Triple H's first big break in WWE came in 1995 when he competed in the Hog Pen match against Henry O. Godwinn (HOG).
A misconception about the match is that it was part of Triple H's punishment for his role in the infamous Kliq Curtain Call at Madison Square Garden. In actuality, the match took place before the Curtain Call and Triple H has fond memories of the bout and his feud with Godwinn.
"Henry was a heel and putting slop on people and guys didn't want to take it," Triple H recalled on the NXT TakeOver post-show media call. "I went to Vince and said, 'If you turn him babyface, I'll take that slop all day long. Nobody would not want to get slop on them more than me. My character, the snob, I wouldn't even want to get in the ring with this guy.' Vince thought it was great so he turned Henry babyface and [my character] didn't want to get in the ring with him. We did the slop match all over the country, every night, it ruined my gear more than anything. It was awesome, I loved it. When they first threw the Pig Pen Match at me, I loved it. I thought it was phenomenal. As a snob heel, what better thing could happen than you get thrown into a pen with pig poop? I could have done with maybe not quite as much poop. Those pigs were big and had been in there all day. Right before we went to go in, the farmer told me, 'Keep your fingers tucked underneath because sometimes the pigs get a bit antsy, they'll bite, and they'll take your finger clean off.' Thank you, that's good advice. Henry thought it was funny to rile them up while in the mud and I got a big cut on my back on the fence, which didn't bode well considering there was lots of poop in there. There was some downside to it, but I loved the match. As a performer, it was one of the first things that I got to do that was really memorable. People still talk about the match to the day with me."
Triple H went on to say that fans could smell the poop and they would laugh at him while he flopped around during and after the match. He noted that Henry Godwinn was one of his favorite opponents in that timeframe and enjoyed doing the slop match at live events.
When asked if they would bring back the Hog Pen match for NXT, Triple H was unsure about the idea. NXT brought back In Your House this past Sunday to give fans a nostalgia fix.
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