted as a villain named Terror Risin' and defeated Keith Cole.[13] His ring name was soon modified to Terra Ryzing, which he used until mid-1994, when he was renamed Jean-Paul Lévesque. 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. During this time, he began using his finishing maneuver, the Pedigree. Levesque had a brief storyline feud with Alex Wright that ended at Starrcade 1994[5] with Wright pinning him.[16] Between late 1994 and early 1995, Levesque briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal, whose snobby British persona was similar to Levesque's character.[14] The team was short-lived, however, as Levesque left for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in January 1995 after WCW turned down his request to be pushed as a singles competitor. World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment[edit] The Connecticut Blueblood (1995--1997)As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started his WWF career as the "Connecticut Blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley.[15] Levesque 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.[17] Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1996Although he was heavily pushed in the first few months after his debut, Levesque's career stalled during 1996, starting off with being mired in a feud with Duke "The Dumpster" Droese following a loss during the Free for All at the 1996 Royal Rumble.[18][19] Up until that event, his angle included appearing on television each week with a different female valet (which included Playboy Playmates Shae Marks and Tylyn John).[5] Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII, and after his loss to Ultimate Warrior,[20] as part of the storyline, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero—her real-life husband—came to her rescue, starting a feud between the two wrestlers.[21] During 1996, Helmsley appeared on an episode of WWF Superstars in a match against Marty Garner.[22] 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.[22] Garner sued the WWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on The Montel Williams Show. The MSG IncidentLevesque 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.[18] It has been claimed that he was scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but the victory was instead awarded to Stone Cold Steve Austin after the Madison Square Garden Incident, in which the Kliq broke character after a match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall.[23] Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. Mr. Perfect became his manager and he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship for the first time on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero.[21][23] 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. Levesque 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.[24] For a very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Mr. Hughes, who was his storyline bodyguard.[25] After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13.[26] During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard.[27]

• published: 08 Oct 2011
• views: 27150