Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: espn, ESPN First Take, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque, stephen a. smith, Triple H, wrestling, wwe, WWE News, WWE Retirement

Triple H Announces In ESPN Interview He Will Never Wrestle Again

WWE legend and executive Paul "Triple H" "Levesque has been largely silent and out of view of fans since this past September, when he suffered a "cardiac episode" and had emergency surgery as a result.  For the first time since the health scare, Triple H has done an on-camera interview where he explained his medical situation in detail and made the announcement that his career as an in-ring performer is over.

In an exclusive sit-down interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Triple H announced this morning that he will never wrestle again due to his cardiac issues, which WWE confirmed shortly after.

He was pretty blunt about it too, stating "For me, as far as in-ring, I'm done. I will never wrestle again. I have a defibrillator in my chest, which it's not a good idea for me zapped on live TV."

Triple H also went into the details of his health issues and what exactly happened back in September.  He detailed how it began with a bout of viral pneumonia, which lead to his coughing up blood and doctors finding fluid in his lungs and around his heart.

"They followed up on it and did an [echocardiogram] and an EKG, and the way your heart pumps out, [it's] about 55-60 of your injection fracture, which is a good number. I was at 30. I got a quick text message saying 'Don't take time, pack a bag and head to the emergency room. I'll fill you in on the way.' So by the time I got to the emergency room, my injection fracture had gone down to 22, which I was in heart failure, bad. By the next morning, they were sending me in to get an MRI done and I went for a heart cath and my [number] was at a 12. So I was nosediving and sort of at the 1-yard-line of where you don't want to be, really, for your family and your future."

The situation was deteriorating rapidly and emergency surgery was the only answer, something which, understandably, hit Triple H and his young family pretty hard.

"Let me tell you, you're at 99%, and it gets real. We have three young girls, [age] 15, 13, 11, and suddenly I come home and I'm a little bit sick. Their dad, who is strong, always, suddenly is in the hospital — and I don't know if they understood the consequences of it — but there's moments in there where they're putting you out for stuff when you think, 'Do you wake up from this?' It's tough to swallow and makes you think differently, as I'm sure you do as you [Stephen A. Smith] come out of your COVID scare. It makes you think differently about life. It doesn't make you any less driven about the things that you do, but it certainly makes you appreciate the things that you have, your friends, your family."

While it's of course sad to see a legend's career end this way, it is a good thing that Triple H's head is clearly in the right place and he easily made the decision to not risk his future with his young children.  He had an incredible 30-year wrestling career that most could only dream of and he has nothing left to prove.

As fans, all we can do is thank him for all of the years of entertainment he's given us and hope he has many happy and healthy years ahead of him with his family.

Thank you Triple H.

H/T WrestleZone

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