It seems like a couple of lifetimes ago that Hunter Hearst Helmsley was flailing around in a pen of hog slop courtesy of The Godwins. Okay, so it really wasn't that long ago, but so much has changed since he was a mid-card WWF performer. First, the WWF is now WWE.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley is now Triple H, a former WWE champion.

Triple H is married to Stephanie McMahon ... in real life. Stephanie happens to be the boss' daughter. And Triple H perhaps has even more clout as one of Vince's right-hand men.

And Triple H isn't asked to take a dive into a mud pit.

He's a superstar, one of the best in the business.

But Triple H can't seem to get the respect a champion deserves. He's criticized for being a manipulator.

But none of that seems to bother Triple H.

There he sat during Tuesday's press conference to announce SummerSlam in Toronto on Aug. 15.

Calmly he sat while each of the day's guests said their piece. But his mind was working. And when it was his turn, the one-liners flew.

He was the star of the conference. Glib, funny, insightful ... all packed into one.

"To be a WWE superstar, you have to take the good with the bad ... and in this instance the good is SummerSlam, the bad is that I have to come back to Canada," Triple H deadpanned, in character. "Maybe they can get me another one of those so-called Canadian heroes to slap around.

"You people should really be nicer to the United States. If we wanted to, we could send the Salvation Army in and whip all your asses."

And he sat down, interjecting his wonderful sense of humour into the hour-long conference. When the question of whether Sting would ever join the WWE was asked, Triple H cut in: "Quite frankly, I always felt Sting was way better in the The Police."

When asked why he was looking more and more like Vince, he said: "As you get older, a lot of guys start putting in shoulder pads ... and I'm getting a pompadour, too."

Later, as he fielded questions, Triple H showed his insight ... his passion for the business of wrestling.

"Without the fans, there is no WWE, no Triple H," he acknowleged. "The crowd is a character in our show. They play a role, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. There's no experience in the world like walking through the curtain and hearing the fans go crazy."

You can bet they'll get even a little crazier on Aug. 15 when Toronto gets yet another opportunity to chisel its place in the wrestling world's Top 5 list.