Triple H, whose real name is Paul Michael Levesque, made the announcement in an emotional interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
A portion of the interview was shown on Friday’s episode of the ESPN show, “First Take.” His full interview with Smith is scheduled to air Friday night on the ESPN+ show “Stephen A’s World.”
The 52-year old told Smith that he would never wrestle again because he has a defibrillator in his chest due to a cardiac event he suffered in September.
Levesque revealed that he contracted viral pneumonia and began coughing up blood. He sought medical attention, and while there, doctors found fluid around his lungs and heart. They informed him that he was experiencing heart failure and needed to get to an emergency room immediately.
Luckily, he underwent a successful operation at Yale-New Haven Hospital to prevent the worst.
“I was nosediving, and sort of at the 1-yard-line of … where you don’t wanna be for your family and your future,” he said.
Levesque is married to Stephanie McMahon, the daughter of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. Together they have three daughters.
“I don’t know if they understood the consequences,” said Triple H referencing his daughters. “But there’s moments when you think, ‘This is it.’ Do you wake up? That’s tough to swallow.”
“It makes you feel differently about life. It doesn’t make you any less driven for the things that you do, but it certainly makes you appreciate what you have more,” he continued.
When Smith asked him about a future in the ring, Triple H said he was done.
“For me, as far as in-ring … I’m done,” he told Smith. “I won’t, no, I would never wrestle again.”
He added that it was “probably not a good idea to get zapped on live TV” with a defibrillator in his chest.
Triple H is considered among the greatest wrestlers of all time. After his career began in 1990 with the International Wrestling Federation, Levesque transitioned to World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) in 1994 before finally signing with the WWE in 1995.
With WWE, Triple H became one of the promotion’s most popular wrestlers for over two decades. He was the leader of the popular wrestling group “DX” along with Shawn Michaels.
Triple H was a 14-time WWE champion, a five-time Intercontinental Champion, and a three-time tag team champion. He was a two-time Royal Rumble winner and also won WWE’s King of the Ring tournament once. Levesque was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019
Levesque is currently the WWE’s executive vice president of Global Talent Strategy & Development. He is also the creator and executive producer of the WWE brand NXT.
Triple H has not appeared in a WWE match since June 2019.