WWE legend Triple H sees his heart failure health scare as 'a gift'
WWE legend Triple H has reflected on the lasting impact of his 2022 heart failure and how his outlook on life has changed.
Triple H sees his heart failure as "a gift".
The WWE boss - whose real name is Paul Levesque - has a defibrillator in his chest almost four years after a near death experience when he was suffering from viral pneumonia and a cardiac event, which was caused by a genetic issue and almost cost him his life.
In an interview with his wife Stephanie McMahon for her ESPN series 'Stephanie's Places', he said: "In this really weird, f***** up way, my heart issue was a gift.
"It made me see things differently, look at life differently."
Stephanie was visibly emotional as she admitted she'd "never heard" him say that before.
He explained: "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***, this doesn't last forever.' "
Levesque appeared emotional as Stephanie also fought back tears when he brought out a coin from his pocket.
She was choked up as she told him: "I was just about to ask you about that."
He said: "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****** fleeting, so it can all go away at any moment."
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 ini 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.
"I had viral pneumonia. My lungs were inflamed and as the next couple days went on, when I got home it got increasingly worse. My wife saw some blood and stuff that I was coughing up and I went and got checked."
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."
