He claimed the Intercontinental Championship after a grueling 26-minute ladder match with The Rock at SummerSlam, much to the delight of the 21,588 Madison Square Garden-faithful in attendance.
Although he had been an Intercontinental champion before, Helmsley had never competed in a feud as high-profile as the one where he led DX to the front lines to battle with The Rock and his Nation of Domination in the summer of 1998.
Helmsley’s reign was a short one due to a legitimate knee injury he was facing at the time, so the WWF vacated ownership of the title and held a tournament to crown a new champion in October of the same year.
Ken Shamrock would become the eventual winner after defeating HHH’s DX stablemate X-Pac in the finals on the October 12th, 1998, edition of Raw is War.
Triple H’s third IC title win was delayed another 2-and-a-half years until April 2001, but he managed to bide his time with a measly four WWF Heavyweight Championship wins during that span. His ascension to the top of the company was quick and ruthless, hence why he earned the nickname “The Cerebral Assassin.”
But for fans of his from the days of spraying water on fans with a super-charged Super Soaker to the invasion of “Dubya Cee Dubya” with DX decked out in camo gear, there is always wrestling action figures to commemorate Triple H’s rise to superstardom.
Jakks Pacific did not waste any time in preparing an official release of Helmsley’s debut BCA figure in the “Bad Boys” Superstars Series 4 assortment in early 1997, but it wasn’t until series 6 was available in the fall of 1998 that an accurate mold of “The Game” arrived on the scene.
As was customary for any new release, multiple repaints and re-releases were commissioned of Triple H’s bulky Superstars Series 6 figure from late 1998 through 1999. One in particular, Helmsley’s Fully Loaded Series 1 repaint, struck the right chord with collectors since it captured a memorable moment in Triple H’s career – his IC title ladder match victory over The Rock at SummerSlam 1998.
Who could possibly forget the bright, shiny metallic purple attire that Triple H wore while in the midst of searching for his own identity in the WWF’s upper mid-card?
It was a favorite among fans and, soon enough, collectors too.
Fully Loaded Series 1 had plenty to offer those eager to add something new to their collections, but would Triple H’s figure depicting his SummerSlam 1998 attire live up to the hype?
Yes, to an extent it does, and it remains a favorite of BCA collectors, including myself, to this day, but there are a few flaws that I feel obligated to point out.
Head:While there is a decent likeness to be had in the face, you wouldn’t know it by having to look past the glaring issue that is Helmsley’s bleach-blonde hair. Jakks experimented with a couple different shades for this sculpt in the BCA line, but this one does no favors for an otherwise good expression. Grade – 2.5/5
Torso:I always liked this torso for Helmsley and felt that it fit him like a glove, but it could do with a little less definition. Grade – 4.5/5
Arms:They’re big, maybe too big in some people’s opinions, but I think Triple H’s arms are just big enough to accommodate the torso. It’s a significant upgrade from the gorilla-like arms used for his debut figure, and they get the job done with limited articulation. The all-around thickness shaves off a few points for me. Grade – 4/5
Legs:The logos are not a perfect match and painting over the belt mold as if to suggest that the belt buckle and loops are nonexistent is a no-no, but the lower half of this figure is what makes, well, the figure what it is! No, it’s not entirely accurate, but you have to commend Jakks for their effort. They truly did the best with that they had, and I guess that can be taken for what it’s worth. Grade – 4/5
Accessories/Other:
Triple H comes with a non-functional Super Soaker accessory, or “Blastin’ Bazooka” as Jakks calls it for copyright reasons, and it’s freaking awesome. Well, it doesn’t actually do anything, but just the concept alone was genius to include with a semi-commemorative Triple H figure.
If only I could find the clip of DX using their Super Soaker, but this will just have to do for now (completely off-topic, but it’s funny nonetheless).
Granted, a yellow ladder with silver rungs or Intercontinental title belt would have been more appropriate in capturing the essence of Helmsley’s SummerSlam 1998 win for his Fully Loaded Series 1 figure, but the Super Soaker is a great consolation prize. Grade – 4/5
Overall: 19/25
Considering that it is just a repaint of a previously-released figure, Fully Loaded Series 1 Triple H is, as I said before, good for what it is and it gets the job done.
I didn’t anticipate there being as many differences in the designs on the figure’s tights as compared with the actual attire worn by Triple H at SummerSlam 1998, but maybe it wasn’t meant to be a direct representation. And even if it was intentional, would it really be that noticeable without my having to do a closer inspection for this review?
Probably not, and I don’t think many collectors would care either way. It’s a solid repaint that I’m sure brought a lot of joy to kids of the late 90s who watched Chyna assist Triple H in winning the Intercontinental title from The Rock at the WWF’s annual summer spectacular.
The figure itself may not be spectacular, but the moment it represents is and will live on for future generations.
Until next time, thanks for looking and have a nice day!
- Alex
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