Fourteen-time World Champion and WWE legend Triple H aka Paul Levesque has announced his retirement from in-ring competition after suffering a cardiac issue in September last year.

Triple H made the announcement during an interview with Stephen A Smith on ‘Stephen A's World’ where he made it clear that his wrestling days were over. The 52-year-old wrestling champion, who made his debut in WWE in 1995, explained that his life-threatening health condition forced him to quit the game. “By the time I got to the emergency room, my ejection fraction had gone down to 22 percent, which, you know, I was in heart failure,” Triple H explained.

“I had viral pneumonia. My lungs were inflamed, and as the next couple of days went on and I got home, it got increasingly worse. My wife (WWE executive Stephanie McMahon) saw some blood and stuff that I was coughing up, and I went and got checked, and it was coming from viral pneumonia, but I had fluid in my lungs. I had some fluid around my heart so they followed up on it and did an EKG and Echo and everything," Triple H was quoted as saying to ESPN.

In an emotional note following his announcement that he would never wrestle again, Triple H said, “I am truly humbled by the texts, calls, posts, and all the kind words. I’m grateful to each and every one of you. I wish I could respond to each of you, but I type so slow I’d never leave the house again. Please know how much they all mean to me. Stay healthy, be grateful for all you have and seize the day....I know I am!”