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March 25 (UPI) — Professional wrestling star Triple H, a 14-time World Champion who serves as WWE’s executive vice president of global, talent strategy and development, announced on Friday that he has retired from in-ring competition.
Triple H, real name Paul Levesque, made the announcement while speaking with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on First Take. The announcement comes after Triple H went into heart failure in September after a bout with viral pneumonia.
“I will never wrestle again,” Triple H said.
“First of all, I have a defibrillator in my chest, which, you know, probably not a good idea for me to get zapped on live TV,” he continued.
WWE paid homage to Triple H on Twitter by uploading a photo of the grappler sitting on his signature throne while being surrounded by skulls.
Triple H, whose nicknames included The Game and The King of Kings, was entered into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 as a member of influential group D-Generation X. He will surely enter the Hall of Fame again as a singles star and as a member of Evolution.
Triple H’s last match wasn’t even officially considered a match as he brawled with his former protégé and rival Randy Orton on Raw on January 11, 2021 with no referee present.
His last official bout took place at an un-televised event in Tokyo on June 29, 2019 where he teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura. Triple H’s last televised match happened against Orton on June 7, 2019 at the Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia.
Triple H’s last WrestleMania bout took place on April 7, 2019 at WrestleMania 35 where he took on Batista in a No Holds Barred match. The bout also served as Batista’s farewell to professional wrestling.
Triple H was one of WWE’s biggest stars for decades who competed at multiple WrestleManias. He is additionally a five-time Intercontinental Champion, two-time European Champion, three-time Tag Team Champion, a former King of the Ring and won two Royal Rumble matches.
