In May 1996, a simple miscommunication during a WWF Superstars taping turned Triple H’s Pedigree into a near-weapon of destruction, as enhancement talent Marty Garner, expecting a powerbomb, suffered terrifying neck damage that was aired live on WWE television. That single botched moment nearly resulted in paralysis and sparked talk-show appearances and lawsuit rumors that have stuck with both men decades on.
The exact moment Triple H (then wrestling as Hunter Hearst Helmsley) botched his Pedigree on enhancement talent Marty Garner during the May 28, 1996 taping of WWF Superstars. Garner would suffer severe neck damage as a result of this move gone wrong. Photo Credit: WWE.
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The Enhancement Talent Who Didn’t Know He Was About to Risk Everything: Marty Garner’s WWE Journey
Marty Garner (real name Martin Garner, also known as Cham Pain) during his 1995-1997 WWE enhancement talent run, before the infamous May 26, 1996 botched Triple H Pedigree incident on WWF Superstars. Photo Credit: WWE.
Like most wrestlers looking to make it big in the business in the ‘90s, Marty Garner started his wrestling career in the independent scene. A North Carolina native, Garner launched his career in the local market in 1993, competing for promotions such as Southern Championship Wrestling, New Dimension Wrestling, and OMEGA.
His main wrestling persona at the time was as a rapping wrestler named Cham Pain; a gimmick he dropped when he was called up to the WWE as an enhancement talent in 1995.
In December of that year, Garner took on Jeff Jarrett for his first match for WWE, which would mark an inauspicious start for Garner in the big leagues.
At a high point of the bout, Garner got his foot caught in the ropes while attempting to dive towards Jarrett in the ring, causing Garner to land hard on his head.
In many ways, that first match against Jarrett would serve as a precursor to the infamous botched Pedigree match against Triple H.
During a 2023 appearance on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, Garner recalled how his predilection for attempting big moves immediately earned him somewhat of a dubious reputation with the WWE front office.
“Those first couple times at WWE,” Garner admitted, “I’m sure I scared the crap out of [former WWE CEO] Vince McMahon, where he thought I was a danger. I was trying to do too much. I was a spot monkey. And I think that scared them away from me a little bit.”
8 Seconds of Terror: When Triple H’s Pedigree Became a Near-Fatal Weapon
Moments after Triple H’s (then wrestling as Hunter Hearst Helmsley) Pedigree went wrong. Marty Garner lands directly on his head during their May 28, 1996, WWF Superstars match, suffering severe neck damage. Photo Credit: WWE.
When Triple H (Paul Levesque, then wrestling as Hunter Hearst Helmsley) and Marty Garner squared off in the squared circle for a May 26, 1996, episode of WWF Superstars, both performers were relatively fresh in their WWE careers. Garner had only started six months prior, while Levesque was only about a year in and still working his "Connecticut Blueblood" angle.
At one point during the match, Levesque attempted to hit Garner with his Pedigree finisher, a kneeling variation of a double underhook facebuster that Levesque had first begun using during his time with World Championship Wrestling in 1994. Unfortunately, Garner was not familiar with the move, and instead of bracing himself with the front of his body, he landed directly on his head.
While Garner suffered neck damage afterward, he was luckily not paralyzed as a result of the botched finisher.
Still, the incident received a fair amount of attention at the time; not only was it featured extensively on WWE broadcasting and Internet forums, but Garner also discussed it on several daytime talk shows, including Jenny Jones and Montel Williams.
Watch the chilling moment when Marty Garner misread Hunter Hearst Helmsley’s (Triple H) setup and took a devastating, head-first Pedigree during the May 28, 1996, WWF Superstars taping. The brutal botch immediately went viral and is still cited as one of wrestling’s most infamous misfires:
Breaking His Silence: Marty Garner Finally Reveals What Really Happened During One of Wrestling’s Most Dangerous Botches
Marty Garner revisited the terrifying moment Triple H’s Pedigree went horribly wrong and how his life and career changed in the aftermath in rare recent shoot interviews. Photo Credit: Alchetron.
Unsurprisingly, the botched Pedigree incident spawned numerous speculations regarding Marty Garner’s standing with the WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation). In his 2023 interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, Garner gave more context to his infamous ’96 match with Triple H and cleared up any rumors related to a potential lawsuit against the company.
“[Triple H] was new up there, I’m new up there doing some jobs. He said, ‘Can you take the Pedigree?’ I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I had no idea what the Pedigree was. I was just gonna kick. When he locked me in, and I kicked, it looked like a double-underhook piledriver.
“He said, ‘Geez, you alright?’ I said, ‘Bro, I’m good.’
“He goes, ‘Oh my God,’ and he pinned me.
“He goes to the back, and when I come through the curtain, he says, ‘You sure you’re okay?’ ‘Brother, I’m fine!’
“There was a rumor I sued WWE, [but] I never thought about suing WWE. I was just happy to be there and do a TV match.”
Thankfully, there was no bad blood between Triple H and Garner following their controversial match. In fact, Triple H even signed a photo of the notorious botch, which Garner revealed during a 2023 episode of In the Weeds.
"[The botched Pedigree] made for a good picture and it showed up in a few magazines.”
Garner went on, “A few years later, it showed up again in a magazine. Triple H came up to me and goes, ‘This picture is making its rounds.’ ‘Yeah, it is,’ I replied.
“I never get any autographs from anybody, I never get anybody to sign anything, but I did get him to sign a picture of me in the air with him doing what looked like a double-underhook piledriver. I have a picture of that signed.
“Of all the people, everywhere I’ve been and all the movie stars and people I’ve met, that’s the only autograph I’ve ever gotten."
From Surviving Wrestling’s Most Dangerous Botch to Working with The Rock: Marty Garner’s Incredible Journey
Marty Garner’s post-WWE journey led him to work as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson’s production assistant on Walking Tall (2004), a testament to his life after the infamous botch and a pivot that underscores how far he bounced back. Photo Credit: WWE.
After Marty Garner’s first WWE stint ended in 1997, he wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1999-2000, debuting as a manager called Ragin’ Cajun before wrestling as Puck Dupp as a member of the hillbilly team known as The Dupps.
During his nearly five-year hiatus from the wrestling business, Garner also got the incredible opportunity to work as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson’s production assistant on the 2004 action film Walking Tall; an opportunity he fondly looked back on during his In the Weeds appearance.
“I was doing some stunts on a video game for Epic Games,” Garner described. “This guy tells a guy in California, ‘I want to bring him out here and do some stunts on my game.’
“I go out there, and the guy I was working for at the video game studio, he goes, ‘Do you know The Rock?’ ‘Of course, I used to do some jobs at WWE, I was an enhancement guy.‘ ‘I’m gonna call him and tell him you’re with me. I just got his number.’
“He called Dwayne and left him a message, ‘Marty Garner is with me.’ We’re waiting to call back and he never calls back. The next day, he says, ‘Let’s go to where they’re shooting the movie [The Rundown].’
“‘That’s probably not a good idea.’ ‘What’s it going to hurt?’
“We go out there, they were wrapping up and The Rock was gone. We found his stunt double and asked him where Rock was. ‘He’s gone; you guys come with me.’
“We went to this bar with Tanoai Reed [Rock’s stunt double and cousin] and he called Rock up, ‘Do you know Marty Garner? Cham Pain?’
“I hear Rock on the other end popping, ‘Put him on the phone. What are you doing here? I’ll tell you what, come to the set tomorrow night.’
“We come out there, it’s 12:30, one o’clock at night, and they’re wrapping up a scene. As soon as they said ‘cut,’ Rock saw me and he goes, ‘First name Cham, last name Pain, former male exotic dancer from Las Vegas, Nevada who traded his g-string for the wrestling ring, and pound for pound the baddest man who ever stepped foot in the squared circle.’
“Everyone started clapping.
“‘That ain’t me. That’s him. That’s Cham Pain.’
“I stayed there that weekend. We had a blast. Got to meet Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake one night at the club. Everybody was there.”
Garner returned to the WWE in 2006, wrestling in a tag team match on SmackDown against Kid Kash and Jamie Noble, and following that up with a No Mercy pay-per-view bout against Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) for the latter’s debut match.
Most recently, Garner worked as a referee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW)’s cinematic Final Deletion match in 2023; a somewhat full-circle moment for Garner, as the participating Matt and Jeff Hardy trained him in wrestling in the early ‘90s.
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Triple H and Marty Garner: A Fortunate Ending to an Unfortunate Situation
Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) before landing a botched Pedigree on Marty Garner during their May 28, 1996 WWF Superstars match – an incident that could’ve ended Garner’s career, yet became a defining, viral moment in wrestling lore. Photo Credit: WWE.
Nearly three decades have passed since that fateful May night in 1996, when two inexperienced wrestlers created one of wrestling’s most infamous moments. Triple H has ascended to become WWE’s chief content officer and a WWE Hall of Fame legend, while Marty Garner has built a life enriched by unexpected opportunities and genuine connections forged through adversity.
The photograph of that botched Pedigree, now signed by Triple H himself, sits as a reminder that our worst moments can become our most treasured memories.
What began as a miscommunication between two young wrestlers evolved into a story of mutual respect, professional growth, and the wrestling industry’s capacity for redemption.
In wrestling and in life, it’s not about landing perfectly; it’s about what you do after you’ve already hit the ground.
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Richard Thompson is an aspiring screenwriter and longtime journalist, having written for online publications such as FanBuzz and MovieWeb. His favorite pro wrestler growing up was Scott Hall, and his childhood dream was to join the nWo. Sadly, while that dream never came true, getting the opportunity to write about wrestling is a solid consolation!
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