Marty Garner Reflects On Taking Infamous Spike Pedigree From Triple H, HHH Signing The Photo

Triple H has hit many Pedigrees throughout his career on a variety of opponents in all shapes and sizes. Triple H has hit the Pedigree to win championships, to put opponents through objects, and just for the love of hitting a Pedigree. 

Through all the Pedigrees in his career, perhaps no pedigree is more famous than the one he hit Marty Garner with on the June 1, 1996 episode of WWE Superstars. 

For that Pedigree, Triple H spiked Garner on his head, who took the move more as a piledriver than a stomach/face bump. 

Speaking to Jeremy Lambert & Joel Pearl on In The Weeds, Garner looked back on the infamous moment.

“Hunter was new there, and I was new there. I didn’t want to tell him that I didn’t know what the Pedigree was. I had no idea what the Pedigree was, and when he said, ‘Are you good with taking the Pedigree?’ I said, ‘Oh yeah. Sure, man.’ When he locked me into it, it felt like it was going to be a power bomb because he put my head between his legs. I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m going to kick hard.’ I didn’t think it was a piledriver, but I didn’t really know what it was. I should’ve probably asked [laughs], looking back. It made for a good picture and it showed up in a few magazines. A few years later it showed up again in a magazine, Triple H came up to me and goes, ‘this picture is making its rounds.’ ‘Yeah, it is.’ I never get any autographs from anybody, I never get anybody to sign anything, but I did get him to sign a picture of me in the air with him doing what looked like a double-underhook piledriver. I have a picture of that signed. Of all the people, everywhere I’ve been and all the movie stars and people I’ve met, that’s the only autograph I’ve ever gotten,” said Garner. 

When asked if he spoke to Triple H after the spot, Garner said, “When it happend, he said, ‘[Goddamn,] are you alright?’ ‘I’m good, bro.’ When I came to the back, he was like, ‘Dude, that looked really good. I just want to make sure again, are you okay?’ ‘I’m great.’ He goes, ‘Bro, wow.’ He just shook his head like he couldn’t believe I was living and standing there talking to him. I wasn’t proud of that, really, because I messed up. It was a video of shame for me for a long time and then I just accepted it. I made a mistake, mistakes happen, I was trying to impress somebody and it didn’t work out quite right. It is what it is.”

Garner said the spike Pedigree wasn’t the worst bump he’s taken, recalling a dive spot against Jeff Jarrett where he “scorpioned” himself. 

Garner returned to the ring for the Firm Deletion on the May 5 episode of AEW Rampage where he served as the official for the bout. 

Fans can check out the full interview with Garner in the video above.