Triple H broke the news on Stephen A’s World this week that he is officially retired from wrestling, going into detail about his near-death experience last year. He told the First Take personality, “I had viral pneumonia. My lungs were inflamed, and as the next couple of days went on and I got home, it got increasingly worse. My wife [WWE executive Stephanie McMahon] saw some blood and stuff that I was coughing up, and I went and got checked, and it was coming from the viral pneumonia, but I had fluid in my lungs. I had some fluid around my heart so they followed up on it and did an EKG and Echo and everything. Basically, the way your heart pumps out 55-60 percent of your ejection fraction is a good number. I was at 30 percent. I got a quick text message saying don’t take time, pack a bag real quick and head to the emergency room and I’ll fill you in on the way. So, by the time I got to the emergency room, my ejection fraction had gone down to 22 percent, which, ya know, I was in heart failure.”
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“… I have a defibrillator in my chest, which, you know, probably not a good idea for me to get zapped on live TV,” he later added when Smith asked him if he’d ever get back in the ring.
“The Game” returned to social media on Sunday, thanking everyone for their messages sent to him following his interview. He started off with a quote from novelist Louis L’Amour — “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning.”
He then wrote, “I am truly humbled by the texts, calls, posts and all the kind words. I’m grateful to each and everyone one of you. I wish I could respond to each of you, but I type so slow I’d never leave the house again. Please know how much they all mean to me. Stay healthy, be grateful for all you have and seize the day……. I know I am!”
Elsewhere in the interview, he discussed his current role with WWE, confirming he’s back in the office — “No no, my foot’s not off the gas. I suppose in some manner I have to step back a little bit. I’m still in recovery, and my endurance isn’t quite what it used to be before. Right now I’m back, I’m at the office. I’m fully focused on recruiting and development of our talent in the future. Whether that’s building more performance centers. Whether that’s finding the next young stud that’s out there, male or female, like Gable Steveson. Recently two time NCAA Champion Gold Medalist at the Olympics right, his next step is in WWE and with us, it’s finding that, it’s creating that future, and that’s the biggest focus for me and as we move forward from there, it’s making sure that WWE is a success for generations to come.”
