Triple H was a dominant champion throughout the first half of 2000, but lost the WWF Championship to The Rock twice, and had a close call against Chris Jericho as already mentioned before. The first loss was at Backlash, when Stone Cold Steve Austin knocked him out with a chair shot and Linda McMahon reinstated Earl Hebner to count the pinfall. His second loss was at King of the Ring, when he, Vince and Shane defended the title in a six-man tag match against Kane, The Undertaker and The Rock. Vince had hoped that his enemies' individual title aspirations would lead them to fight amongst one another, allowing him to divide and conquer, but his plans were foiled when The Rock pinned Vince for the victory.