Triple H's Retirement Announcement Has WWE Fans Emotional

Brian Jones

03/25/2022 03:55 pm EDT

Triple H announced his retirement from professional wrestling on Friday due to the health issues he suffered last year. The WWE legend announced the news while appearing on ESPN's First Take, saying "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."

In September, WWE announced Triple H underwent successful heart surgery after suffering a cardiac event. On First Take, Triple H talked about what led up to the surgery. "I had viral pneumonia," he said. "My lungs were inflamed. and as the next couple of days went on and I got home it got increasingly worse and my wife saw some blood and stuff that I was coughing up. I went and got checked and I – 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. Did an EKG and echo and everything and basically the way your heart pumps out 55-65% of your ejection fraction is a good number. I was at 30. and I got a quick text message saying, 'Don't take time. Pack a bag real quick, head to the emergency room. I'll fill you in on the way." Here's a look at WWE fans showing love to Triple H.

The Announcement

One fan wrote: "Thank you Paul Levesque AKA Triple H The King Of Kings for years of entertainment and memories thank you for your Sacrifices and all the injuries and pain You and other people that step into that ring go through thanks to you I got hooked on Motörhead Thank you for the memories."

Thanks for the Memories

Another fan wrote: "A huge thank you to the game triple H for all of these incredible matches and moments still remember being a kid watching wrestlemania 21 on my birthday and being hyped when he made his entrance for the main event with the world title."

Spitting Water

One fan said: "Legit cried when I saw the report, he was my favorite all time, local(ish) guy who busted his ass and worked his way to the top and married the bosses daughter, can't get anymote fairy tale than that."

The King

Another fan responded: "The King of Kings running WWE including NXT along Fox or NBC replacing NFL owner bound Seahawks Vince McMahon will do very well w/ advice from him and Robert Kraft of Patriots to run the franchise towards playoffs every year even Super Bowl appearance for SB 48 players reuniting."

It Hurts

One social media user wrote: "[Triple H] your contributions to this industry will never go unnoticed. Thank you for forming one of the greatest careers in this sport. I know you looked up to a lot of guys of the previous generation, now you're officially on the Mt. Rushmore among them. Hail the King."

Awesome Resume

One person said: "I grew up watching Evolution and Triple H's many title runs. I know there are detractors but he is one of the GOATs to ever do it. Such a career and a legend in the industry. He should have been in the HOF yesterday."

Great Moment

And this fan wrote: "Remember he was the most hated bad guy in the company when he got injured. They did such a good job with those video packages showing his rehab he came back as the top face and won the belt at WM that year. That's as big a turnaround as I can ever remember."

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