WWE icon Triple H fights back tears describing near-death experience as a ‘gift’
The 55-year-old retired wrestler is now in charge of WWE.
WWE legend Triple H was visibly emotional as he opened up about the fallout of his near death experience.
The 55-year-old retired wrestler turned WWE chief – whose real name is Paul Levesque – has had a defibrillator in his chest since suffering from viral pneumonia and heart failure four years ago, which was caused by a genetic issue and almost cost him his life.
The health scare forced him to officially retire from wrestling and focus on his behind the scenes roles, while there has been a more profound impact.
In a new interview with his wife Stephanie McMahon for her ESPN series Stephanie’s Places, he admitted: ‘In this really weird, f***ed up way, my heart issue was a gift.
‘It made me see things differently, look at life differently.’
Stephanie was visibly tearing up as she candidly revealed she’d ‘never’ heard him reflect on it in that way before.
Memento Mori ❤️#StephaniesPlaces @TripleH @WWE @ESPNPlus @OmahaProd Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) May 20, 2025 Triple H was visibly overwhelmed as he discussed his outlook on life (Picture: @StephMcMahon/X) He learned that ‘this doesn’t last forever’ (Picture: @StephMcMahon/X)
Levesque continued: ‘You can go through life – no matter how great it is or all the things you’re doing, and you’re just doing it. All of a sudden, you’re partway through it, have a reset and go, “Holy s**t, this doesn’t last forever.” ‘
The couple appeared to be fighting back tears when he started to pull a coin from his pocket.
‘I was just about to ask you about that,’ Stephanie said, clearly choked up, while her husband revealed: ‘You gave it to me. “Memento Mori” – you can die at any second. This can all stop at any second.
‘Basically saying, don’t get caught up in all these bulls. Life is f***ing fleeting, so it can all go away at any moment.’
His wife Stephanie McMahon was also visibly moved (Picture: @StephMcMahon/X) Triple H was honoured over WrestleMania weekend (Picture: Mike Marques/WWE via Getty Images) He opened up about the emotions of the Hall of Fame after his health scare (Picture: Mike Marques/WWE via Getty Images)Earlier this year, Levesque was inducted into the Hall of Fame with his wife, their daughters, and his mother-in-law Linda McMahon on the front row.
‘It’s hard to put into words. But the thing that also feels – like, that’s amazing, it’s the most important thing for me. My parents are there, my kids, Steph, my mother-in-law, I had friends there, that’s incredible,’ he told Metro in Las Vegas the night after his induction.
‘And then on top of that, I’m sitting in room full of a little less than 200 talent maybe, almost all of them I have some type of really emotional connection to.
‘I’ve watched them come in the door, I’ve watched them get started, I’ve watched them grow, or I’ve watched them come into this place where they thought they would never make it to WWE.
Triple H has had a legendary career in the ring (Picture: George Napolitano/FilmMagic) Now, he’s focused on fronting WWE’s creative charge highlighting stars like Jey Uso (Picture: WWE)A few months after his hospitalisation, Levesque – who serves as WWE’s chief content officer and leads their creative process across Monday Night Raw and SmackDown – confirmed he would never be getting back in the ring as he officially retired from in-ring competition.
He told ESPN’s First Take in March 2022: ‘I will never wrestle again. 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.’
The 14-time world champion was warned by doctors that he was suffering “bad” heart failure.
He said: ‘I was nose-diving and sort of at the one-yard line of where you don’t want to be really, for your family and your future.’
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