WWE legend Triple H says he will 'never wrestle again' following health scare

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Triple H, the legendary WWE pro wrestler whose real name is Paul Levesque, said Friday he retired from in-ring competition following a health scare late last year.

WWE revealed in September Triple H needed a "procedure" after a "cardiac event" and was expected to make a full recovery. On Friday, in a preview of his conversation with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Triple H said the heart issue forced him to step away from competing in the ring.

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Paul Levesque, better known as WWE Superstar and Executive Vice President Triple H, poses with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Arnold Sports Festival on March 7, 2020, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"I will never wrestle again," he 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 told Smith lungs were inflamed and when he got home his wife, Stephanie McMahon, noticed he was coughing up blood. He said he was dealing with viral pneumonia but had some fluid in his lungs and around his heart. He revealed he was "in heart failure."

"I was nose-diving and sort of at the 1-yard line of where you don't want to be really, for your family and your future," he said. "There's moments in there when they're putting you out for stuff and you think, 'Is this it? Do you wake up from this?' That's tough to swallow and makes you think differently."

WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative Paul "Triple H" Levesque speaks at a WWE news conference at T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Triple H is currently serving as the WWE’s executive vice president, Global Talent Strategy & Development. The 52-year-old had been with the company since 1995 and was a full-time performer until 2019. Since 2020 he’s made sporadic appearances in the ring. He wrestled Randy Orton in a match in January 2021, but it ended in a no contest and started Orton’s feud with Bray Wyatt.

WWE Superstar Triple H attends 2019 VidCon at Anaheim Convention Center on July 11, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images)

He had best been known for being the leader of D-Generation X, which helped catapult the company to the top during their "Monday Night Wars" with World Championship Wrestling.

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He is a nine-time WWE Champion and five-time Intercontinental Champion. He won the King of the Ring in 1997 and the Royal Rumble in 2002 and 2016.