Levesque began his wrestling career in the International Wrestling Federation as Terra Ryzing before joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. He soon became Jean-Paul Lévesque, a French Canadian aristocrat,[4] similar to the Hunter Hearst Helmsley character he would later portray in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[5] He later abbreviated his name to Triple H and adopted an alternative image in the D-Generation X (DX) stable. After the dissolution of DX, Triple H was pushed as a main event wrestler, winning several singles championships.[2] 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,[2] and reformed DX with Shawn Michaels in 2006 and 2009.[6] Levesque is heavily involved in the writing process of WWE programming, and holds complete creative control over his television character's storylines, win/loss record, and championship reigns.[7]
Overall, Levesque has won 23 championships in WWE. He is a thirteen-time world champion having won the WWF/E Championship eight times, and the World Heavyweight Championship five times.[8][9] He was the first World Heavyweight Champion, having been awarded the title in September 2002. In addition, Helmsley won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 Royal Rumble, and was the second Grand Slam Championship winner. Outside of wrestling, Helmsley has made numerous guest appearances in film and on television, like The Chaperone. By