Triple HHH was meant for a big push, but the curtain call event set him back

As punishment, the push went instead to someone else. Someone by the name of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

That was the push that was instrumental in his asscent to superstardom, King of the Ring 1996, in which Austin delivered the iconic Austin 3:16 speech.

Austin himself has said that was the push that made him a star and Triple HHH never held a grudge nor seethed over it.
He is in fact grateful Austin got the push instead, because by his own admission, Triple HHH wasn't ready for it.

But what if he was?

Here we look at what could have been. The curtain call never happened and the Game, The Cerebral Assassin, King of Kings himself,
Triple HHH is at the peak of his performative skills.
The push went to Hunter, and it is time for the big speech.

Written by Stephanie McMahon, approved by Vince McMahon, Paul Levesque as executive producer

AS I STAND HERE, THE KING OF THE RING, THE FIRST THING I DEMAND YOU TO DO IS TO TAKE THAT PIECE OF CRAP OUT OF MY RING!
AS A MATTER OF FACT, DON'T SIMPLY TAKE HIM OUT OF THE RING! TAKE HIM OUT OF THE WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION!
TAKE HIM OUT OF THE WORLD WRESLING FEDERATION RIGHT NOW! YOU SEE, I HAVE PROVED TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, IN THE "KING OF THE RING" FINAL, BEYOND ANY AND ALL DOUBT, THAT YOU CAN'T HANG WITH THE BIG PLAYERS IN THIS BUSINESS ANYMORE!

THUMPING YOUR BIBLE AND SAYING YOUR PRAYERS DIDN'T GET YOU ANYWHERE AND IT NEVER WILL! YOU WERE JUST ANOTHER PEBBLE IN MY ROAD TO BECOME THE "KING OF THE RING"! AND I KICKED YOU OUT OF THE WAY JUST LIKE ANY OTHER PEBBLE! YOU CAN TALK ABOUT PSALMS AND PRAYERS HOWEVER MUCH YOU LIKE! YOU CAN EVEN TALK ABOUT JOHN 3:16 FOR ALL I CARE!

BUT THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, JAKE "THE SNAKE" ROBERTS...

HELMSLEY 3:16 SAYS I JUST BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!

IT'S QUITE SIMPLE WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, AND THAT IS TO BUY SOME CHEAP SCOTCH AND RECOVER THE COURAGE YOU USED TO HAVE IN YOUR GLORY DAYS! MAYBE THEN YOU'LL HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO TAKE A SHOT AT ME! BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, JAKE "THE SNAKE" ROBERTS IS A HAS-BEEN WITHOUT ANY GUTS!

AND SO, AS I STAND HERE, THE KING OF THE RING, I AM SENDING A WARNING TO EVERY ONE OF THE WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION'S SUPERSTARS: I HAVE A HIT LIST, AND IT INCLUDES EVERY SINGLE SUPERSTAR IN THE LOCKER ROOM. I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE OR CLAIM TO BE, YOU ARE ALL ON MY HIT LIST! MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: I'M A COLD-HEARTED MAN, AND I WILL GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE NAME ON THAT LIST, COME HELL AND HIGH WATER!

I DON'T GIVE A CRAP WHETHER DAVEY BOY SMITH OR "THE HEART-BREAK KID" SHAWN MICHAELS WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP! HEARST HELMSLEY'S TIME, MY TIME, HAS COME, AND WHEN I BECOME THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDER FOR THE WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION CHAMPIONSHIP, YOU CAN BE DAMN SURE I WILL BECOME THE WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION CHAMPION!

AND BECAUSE I SAY SO, YOU CAN BE DAMN SURE IT'S SET IN STONE!

Michael Hayes: And that's quite the ATTITUDE from Helmsley. You could even call it stone-cold. "Stone-cold" Hearst Helmsley, ladies and gentlemen!

Thank goodness that's over-

AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE BY "THE GAME", "STONE COLD" HEARST HELMSLEY!
STILL TO COME, IT'S "THE HEART-BREAK KID'S" BIG TITLE DEFENSE AND AFTER HE WINS WE'LL COME BACK TO SEE THE CORONATION OF THE NEW "KING OF THE RING", "STONE COLD" HEARST HELMSLEY!

Vince: THANK YOU FOR JONING US LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
FOR "STONE COLD" HEARST HELMSLEY'S CORONATION AS KING OF THE RING!
THIS PROMISES TO BE AN HISTORIC EVENT!

[Silence fills the arena, out of respect for the new king of the ring]

[A new song begins to play.]
[The guitar chord sounds familiar, but different at the same time. As if symbolizing a seamless transition from the old era to the Attitude Era]
[BEHOLD THE KING]
[THE KING OF KINGS]
[ON YOUR KNEES DOG]
*pop*
[Slow guitar build-up]
[Triple HHH walks out as the song reaches--]
[BOW DOWN TO THE]
[BOW DOWN TO THE KING]
*monster pop*
Vince: AND THERE HE IS!!!
[Triple HHH looks at the ring, where his throne - his birthright - awaits]
Vince: WE ARE WATCHING HISTORY BEING MADE TONIGHT!
[Triple HHH walks slowly to the ring, gazing upon his newly conquered realm, the WWE universe]
Vince: HE BEAT EVERY SINGLE OPPONENT ON HIS WAY TO THIS VERY MOMENT
[As he enters the ring, the song hits the second--]
[BOW DOWN TO THE]
[BOW DOWN TO THE KING]
*HUGE POP*
[Triple HHH scans the ring. He looks at the back rows, then the front]
Vince: THE KING OF THE RING IS IN HIS KINGOM, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
[Triple HHH looks at the crown on the throne]
Vince: IT IS THE DREAM OF EVERY WRESTLER. THE FIRST STEP ON THE ROAD TO GREATNESS...
[Triple HHH begins to sit on the throne]
Vince: TO BE KING OF THE RING!
[Triple HHH sits on the throne and grabs the crown]
Vince: WE ARE WITNESSING THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND!
[Triple HHH holds the crown over his head]
[The crowd is completely quiet, waiting in anticipation for The Game to drop the crown on his head]
Vince: WHO KNOWS WHAT INCREDIBLE MOMENTS WE ARE STILL TO WITNESS FROM THIS PROMISING SUPERSTAR!
[Triple HHH finally drops the crown on his head as the song hits the third--]
[BOW DOWN TO THE]
[BOW DOWN TO THE KING]

[Crowd goes friggin' berzerk]
[Triple HHH looks at hardcam menacingly]
Vince: TONIGHT, A LEGEND IS BORN!
[Broadcast ends, fade-out]