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WWE legend Triple H confirmed he'll 'never wrestle again' after having a defibrillator fitted following emergency heart surgery.
The 52-year-old weeped at times as he revealed he had feared for his life and added: "For me, as far as in-ring, I'm done."
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The fight icon, aka Paul Levesque, admits he worried if he would wake up in the morning after suffering viral pneumonia and heart failure.
But in his first interview since his op last September Triple H told ESPN's First Take he has a new outlook on life where he appreciates everything he has got.
Announcing his ring retirement, the NXT producer said: "I will never wrestle again. I have a defibrillator in my chest, which it's not a good idea for me zapped on live TV."
Triple H - WWE's Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development - outlined his full harrowing ordeal.
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He explained: "From the viral pneumonia, I had fluid in my lungs, fluid around my heart.
"Basically, the way your heart pumps out, it's 55 to 65 percent of your injection fracture is a good number. I was at 30 (percent).
"I had a quick text message saying, 'don't take time, pack a bag, we'll head to the emergency room. I'll fill you in on the way'.
"By the time I got to the emergency room, my ejection fracture had gone down to 22 (percent). I was in heart failure. Bad.
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"The next morning as I was setting in to get an MRI done and about to go in for a heart cap, my ejection fracture was down to 12 (percent).
"I was nose diving and at the one-yard line of where you don't want to be.
"For your family and your future, when they tell you it's 99%, it gets real.
"We have three young girls; 15, 13, and 11 (years old). Suddenly, I come home and I'm a little bit sick, and their dad, who is strong, always, suddenly is in the hospital.
"I don't know if they understood the consequences of it.
"But there are moments in there when they are putting you out for stuff and you think, 'is this it? Do you wake up again?'
"That's tough to swallow. It makes you think differently about life.
"It doesn't make you any less driven with the things you do, but it certainly makes you appreciate the things you have; your friends and your family."
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