Triple H has announced his retirement from in-ring competition. The Game appeared on First Take with Stephen A Smith to announce the news. WWE have put up the following breaking news graphic on their social media page:
Triple H was taken to hospital back in September 2021 following a cardiac event in which surgery was required. In the interview, Triple H has provided further details on what took place, including that he had contracted viral pnuemonia:
“From the viral pneumonia, I had fluid in my lungs, fluid around my heart. They followed up on it, did an EKG. Basically, the way your heart pumps out, it’s 55 to 65 percent of your injection fracture is a good number. I was at 30 (percent). I had a quick text message saying, ‘don’t take time, pack a bag, we’ll head to the emergency room. I’ll fill you in on the way.’ By the time I got to the emergency room, my ejection fracture had gone down to 22 (percent). I was in heart failure. Bad. By the next morning, as they figured that out in the evening, the next morning as I was setting in to get an MRI done and about to go in for a heart cap, my ejection fracture was down to 12 (percent). I was nose diving and at the one-yard line of where you don’t want to be. For your family and your future, when they tell you it’s 99%, it gets real. We have three young girls; 15, 13, and 11 (years old). Suddenly, I come home and I’m a little bit sick, and their dad, who is strong, always, suddenly is in the hospital. I don’t know if they understood the consequences of it, but there are moments in there when they are putting you out for stuff and you think, ‘is this it? Do you wake up again?’ That’s tough to swallow. It makes you think differently about life. It doesn’t make you any less driven with the things you do, but it certainly makes you appreciate the things you have; your friends and your family.”
When questioned about an in-ring return, The Game stated that this will not happen and that he has had a defibrillator fitted:
“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 has had one of the most successful careers in WWE history. Debuting in 1995 as Hunter Hearst Hemsley, The Cerebral Assassin would evolve into Triple H two years later and would be a part of D-Generation X and Evolution, two of the most well-known factions in the Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggression Era respectively.
The King of Kings has a lengthy list of accolades from his WWE career, which includes 14 World Championships, 5 Intercontinental Championships, 3 Tag Team championships, 2 Royal Rumble wins and the winner of the 1997 King of the Ring tournament. Triple H’s career accomplishments were recognised in 2019, as The Game would enter the WWE Hall of Fame as part of D-Generation X.
Triple H’s final televised match was at the Super Showdown 2019 pay-per-view, where he would lose to long time ally and rival Randy Orton. In the latter years of The Game’s in-ring career, Triple H had focused on the Black and Gold era of NXT, with the booking and in-ring action of the promotion receiving high praise from WWE fans and critics alike.
H/t to Fightful for the use of transcriptions
Featured image: Sports Illustrated