Triple H is known for his intense training and wanting to stay in peak condition, whether he's in the ring or behind the scenes.
He hired personal trainer Joe DeFranco over a decade ago to assist him in his training and he remained active in the ring.
Speaking on The Dan Go Podcast, DeFranco recalled his first meeting with Triple H, and, subsequently, his first meeting with Bluto.
"My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, says, ‘I just got a voicemail from a guy claiming he’s in the WWE, asking if you could call him back. His name is Paul Levesque.’ I was getting a lot of calls at that point, he’s nobody I had ever heard of. He’s probably not in the WWE, he’s probably just trying to get me to call him back. Thankfully, I’m training a group of college football players and wrestling is super hot. One of the college guys goes, ‘Woah, wait. Paul Levesque. That’s Triple H from the WWE.’ Googled real quick, sure enough, it’s Triple H," he recalled.
He continued, "He had just gotten shoulder surgery. He was very body-building style trained, jacked, looked phenomenal, but had just turned 40 and his body-building style training, he felt, was catching up to him because he tore both quads, then he tore his shoulder. He was like, ‘I have to start training like an athlete if I want to prolong my career.’ My name comes up, he takes a stab at it, calls the gym. I had never trained a WWE guy."
When he spoke to Triple H, it was suggested by "The Game" that they do a tryout period of training as Triple H assumed that DeFranco was busy with multiple clients.
DeFranco agreed, leading to him going to the home of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon for their first training session.
"I never get nervous, I have been training clients for 17 years at this point, but I don’t usually do in-home visits and you pull up to this big beautiful house, it’s gated, they have to buzz you in. I’m a little worried for the session. There are five or six stairs and then they have a private entrance for their home gym. I walk down the stairs, I ring the doorbell, I’m waiting, and truly like a movie...it was a sunny day out, and all of a sudden, a cloud came over me. In my brain, it looked like a dinosaur. This huge shadow of an animal just hovered over me. I slowly turn around and look. They have, and I’m not exaggerating, I saw them weigh this dog, a 232-pound mastiff staring at me. He’s even bigger because he’s at the top of the stairs and I’m at the bottom. He’s just [growling sounds]. A little drool and spit. I see the teeth. I love dogs, but I am crapping my pants. I don’t want to be disrespectful, I’m knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell, I’m the new trainer. They didn’t tell me they have a grown man, a dog who weighs 30 pounds more than me, and he keeps growling. One step down the stairs. I’m trying not to show I’m nervous because I know dogs feed off that energy. Usually, dogs are very friendly with me. I think I’m going to get eaten before this first session. Thank the good Lord, somebody was looking over me. He got down to the second or third step, and they answered the door. ‘Oh, you met Bluto.’ ‘I don’t think Bluto likes me too much.’ ‘I’m so sorry, he’s very friendly, but he’s very protective. With new people on our property, we probably should have made sure he wasn’t roaming the grounds.’ Me and Bluto ended up becoming very good friends, but that was my encounter with a dinosaur and the longest ten seconds of my life," recalled DeFranco.
Happy belated Bday Bluto! Thanx for not ending my life 5 years ago :) #IndustrialStrengthShow @TripleH @StephMcMahon pic.twitter.com/9L12879SSN
— Joe DeFranco (@DeFrancosGym) July 23, 2015
Sadly, Bluto has passed away.
Triple H is the Chief Creative Officer of WWE. He has retired from in-ring competition due to health issues.
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