Triple H Recalls Conversation With Vince McMahon Following MSG Curtain Call Incident

The WWE Madison Square Garden 'Curtain Call' continues to hold a special place in infamy.

At the end of a May 19, 1996 house show at the 'World's Most Famous Arena', WWE Champion Shawn Michaels, Diesel (the man he'd just beaten in the main event), Razon Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley (who wrestled each other earlier in the night) hugged and celebrated in the ring together, in what some backstage believed was a serious breach of kayfabe, since it featured a mix of babyfaces and heels (not to mention rivals).

The so-called 'Kliq' had wanted to do it as a send-off for Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who were wrestling their last WWE matches before departing for WCW.

In a new interview with Greg & The Morning Buzz, Triple H spoke about how he took the punishment for the Curtain Call, while recalling the conversation he had with Vince McMahon afterwards.

"It was a huge deal. When all that went down and I took the brunt of the heat for it because I was the only one that could. Kevin and Scott were leaving. Shawn was world champ, what are they going to do to him? I took the heat. No problem. As I was leaving Vince's office, after a thorough ass chewing, as I was walking out, I looked back at him and I said, 'Let me ask you this, Vince. If this is so wrong. If lifting that curtain is so wrong, why was it the loudest thing at Madison Square Garden that night? It was sold out. The biggest reaction, by far, was that. The business is changing and it's passing people by and they’re not seeing it yet'.

"He said, 'You might be right, but that doesn't change where we are right now. The punishment is what it is'. That was the truth. The business is changing. Fast forward, the internet comes in, and everybody knows what we do. They know the real stuff. They know who is married and who is in relationships, or at least they think they do. Half the stuff on the internet is wrong, but it's all out there and they know how this works", he said. As part of his punishment, The Game had his planned King of the Ring tournament victory given to Steve Austin instead.

Bret Hart recently spoke about how Triple H and Shawn Michaels tried to get Ken Shamrock fired during his early WWE days.

H/T Fightful