When WWE was on a European tour in 1998 and had an event in Berlin, Germany, Triple H famously saved Stone Cold Steve Austin from a fan attack inside the ring. At the time, Stone Cold Steve Austin had just replaced Shawn Michaels as the major player in the company.
Steve Austin and The King of Kings were scheduled to face off while WWE was on tour in Berlin, Germany. Chyna stood ringside as the two wrestlers entertained the capacity crowd. Steve Austin eventually won despite Chyna’s intervention, and he stunned Triple H to leave him unconscious. Austin rolled to the side as the referee scored the pinfall and declared him the winner, but just then, a crazed fan suddenly emerged.
That evening, “The Game” breached the rules and chose to stand up for his wrestling foe. Following a series of punches and a German suplex by Triple H on the fan, Mike Chioda, the referee, much to everyone’s amazement, added several kicks to the head and kidneys.
Security immediately arrived to pull the fan from the venue, but The Game managed to land one final blow that dropped him to the ground and likely caused a concussion. Given the obvious size contrast between Triple H and the fan, it is not surprising that Triple H treated the man as if he were nothing.
Why did Triple H beat up a WWE fan
In 1998, while WWE was on a tour of Europe, Stone Cold Steve Austin was famously saved from a fan attack inside the ring by Triple H. Triple H was a heel at the time, while Austin was a babyface. In that story, HHH, the villain, acted in a way that he typically wouldn’t have, especially given their recent fight.
Austin describes this incident in 2013, saying: “I was wrestling H, and Chyna was ringside, and after I stun Chyna and get the 1, 2, 3 on Triple H, a fan hits the ring and tries to attack me. Hunter had his eyes open just like a shark laying there. I thought the fan was one of the boys because way back in the day after a match, after a house show, we’d come out from the back and jump in there and take guys’ finishers as a rib!”
“This wasn’t a rib; it was a fan who was at ringside who happened to be a HHH and Chyna fan and was not very happy that Stone Cold Steve Austin had given him a Stunner and got the three count.”
Austin went on to express his gratitude to the Game for his help, saying: “Hunter, stand-up cat, he picked that dude up, slammed him, and started punching his lights out. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help but beat the guy up. I’m the babyface, but Hunter was watching my back and he beat the snot out of that guy.”
Throughout their careers, Austin and Hunter have played the hero and the villain together, but off-screen, they have a great deal of respect for one another. While kayfabe was not frequently broken in the late 1990s, the incident demonstrated how wrestlers are simply ordinary guys using a character to entertain audiences around the globe.