Photo: Timothy Nwachukwu
Legendary WWE wrestler and current executive Paul 'Triple H' Levesque issued his first official statement since undergoing heart surgery.
The 14-time world champion thanked fans for reaching out after WWE announced he underwent a procedure at Yale-New Haven Hospital after experiencing a cardiac event in an official statement earlier this month.
Levesque also mentioned friend and former faction mate, WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, who reportedly took over his duties during last week's live taping of the revamped NXT 2.0, as well as his wife, Stephanie McMahon.
"I’ve been blown away by the outreach and support from so many people. I’m recovering, doing well, & deeply grateful for all the love in my life," Levesque posted on his verified Twtter account. "Especially grateful for @ShawnMichaels & all the Superstars & crew @WWENXT! (Steph and the girls loved the snacks!) See you soon."
Last week, Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported WWE was keeping the Levesque's status quiet, but he was in good enough shape to be taking phone calls.
The report indicated active WWE superstars were told they could contact Levesque but weren't allowed to discuss any WWE business with him.
WWE shared news of Levesque's procedure in a news release shared on September 8.
“Paul Levesque, a.k.a. Triple H, underwent a successful procedure last week at Yale-New Haven Hospital following a cardiac event," the statement read. "The episode was caused by a genetic heart issue and Paul is expected to make a full recovery.”
The 14-time former World Champion currently serves as WWE's executive vice president of global talent strategy and development, while also overseeing WWE'sNXTbrand and the WWE Performance Center in Winter Park, Florida.
Levesque was present during WWE's recent Las Vegas Tryouts at the MGM Grand prior to the company's SummerSlam pay-per-view event last month, which included signing more than a dozen new prospects and addressing reports of NXT changing its recruitment strategy to focus less on independent wrestlers and more on athletes without prior professional wrestling experience.
"It's a funny thing, people talk about shifting. It never really shifted," he said. "So if you go back and look at the hiring process, (it's) not the hiring process of a television show, it's a hiring process of who we're looking to train and make WWE Superstars. Long term. If you go back and look at it, it hasn't shifted. It's been the same process. I don't negate anybody from a standpoint of, 'I wrestled some independent stuff,' 'Well all right, you're out!' That's not a factor to me, but it's also not the factor that makes me go, 'Okay, you're in.' When they get in here today, if somebody goes in and hits the ropes perfectly every time, has every roll perfect, does all the stuff, makes it look easy because they've been training, that's not really showing me anything. You should be able to, if you've been training, if you've been working indies you should be able to do all of that.
"To me, what is the potential long-term? What is that potential? And are they willing to do the work to live up to that potential. Vince used to always say, 'We're a variety show' — we are. In some manner, you need a little bit of everything," he continued. "That's the key to all of this. But people hear one statement and then make one (assumption). 'Now it's that. No, now it's this.' It always has been."
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