WrestleMania 29 Triple H v Brock Lesnar

In his obsession to settle the score with the 266-pound Anomaly who’s methodically targeted those closest to him, Triple H may have unwittingly ushered in the final chapter of his proud career as a WWE Superstar. The King of Kings will war with the uncontrollable Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred Match at WrestleMania on April 7, but the opportunity comes at a cost: If Lesnar wins, Triple H must retire from in-ring competition.

The No Holds Barred and the retirement stipulations were both ploys of Lesnar and Paul Heyman, who convinced the incensed Triple H to sign on for the fight before knowing the exactly what type of contest it would be. Although The Game likely perceives the No Holds Barred environment — in which all maneuvers and weapons are fair game — as an ideal format for him to reciprocate the pain Lesnar’s inflicted on the McMahon-Helmsley family, less foreseeable was the possibility Triple H’s 18 years as a WWE competitor could come to a close at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Then again, given the tumultuous tone of the his rivalry with the only former WWE, NCAA and UFC Heavyweight Champion in history, maybe Triple H has viewed a WrestleMania showdown with Lesnar as an all-or-nothing affair all along.

After having his arm broken in a loss to The Anomaly at SummerSlam last year, The Game appeared ready to hang up his boots and focus on his front-office duties as WWE COO. Yet, when Lesnar — who quit WWE the night after SummerSlam, boasting he had nothing more to prove — shed his free-agent status and returned in January by breaking the hip of Triple H’s father-in-law, WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon, The Game was spurred back into action.

This time, The Game takes on the responsibility of defending not only the company he helps oversee, but also more importantly, his family and closest allies. According to Heyman, for Triple H to fall short against Lesnar would be the ultimate disappointment — a letdown for the WWE Universe, Triple H’s family and The Game himself. But with his career as a Superstar now on the line, the stakes at WrestleMania simply could not be higher for The King of Kings.

There’s no turning back. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, an intensely aggressive fighter as his opponent and absolutely No Holds Barred, can Triple H make Lesnar suffer the consequences for all the hardships he’s caused? Or will one of WWE’s most incredible careers end abruptly and gruesomely at the hands of The Anomaly? One of WWE’s two proudest warriors will suffer a mighty loss at the only event big enough to host such a brawl, WrestleMania, which kicks off on pay-per-view April 7 at 7 ET/4 PT.