Triple H is one of the WWE’s biggest legends, and over the past few years, he has had more of an executive role with the company. With that being said, Triple H has remained in the ring, although at 52 years old, fans were expecting him to announce his retirement, at least sometime soon.
Well, today, that is exactly what he did while being interviewed by Stephen A. Smith. In the clip down below, Triple H revealed that he went through a bad case of pneumonia that had him coughing up blood. In fact, it was so bad that his heart was failing, and as a result, he had to get a defibrillator in his chest. With that being said, Triple H is now understandably done with in-ring competition.
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“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,” Triple H explained. “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 won’t—I would never wrestle again. First, I have a defibrillator in my chest. Which, it’s probably not a good idea for me to get zapped on live TV.”
This is huge news for the wrestling world, and it is definitely sad news for all of the Triple H fans out there. Regardless, we are glad to see the legend putting his health first, as that is what’s most important.