Triple H def. Kevin Nash (Sledgehammer Ladder Match)

BALTIMORE – "Kliq" or no Kliq, Kevin Nash learned you never try to destroy The Cerebral Assassin with his own signature weapon.

In a punishing contest between the best friends turned bitter enemies, Triple H showed no mercy at WWE TLC once he managed to grasp the sledgehammer hanging above a ladder. Blow after blow, The Game made Nash pay for injuring him on the Oct. 24 Raw SuperShow and causing havoc in WWE over the last four months. When the torment was through, Nash had to be stretchered out of 1st Mariner Arena. (PHOTOS)

The match's stipulation was simple yet vicious: the first competitor to climb a ladder and retrieve the sledgehammer would be legally allowed to use the weapon at will. With multiple ladders set up around the ring, finding a way to reach that goal wouldn't be a problem. Still, that didn't stop Triple H and Nash from dishing out as much pain as possible before it became a thought in their minds. At one point, Triple H wrapped Nash's tree trunk-sized legs around a ladder in an agonizing figure four.

Nash had an opportunity late in the match to stop Triple H from getting to the sledgehammer, as both weary combatants met face to face atop the ladder, but The Game would not be denied. Triple H sent Nash flying off the ladder and through a table, then ruthlessly went to work on Nash with his weapon of choice. In a final act of desperation, Nash threw up the Kliq hand signal. Triple H's response? The D-Generation X chop and one last mighty swing of the hammer.

It was just eight weeks ago that Triple H suffered a concussion and fractured vertebrae due to a savage sledgehammer attack from Nash on Raw. That assault followed a series of high-profile disruptions at the hands of "Big Sexy," including a Jackknife Powerbomb on CM Punk at SummerSlam and taking The Game out of a tag team match against The Miz and R-Truth at Vengeance. But Nash's acts of destruction didn't rattle the WWE COO's resolve; it only fueled his fire for revenge.

The King of Kings was out to prove a point: that his authority would not be questioned, even if the man doing the questioning is a near 7-footer who once took him under his wing. While it took a twisted kind of match to settle the score, it's brutally clear now that Triple H will not be crossed without retribution. And you can be sure the entire WWE locker room will think twice about voting "no confidence" and staging a walkout on his watch ever again.

What remains to be seen, however, is if Nash is done trying to make Triple H's life a living hell. The wounds from WWE TLC are still fresh and Big Kev's anger runs deep.