Triple H Reveals Why He Wore Shorts In 2003

Hamish Woodward

One of the oddest fashion choices in wrestling has been Triple H‘s decision to wear bike shorts during a short time period. In a period where Shawn Michaels chose to wear tights that can only be described as the colour of poo for the first ever Elimination Chamber, its impressive that The Game had the worst fashion sense in the company that year.

At Summerslam 2003, Triple H walked into the Elimination Chamber as the World Heavyweight Champion wearing a pair of compression biking shorts, underneath his traditional wrestling gear. He wore it for a number of weeks before ditching it for his signature look, but fans have always been bemused about why Triple H wore shorts for a time period in 2003.

Well, luckily for us Triple H is on hand to explain the reason. Answering a question from a Twitter user, the 14 time WWE Champion confirmed that he wore the bike shorts because they were compression shorts which were necessary for him to wrestle, due to a torn groin he had suffered at the hands of Goldberg weeks prior.

In the reply, Triple H said; “Compression shorts after a torn groin. Necessary to compete (and unfashionable…)”

A WWE article talking about the shorts also confirmed this, while also revealing that he needed help from multiple people backstage to even get into the shorts. In the WWE.com article, they wrote; “the gear was custom-created for The Game in 2003 to help him walk while recovering from a torn groin from a previous match with Goldberg. Not only were the shorts a dramatic departure from Triple H’s signature trunks, they were so constricting that multiple people had to help him get into the shorts before he competed.”

Sadly, the horrible fashion choice was not enough. Despite Triple H wearing the shorts that would help him compete, he still fell to Goldberg and lost his World Heavyweight Championship during their match at Unforgiven. Luckily he soon returned to wearing his trademark tights and fans didn’t have to put up with possibly the worst attire in wrestling history (no matter how necessary it was).

Triple H’s Groin Injury In 2003

Triple H tore his groin in a dark match after Monday Night Raw against Goldberg, on the lead up to Summerslam 2003. This was set to be where the Elimination Chamber would take place for the World Heavyweight Championship, a match in which both Triple H and Goldberg would take part. Due to his inexperience in the ring, The Game was tasked with helping Goldberg put on a long, yet lengthy match, something he was not accustomed to.

However, Goldberg’s run in the WWE from 2003-2004 was ill-fated and in the match Triple H tore his groin. This was a huge deal, as he was the champion heading into a massive Summerslam main event. There is no telling if this was the fault of Goldberg or not, but it was likely just incredibly bad luck for a man who has had multiple long-term leg injuries over the years.

Not one to go down without a fight, Triple H carried on through and wore the bike shorts to help deal with the injury. He would go on to win the match but would lose the title months later to Goldberg at Unforgiven 2003.

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