Triple H Wasn’t Comfortable Using Diamond Cutter As Early Finisher, Leading To Him Using The Pedigree

When Triple H debuted in WWE in 1995, he didn’t the Pedigree didn’t debut with him. Instead, he used a version of the RKO/Cutter, that looked nothing like the many versions of the RKO/Cutter that fans see today as neither Triple H nor his opponent, which mostly consisted of enhancement talent, looked comfortable executing the move.

Speaking on WWE’s The Bump, Triple H discussed using a version of the RKO early in his career, and why things didn’t work out with the move.

“When I came in, I had been using a version of the Pedigree, which wasn’t called the Pedigree, it was something I was doing on the Independents and (with) [Killer] Kowalski. I was also using the Indian Deathlock. When I came to WWF, they were asking me about finishes. I said, ‘I use the Indian Deathlock sometimes.’ It’s hard because there were a lot of big guys, not that I thought I was going to be putting the Indian Deathlock on Yokozuna anytime soon, but sometimes it’s a hard move to put on guys with bigger legs. I explained [The Pedigree] finish. They said, we saw this one finish that this guy was using, I think it was [Diamond Dallas Page] at the time, somebody suggested give that a try. That was in the beginning phases of guys trying to do the RKO/Cutter and figure ways in and out of it. Most times, when you would ask enhancement guys how to take it, they wouldn’t know. I had never done it before. It just wasn’t comfortable. At that time, you’d wrestle five enhancement guys in one day on Superstars or Challenge, so you got to try it a lot of times. Two of them would be great, one would be terrible, the others would be okay.”

He continued, “I remember Chief Jay Strongbow coming to me and being like, ‘That finish, what do you think?’ I said, ‘It’s hard to get guys, whether it’s me or them, to get it right.’ And he asked if I had anything else. I showed him [The Pedigree]. He loved it and said, ‘Why don’t you do that?’ ‘Well, I wanted to do it when I got here but you guys didn’t want me to.’ So, I switched. Michael Hayes is the one who named it the Pedigree.”

The move has worked out for Triple H as he’s won many titles and put many foes away with The Pedigree.

WWE will celebrate 25 years of Triple H in WWE beginning on Friday’s SmackDown.

Elsewhere during the interview, Triple H recalled his first meeting with Vince McMahon. You can find his full comments by clicking here.

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