Debut April 2, 2001 Years active 2001 | Disbanded May 21, 2001 | |
Members Mr. McMahon
Stephanie McMahon Helmsley
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Triple H Name(s) The Power Trip
The Two-Man Power Trip Heights Stone Cold Steve Austin:
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Triple H:
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
The Power Trip was a villainous professional wrestling tag team and stable in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in 2001 consisting of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H.
Contents
Formation
At WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, Stone Cold Steve Austin took on The Rock for the WWF Championship in a no disqualification match between two fan favorites; however, during the match, Mr. McMahon interfered, which eventually led to Austin attacking The Rock with a steel chair to win the WWF Championship and in the process aligning himself with his long-time enemy. The next night on Raw Is War, there would be a rematch between the Rock and Stone Cold, this time in a steel cage match in which Triple H would get involved in the picture when he demanded to know why Vince aligned himself with Austin, claiming that he took out Austin (referring to his previous feud with Austin that had ended only a month prior) for him. Vince arrogantly replied that Austin was a winner at WrestleMania (as Triple H lost to The Undertaker) which led Triple H to leave the arena in frustration.
Later that night, during the Austin-Rock match, Triple H entered the cage with his sledgehammer with the crowd believing that he would help The Rock. This was not the case, however; Triple H, along with Austin, attacked The Rock. Stone Cold showed a new, vicious, and much more violent side to him as he would attack wrestlers like The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane), Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff), and even Lita with the steel chair several times. The two, who did not christen themselves under any name, were called "The McMahon Alliance" for a brief time before being officially known as "The Two-Man Power Trip" (or "The Power Trip" for short). On the episode of Smackdown following Wrestlemania, Austin as per request of Mr. McMahon assaulted his long-time friend Jim Ross after Jim Ross told Austin his opinion of his alliance with Triple H and Vince McMahon. Later that night, Triple H defeated Chris Jericho to win the Intercontinental Championship. During this time, Triple H actually won the Intercontinental Championship twice; a week after defeating Jericho he was defeated by Jeff Hardy for the belt, but Triple H quickly regained the title on the following Raw Is War. The reigns were his third and fourth overall. Austin would go on to be named the "Most Hated Wrestler" of 2001 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Gaining all of the gold
While holding both major singles titles, The Two-Man Power Trip (which Triple H and Austin had become known as) began feuding with the reigning tag team champions, The Brothers of Destruction after the Brothers stopped a Power Trip attack on the Hardy Boyz. The two teams faced off at Backlash on April 29, with Austin and Triple H putting their titles on the line against the WWF Tag Team Championships. The Power Trip won the match after Triple H hit Kane with his sledgehammer and pinned him, and as such were in control of all three of the WWF's major championships. They became just the second team ever to simultaneously hold all of the WWF's three primary titles (after Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash, who were WWF Intercontinental Champion and WWF Champion, respectively, when they won the tag titles for one day on September 24, 1995).
The next night on Raw Is War, McMahon booked an injured Kane in a title match against Austin, only for Linda McMahon to overrule this and give the Undertaker the title shot. However, Austin and Triple H attacked Kane before the match and the match ended in a disqualification. The Power Trip then attacked Kane's arm, giving him an elbow injury. On the next SmackDown!, Undertaker was awarded a rematch versus Austin at Judgment Day. Later, Undertaker attacked Austin during a Triple H-Jeff Hardy title match with a chain and threw him through a glass window. Vince McMahon called for an ambulance, only to reveal that Undertaker was the driver. The Undertaker then attacked McMahon and Austin, and later fought against the returning Rikishi, in a match that ended with a brawl between a returning Austin and Taker. At Insurrextion, Undertaker defeated both members of the Power Trip in a handicap match. Austin's WWF Championship was on the line, but did not change hands because Undertaker pinned Triple H. On the next Raw Is War, Mick Foley managed to make Rikishi leave the Alliance, getting him into a match with Austin with Undertaker being banned from the building. Austin won the match only for Rikishi to hit Stephanie with the Stinkface after the match. On the next SmackDown!, The Undertaker called out Austin, but Kane made his return to help his brother. On the May 14 episode of Raw Is War, Triple H challenged Kane to a Chain match for the Intercontinental title at Judgment Day, and the Power Trip offered the Brothers a tag titles shot. Undertaker was informed that his wife, Sara, was involved in a car accident, leaving the arena and making Kane fight the Power Trip by himself. Kane lost that match. Austin then revealed that Sara was fine. On the next SmackDown!, The Undertaker attacked Austin, and Austin said Triple H was the one to call the police. Undertaker demanded a No Holds Barred match with Triple H. Triple H denied the accusations, and Stephanie McMahon revealed that Austin borrowed Triple H's cellphone that Monday. During the match, Stone Cold admitted he called the police, and the match ended in no contest after the Power Trip attacked Undertaker, making Kane run down for the save. At Judgment Day, Austin accidentally hit Triple H with a steel chair during his chain match with Kane, causing Triple H to lose his Intercontinental Championship. Triple H did not return the favor, however; instead, he helped Austin retain his title against the Undertaker in the main event.
The end of the Power Trip
The next night on Raw Is War, the Two-Man Power Trip faced Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho with the tag team titles on the line. In this match, Triple H suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury when he misstepped, causing him to suffer a tear in his left quadriceps. Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match. Near the end of the match, Jericho tried to pin Austin, but Triple H got in the ring and tried to hit Jericho with the sledgehammer. Jericho avoided the blow and the sledgehammer instead hit Austin in the chest, a situation Jericho and Benoit took advantage of to win the match and the titles.
On the May 24, 2001 episode of Smackdown, Austin came out to the ring and berated Triple H, blaming him for the tag team loss and essentially cutting off all ties with him. As a result, the tag team disbanded right before the Invasion angle began.