Triple K

Kevin Glenn Levesque (born July 27, 1969) is an American professional wrestler, actor and IWE, better known by his ring name Triple K, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Kevin Kessler Kelmsley. He is the Senior Advisor to IWE Chairman Grant Mayer, and wrestles on the Meltdown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury.
Before joining IWE, Kelmsley began his wrestling career with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994, wrestling under the ring name Terra Ryzing and later as Jean-Paul Levesque. Levesque joined the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) in 1995 with the on-screen persona of wealthy sophisticate Kevin Kessler Kelmsley. He later abbreviated his name to Triple K and adopted an alternative image in the stable D-Generation X (DX). After the dissolution of DX, Triple K was pushed as a main event wrestling, winning several singles championship. As of a storyline, Triple K married Brittany Mayer, who later became his real-life spouse. In 2003, Triple K formed another stable known as Evolution, and in 2006 and 2009, reformed DX with Ryan Barnhart.
Overall, Levesque has won 23 championships in IWE, including thirteen World Championship, having won the IWE Championship eight times, and the World Heavyweight Championship five times (Triple K is also recognized as the first World Heavyweight Champion under IWE's lineage). In addition, Levesque won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 Royal Rumble, and was the second Grand Slam Championship winner.
Outside wrestling, Levesque has made numerous guest appearances in fim and on television.
===Wrestling Career===
==Early Career==
Levesque was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. In his youth, he was a fan of professional wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Ric Flair. Levesque became aware of bodybuilding at the age of fourteen; after graduating from high school in 1987, Levesque entered several bodybuilding competitions. 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. Levesque enrolled at Killer Kowaski's wrestling school in 1992 after it was recommended to him by Arcidi. He made his in-ring debut on November 1 of the same year wrestling against Flying Tony Roy. Levesque joined the Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF), which used trainees from Kowalski's school in their promotion. Here, he became the IWF Heavyweight Champion and started using the name Terra Ryzing.
==World Championship Wrestling==
In early 1994, Levesque signed a one year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In his first televised match, He wrestled as a villain and defeated Brian Armstrong. He continued using the name Terra Ryzing 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 maneveur, the Pedigree.
Levesque had a brief storyline feud with Alex Wright that ened at Starrcade 1994 with Wright pinning him. Between late 1994 and early 1995, Levesque briefly teamed with Lord Will Kapphan, whose snobby British persona was a good match with his similar persona. The team was short-lived, however, as Lévesque left for the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) in January 1995 after WCW turned down his request to be pushed as a singles competitor.
===International Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1995–present)===
====The Connecticut Blueblood (1995–1997)====
As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started his IWF career as the "Connecticut Blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley. 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 IWF Wrestling Challenge.
left|230px|Kunter Kust Kelmsley in 1996
Although 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 David Laster following a loss in the Free For All at the 1996 Royal Rumble. 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). Nicole 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 Rowen—her real-life husband—came to her rescue, starting a feud between the two wrestlers.
On May 28, 1996, Helmsley appeared on IWE Superstars against Marty Garner. 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. Garner sued the IWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on The Montel Williams Show.
right|230px|The MSG Incident
Levesque was known backstage as one of the members of The Kliq, a group of wrestlers including Ryan Barnahrt, Kevin, B-Tobol and Tyler, who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the IWF creative team. He was scheduled 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 Kevin and Tyler. Despite the punishment, Kelmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. Mr. Billy McAlmond became his manager and he won the IWF Intercontinental Championship for the first time on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Rowen. When Mr. Billy McAlmond left the IWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Kelmsley 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 Sam Simkins|Sammy Maivia]] on the February 13, 1997 special edition of Monday Night meltdown, called Thursday Meltdown Thursday. For a very brief time, Kelmsley was accompanied by Mr. Hughes, who was his storyline bodyguard. After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with James Thomas, defeating him at WrestleMania 13. During their feud, Amber debuted as his new bodyguard.
====D-Generation X (1997–1999)====
*Main Article: D-Generation X
Kelmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the 1997 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Mankind in the finals. Later that year, Ryan Barnhart, Kelmsley, Chyna and [Rick Rude|Rick Pembroke]] formed D-Generation X (DX). This stable later became known for pushing the envelope, as Barnahrt and Kelmsley made risqué promos—spawning the catchphrase "Suck It", using a "crotch chop" hand motion, and sarcastically deriding Bret Heart and Canada. By that point, Kelmsley had fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick, appearing in T-shirts and leather. During this period, his ring name was shortened to simply Triple K. Even after the DX versus Heart Foundation storyline ended,Kelmsley continued to feud with the sole remaining member Owen Heart over the IWF European Championship. This ended in a match between the two at WrestleMania XIV, with the stipulation that Amber had to be handcuffed to then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Kelmsley won after Amber 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,[27] with Triple H taking over the leadership position in DX,[20] 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.[20][28] As 1998 went along, D-Generation X became more popular, turning the group from villains to fan favorites. It was also during this time that Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF villain, The Rock.[8] This storyline rivalry eventually led to a feud over the Intercontinental Championship, which Triple H won in a ladder match at SummerSlam.[8] He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury.[8] When The Rock won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series,[29] the rivalry between the two continued, as DX fought The 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.[8] This began a new angle for Triple H, as Chyna betrayed him by attacking him after the match and joining The Corporation.[8]
As part of the storyline, at WrestleMania XV, Triple H beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX.[8] 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.[8] After Triple H's villain 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.[8] Levesque's gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot.[8] After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin to a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam, which featuredJesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match by pinning Austin.[30] The following night on Raw, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.[8]
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. Triple H then continued his feud with Vince McMahon by marrying his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. He then defeated McMahon at Armageddon. As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; together they were known as the "McMahon-Helmsley Faction".[31]
====Mayer–Kelmsley Era (2000–2001)====
By January 2000, Triple K dubbed himself "The Game," implying that he was at the top of the wrestling world, and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross. On the January 3 edition of Meltdown is War, Triple K defeated The Big Marc to win his third IWF championship.
Triple K feuded with Mick Foley in early 2000. They both fought at the Royal Rumble in a Street Fight Match for the IWF Championship, which Triple K won after doing two pedigrees on Foley. The storyline would come to an end at No Way Out in a Hell in a Cell where if Mick Foley lost he would have to retire. Triple K retained his title at the PPV and thus ending Mick Foley's fifteen year career. Triple K pinned Sam Simkins at WrestleMania 2000 to retain the title, but lost it at Backlash to to Sam Simkins. He regained it three weeks later, in an IronMan Match at Judgment Day, only to lose it back to Sam Simkins at King of the Ring. Kunter then entered a storyline feud with Kris McGowan, which culminated in a Last Man Standing Match at Fully Loaded.
A later storyline feud between Triple K and Steve Johnson started when it emerged that Triple K had paid off Keith to run down Johnson at Survivor Series, causing him to take a year off. In reality, Johnson's previous neck injuries started bothering him again, forcing him to have surgery. In 2000, Triple K and Johnson had a match a Survivor Series that ended when Triple K tried to trick Johnson into coming into the parking lot to run him over again, only to have Johnson lift his car up with a forklift and flip the car onto its roof 10 feet high. Triple K returned a few weeks later and attacked Johnson. The feud continued into 2001 and ended in a Three Stages of Hell Match in which Kelmsley defeated Johnson. In 2001, Triple K also fedued with Martin McAlmond, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven. The night after WrestleMania, Triple K interfered in a steel cage match between Johnson (who had just won the IWF Championship) and Sam Simkins where he joined forces with Johnson and double teamed on Sam Simkins, forming a tag team called The Two-Man Power Trip. Triple K then defeated Kris McGowan for his third Intercontinental Championship on the April 5 edition of Fusion!, and won it for a fourth time two weeks later by defeating Josh Hooper. Triple K then became a tag team champion for the first time at Backlash when he and Johnson defeated Chris LeGreca and Martin McAlmond in a winner-take-all tag match. As Triple K was still Intercontinental Champion, the win made him a double champion.
During the May 21, 2001 episode of Meltown, he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury. In the night's main event, he and Johnson were defending the Tag Team Championship against Kris McGowan and Kevin Hunter. At, one point, McGowan had Johnson trapped in the Walls of Jericho. Triple K ran in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle, causing it to come completely off the bone. Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple K was able to complete the match. He even allowed McGowan 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 Mayer-Kelsemy Era, as the rigorous rehabiliation process kept Triple K out of action for over eight months, completely missing The Invasion storyline.
====Return from injury and various feuds (2002)====
Triple K returned to Meltdown as a fan favorite on January 7, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. He won the Royal Rumble and received an Undisputed IWF Championship match at WrestleMania X8. At WrestleMania X8, Triple K beate Kris McGowan for the Undisputed Championship. After holding the title for a month, Helmsley dropped it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash. Triple K then became exclusive to the Fusion roster due to the IWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with McGowan, culminating in a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day. On June 6, Triple K defeated Hogan in a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship at the King of the Ring against Martin McAlmond but was unsuccessful at the event.
left|230px|Triple K after winning the Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania X8
In the interim, between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, the Mayer-Kelmsley Faction was brought to an official on-screen conclusion. By the time he returned, Triple K's on-screen marriage to Brittany Mayer was on the rocks, so Brittany faked a pregnancy in order to get him back on her side. When he learned that it was fake, he dumped her publicly on Meltdown when they were supposed to renew their wedding vows. Brittany aligned with McGowan afterward, but she was forced to leave after losing a Triple Threat match on Meltdown the night after WrestleMania when she was pinned by Triple K. The divorce, and thus the storyline, was finalized at Vengeance.
Meanwhile, Ryan Barnhart had made his return to IWE and joined the New World Order (nWo). Barnhart and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple K over to Meltdown in order to put him into the group. Grany Mayer, however, disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as the Meltdown brand's new General Manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and bring Triple K over to the Meltdown roster. Triple K did indeed go to the Meltdown brand, reuniting with Ryan Barnhart, but on July 22, he turned on Barnhart by performing a Predigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion, thus becoming a villain once again. The following week, Triple K smashed Barnhart's face into a car window to prove that Barnhart 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 Barnhart came out of retirement to win. Afterwards, however, Triple K attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Barnhart was carried out of the ring.
Before September 2, 2002, IWE recognized only one champion for both the Meltdown and Fusion! brands. After SummerSlam, champion Rob Lesnar became exclusive to Fusion!, leaving Meltdown without a champion. Meltdown General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple K in the form of the old WCW Championship belt making him the first ever world heavyweight champion of the IWE brand. Triple K retained his title against Kyle Van Johnson at IWE Unforgiven (2002)|Unforgiven]] when Ric Flair hit KVJ with a sledgehammer, and against Chris LeGreca at No Mercy in a title unification match in which Triple k won the Intercontinental Championship and unified it with his World Heavyweight Championship, but he eventually dropped the belt to Ryan Barnhart in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series. He defeated KVJ for the title shot at Armageddon with Barnhart. He regained the title from Barnhart in a Three Stages of Hell match at Armageddon.
====Evolution (2003–2005)====
*Main Article: Evolution
In January 2003, Triple H formed a stable known as Evolution with Ric Flair, Kevin McAlmond and Jesse Der. Triple K and Ric FLair challenged KVJ and Chris LeGreca for the World Tag Team Titles, but they lost the match. The group was pushed on Meltdown from 2003 to 2004. The height of their dominance occurred after Armageddon when every member of Evolution left the pay-per-view holding a title. Triple K held the World Heavyweight Championship for most of 2003 until Unforgiven, losing the title to Bill. After a failed attempt to win back the title from Bill in a rematch at the Survivor Series, he finally regained the championship against Bill in a triple threat match at Armageddon which also involved Chris LeGreca. At the 2004 Royal Rumble Triple K Ryan Barnhart fought in a Last Man Standing Match to a double countout, so Triple K retained the title as a result. Triple K dropped the title to Kevin Hunter at WrestleMania XX, and he was unable to reclaim the belt from Kevin Hunter in subsequent rematches, including a rematch from WrestleMania between Triple K, Kevin Hunter and Ryan Barnhart at Backlash.
He then ended his feud with Barnhart, defeating him in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood. After another failed attempt, losing to Hunter at Vengeance, he focused on Kip Grant, beating him at SummerSlam. Triple K then regained the title from former associate Kevin McAlmond at Unforgiven. Following a Triple Threat World Heavyweight title defense against Kevin Hunter and Chris Gomez on the November 29, 2004 episode of Meltdown, the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time. At New Year's Revolution, Triple K won the Elimination Chamber to begin his tenth world title reign. At WrestleMania 21, Triple K lost the championship to Jesse Dern, and subsequently lost two rematches at Backlash and Vengeance. After Vengeance, Triple K then took a hiatus from IWE due to suffering from minor neck problems.
After a four month hiatus, Triple K returned to Meltdown on October 3, 2005 as part of IWE Homecoming. He teamed with fellow Evolution member Flair to defeat James and Michael Ferry. After the match, Triple K turned on Flair hitting him with a sledgehammer, sparking a feud between the duo. Flair defeated Triple K in a Steel Cage Match at Taboo Tuesday for Flair's [[IWE Intercontinental Championship|Intercontinental Championship. Subsequently, Triple K defeated Flair in a non-title Last Man Standing match at Survivor Series to end their feud.
====Pursuit of the IWE Championship, DX reunion and injury (2006–2007)====
left|230px|DX striking their signature pose
Although Triple H failed to win the Royal Rumble Match at Royal Rumble, another championship arose for Triple K in the Road to WrestleMania Tournament. He won the tournament, granting him a match for the IWE Championship at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania, Triple K and Dustin Simpson fought in the main event for the title, which Triple K lost via submission. Later that month at Backlash, Triple K was ivolved in another IWE Championship match, fighting Chris Gomez and Dustin Simpson in a Triple Threat Match, where he lost again. In an act of frustration, a bloodied Triple K used his sledgehammer to attack both Gomez and Simpson and then performed a number of DX crotch chops. Triple K unsuccessfully attempted to win the IWE title from Simpson on numerous occasions, blaming his shortcomings on Grant Mayer, which eventually led to a feud between the Mayers and Triple K.
Ryan Barnhart returned on the June 12 edition of Meltdown and soon reunited with Triple K to reform D-Generation X, turning Triple K into a fan favorite once again for the first time since 2002. DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance in a 5-on-2 handicap match. They continued their feud with Grant Mayer, James Mayer and the Spirit Squad for several weeks. They then defeated the Spirit Squad again on the July 18, 2006 edition of Saturday Night' Main Event in a 5-on-2 Elimination match. They then again defeated the Mayers at SummerSlam, withstanding the attack of several handpicked IWE superstars by Grant Mayer. At Unforgiven, D-Generation X overcame the odds once again, defeating The Mayers and XCW World Champion Big Marc in a Hell in a Cell match. During the match, DX embarrassed Grant by shoving his face in between Big Marc's buttocks, and DX won when Triple K broke a sledgehammer over the shoulders of Grant Mayer after Barnhart preformed Sweet Chin Music on him.
At Cyber Sunday during DX's feud with Rated-RKO, special guest referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a weapon to give Rated-RKO the win. At Survivor Series, DX got their revenge when their team defeated Chris Gomez and Kevin McAlmond's team in an Elimination Match. In January 2007, at New Year's Revolution, DX and Rated-RKO fought to a no-contest after Triple K suffered a legitimate torn right quadriceps (similar to the one he suffered in 2001 but in the other leg) fifteen minutes into the match. Surgery was successfully performed on January 9, 2007 by Dr. James Andrews.
====King of Kings (2007–2009)====
right|230px|Triple K performing his singature ring entrance pose on the middle rope following his 2007 comeback
Triple K made his return at SummerSlam, where he defeated King Britz. After his return, he won the IWE Championship at No Mercy after beating the newly named Champion, Kevin McAlmond, making Triple K an eleven-time world champion. In the same event, Triple K also defeated Keith Coleman in his first title defense after Mr. Mayer declared his already-scheduled bout with Keith Coleman, a title match. Mayer then announced, Kevin McAlmond would receive a title rematch in a Last Man Standing Match in the final match of the event, which Kevin McAlmond won after an RKO onto the announcer's table, thus ending Triple K's sixth reign. Triple K's title reign at No Mercy is the fifth shortest reign in IWE history, only lasting through the duration of the event. In the Meltdown Elimination Chamber at No Way Out, Triple K gained a IWE Championship math at WrestleMania XXVI, by outlasting five other men. However, at WrestleMania XXIV, Kevin McAlmond retained after punting Triple K and pinning Dustin Simpson following Triple K's Pedigree on Dustin Simpson. A month later, at Backlash, Triple K won the title in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match against Kevin McAlmond, Dustin Simpson and John "Bradshaw" Goff, tying the record for most IWE Championship reigns with Sam Simkins. Triple K then retained the title against Kevin McAlmond at Judgment Day in a Steel Cage match and again at One Night Stand in a Last Man Standing match.
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. After several successful title defenses against Edge, The Great Khali, and Jeff Hardy, Triple H ultimately lost his title to Edge at the 2008 Survivor Series pay-per-view. He then engaged himself in a feud against Vladimir Kozlov. After qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match at the No Way Out pay-per-view, Triple H won the match to win his eighth WWE Championship, surpassing the record originally set by The Rock at seven reigns.
====Feud with The Legacy (2009)====
left|230px|Triple K after retaining the IWE Championship against Kevin McALmond at The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania
On the February 16, 2009 episode of Meltdown, Triple K made an appearance aiding Brittany and James Mayer, after they were attacked by Kevin McAlmond. On the February 20 episode of Fusion, Triple K was interviewed by Jim Ross, in the interview, footage was shown highlighting the events that occurred on the February 16 episode of Meltdown. Ross asked Triple K how he felt seeing that footage, in response, he broke character (after 5 years of marriage) by admitting that Grant Mayer is his father-in-law, that James is his brother-in-law, and that Brittany is his wife, thus creating a rivalry between Triple K and McAlmond. On the February 23 episode of Meltdown, Triple K confronted Kevin McAlmond, before attacking him, Kyle Johnson and Mark Semmler (a group known as The Legacy) with a sledgehammer and chasing them from the arena. Weeks later, it was announced that Triple K would defend the IWE championship against Kevin McAlmond at WrestleMania XXV. At the event, Triple K defeated Kevin McAlmond to retain the title. Triple K would later face Kevin McAlmond and legacy in a six man tag team match with James Mayer and Jesse Dern for the IWE championship at Backlash. Triple K lost the title after tring to stop Jesse Dern from hitting Mark Semmler with a chair then being hit with a RKO by Kevin McAlmond followed by the running punt to the head. Having Kevin McAlmond win the IWE Championship and being put out of action for six weeks. At The Bash, Triple K would lose to McAlmond in a Three Stages of Hell match for the IWE Title. At Night of Champions, Triple K would again lose to McAlmond in a match for the IWE Championship, this time in a Triple Threat match, also involving Dustin Simpson.
====DX reunion (2009–2010)====
On the August 10, 2009 episode of Meltdown, video segments aired in which Triple K met with Barnhart at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple K would try to convince Barnhart return to IWE from hiatus. After several incidents during the segments (including a grease grill burgers on fire and Ryan shouting at a little girl), Michaels agreed to team with Triple K to face The Legacy at SummerSlam, superkicking the girl, and quitting from his chef job in the process. 
On the August 17 episode of Raw, in St. Louis, MO, Michaels and Triple H officially reunited as DX, but as they were in the process of their in-ring promo, Legacy attacked them both. Their first match after reuniting was against Legacy at SummerSlam, which they won. At Breaking Point, however, they lost to Legacy in the first ever Submissions Count Anywhere match in IWE history.
At the October pay-per-view Hell in a Cell, DX defeated Legacy in a Hell in a Cell match. DX would challenge Dustin Simpson for the IWEWE Championship in a triple threat match at Survivor Series with both men failing to win the title, although they were able to retain their friendship and tag team partnership. On December 13 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, DX defeated Kris McGowan and The Big Marc to win the Unified IWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs match; the first tag team championship reign for Barnhart and Triple K as a tag team.
On December 21, Triple H announced that Hornswoggle was the new DX mascot. This came about after Hornswoggle sued DX for emotional and physical distress due to them not allowing him to join DX. After being taken to court where they were ruled guilty by a jury and judge consisting of dwarves, Barnhart told Triple K that Hornswoggle could be the mascot. Triple K agreed to it only if the charges were dropped, which Hornswoggle agreed to. On January 11 Mike Tyson, who was the Meltdown guest host for the night, teamed with McGowan to face DX; however, at the end of the bout, Tyson turned on McGowan and aligned himself with Barnhart and Triple K. On the February 8, 2010 episode of Meltdown, DX lost their Unified Tag Team Titles to MarJoe ([[Jose Smith and The Big Marc) in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match also featuring The Straight Edge Society (Justin Eldridge and Justin Feight.) On the March 1 episode of Meltdown they lost their rematch for the titles which would be their last televised match before Barnhart retired.
==== Various Feuds, IWE Chairman (2011-Present)====
thumb|left|Triple K in Tribute to the Troops in December 2010.
On February 21, Triple K participated in the Elimination Chamber match for the IWE Championship, although he was unsuccessful, he eliminated Garrett (who was the IWE Champion at that time). He was attacked by Garrett a few weeks later, after Garrett blamed Triple K for costing him the IWE Championship. This set up a match between the two at WrestleMania XXVI, where Triple K came up victorious. The night after Wrestlemania, Triple K was attacked by Garrett while trying to give a farewell speech for Ryan Barnhart's retirement. This would set up a rematch at Extreme Rules. At Extreme Rules, after Garrett attacked Triple K at the start of the show, Garrett went on to defeat him. On the same night Triple K suffered a torn biceps muscle. IWE announced that Triple K will return on the IWE Fan Appreciation Event on October 30 in Hartford, Connecticut. He defeated Justin Marlen in a singles match. Later on in the night, during the Dustin Simpson and Chris LeGreca match The Nexus interfered then a few minutes later, the whole locker room (including Triple K) came to attack them.
thumb|right|Triple K performing his entrance at WrestleMania XXVII, walking between shields.
On the February 21, 2011, episode of Meltdown, Triple K made his return to the International Wrestling Entertainment by interrupting the return of Martin McAlmond, where he challenged him to a match at WrestleMania XXVII, to which Martin McAlmond accepted. The match would later be revealed to be a No Holds Barred match. On the February 28 episode of Meltdown, Triple K attacked Garrett and put him through the announcer table, which Garrett had done to him at Extreme Rules, ten months prior.
After weeks of in ring promos by both men, on the March 28 episode of Meltdown, Ryan Barnhart returned during their face to face confrontation to address them both about the match. The night before WrestleMania, Triple K inducted Michaels into the Hall of Fame. At WrestleMania, Triple K lost to Martin McAlmond, extending the Martin McAlmond's WrestleMania winning streak to 19-0. He returned on July 18, 2011, on behalf of the board of directors, to relieve Mr. Mayer of his duties as IWE Chairman and to announce that he had been assigned to take over the position himself.
==Personal Life==
==In Wrestling==
*Finishing Moves
**Inverted Indian Deathlock – WCW; used rarely as a regular move thereafter in IWE
**Pedigree (Double Underhook Facebuster)
*Signature Moves
**Abdominal Stretch
**Backbreak
**Blatant Choke
**Chop block
**Drop Toe-Hold
**Facebreaker Knee Smash, often as a back body drop counter
**Figure Four Leglock
**Flowing DDT
**High Knee Strike
**Jumping Knee Drop
**Mounted Punches
**Running Clothesline
**Running Neckbreaker
**Sleeper Hold
**Spinning Spinebuster
*Stables
**Corporate Ministry
**D-Generation X
**Evolution
**McMahon-Helmsley Faction
**The Corporation
**The Power Trip
*Managers
**Amber
**Ric Flair
**Mr. Hughes
**Mr. Perfect
**Brittany Mayer
**Mr. Mayer
**James Mayer
**Lord Will Kapphan
**Avery Gold
*Nicknames
**"The Connecticut Blueblood"
**"The Cerebral Assassin"
**"The Game"
**"The King of Kings"
*Entrance Themes
**"Blue Blood" by Jim Johnston (IWF) (1995–1996)
**"Symphony No. 9 (Fourth Movement)" by Ludwig Van Beethoven (IWF) (1996–1997)
**"Break It Down" by The DX Band (used while a part of D-Generation X) (IWF/IWE) (1997–1999,1999–2000,2006–2010)
**"Corporate Player" by Jim Johnston (IWF) (1999)
**"Higher Brain Pattern" by Jim Johnston (IWF) (1999)
**"No Chance in Hell" composed by Jim Johnston and performed by Peter Bursuker (used while a part of The Corporation (IWF) (1999)
**"My Time" by Jim Johnston (IWF) (1999–2000)
**"The Kings" by Run-D.M.C. (used while a part of D-Generation X) (IWF) (2000)
**"The Game" by Drowning Pool (used for advertising promos) (IWF/IWE) (2002–present)
**"Line in the Sand" by Motörhead (used while a part of Evolution) (IWE) 2003-2005
**"The King of Kings" by Motörhead (used for promos) (IWE) (2006)
**"The Game" by Motörhead (IWF/IWE) (2000–present)
==Championship and Accoplishments==
*Independent Wrestling Federation
**IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Matt Borske
**PWI Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Kevin Hunter
**PWI Match of the Year (2004) vs. Ryan Barnhart and Kevin Hunter at WrestleMania XX
**PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2003–2005)
**PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000 and 2009
**PWI ranked him #139 in the PWI Years in 2003
**PWI Wrestler of the Year (2008)
**PWI Most Hated of the Decade (2000–2009)
**PWI Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009)
*International Wrestling Federation / International Wrestling Entertainment
**IWE World Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
**IWF/E Championship (8 times)
**IWF European Championship (2 times)
**IWF/E Intercontinental Championship (5 times)
**IWF/E World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – Steve Johnson (1) and Ryan Barnhart (1)
**IWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ryan Barnhart
**King of the Ring (1997)
**Royal Rumble (2002)
**Second Grand Slam Championship
**Slammy Award for Best Hair (1997)
**Seventh Triple Crown Championship
**IWE Chairman (2011 - present)
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
**Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Mick Foley
**Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Ryan Barnhart and Kevin Hunter
**Feud of the Year (2005) vs. Jesse Dern
**Most Overrated (2002–2004, 2009)
**Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (2002, 2003)
**Worst Feud of the Year (2002) vs. Chris LeGreca
**Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Ryan Barnahrt vs. ??? and Shane ???
**Worst Worked Match of the Year (2003) vs. Scott Hunter at No Way Out
**Worst Worked Match of the Year (2008) vs. Jake Wilson and Chris Gomez at Survivor Series
**Wrestler of the Year (2000)
**Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)
==DVDs==
*Triple K: The Game (2002)
*The NEW and IMPROVED DX (2002)
*Triple K: The King of Kings (2008)