The in-ring career of one of WWE's greatest stars appears to be over with Triple H tipped not to return.
The 14-time world champion, who is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner and a former King of the Ring, currently serves as the company's executive vice-president.
He has been largely credited in the past decade for the successful development of NXT, a WWE promotion used to identify young talent and prepare wrestlers for the main roster.
And although his actual wrestling appearances have been sporadic since helping oversee the promotion, he has still consistently featured in storylines, with his last televised match coming in January 2021 when he wrestled Randy Orton to a no contest on the main event on Raw.
However, last September, it was announced that the 52-year-old, real name Paul Levesque, underwent a procedure at Yale New Haven Hospital following a 'cardiac event' caused by a genetic heart issue.
With the WWE seemingly short of star power ahead of Wrestlemania 38 in Texas, rumours are rife of a number of high-profile stars returning to sell the show, with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and even company owner Vince McMahon in line to wrestle.
However Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, has shot down the prospect of 'The Game' also returning.
When the idea was put to the renowned wrestling journalist, he said "Triple H would be a terrible idea.
"His heart situation is, well he can’t. I don’t want to say never, because that’s unfair.
"Maybe he can do something, but that would be a horrible idea for him and that’s not going to happen this year. There’s no way."
Triple H has been married to McMahon's daughter, Stephanie, since 2003 and the couple now have three daughters.
He is widely considered one of the greatest performers in the history of WWE, having debuted in 1995 following a short stint in WCW.
He has featured seven times in the main event at Mania, just one short of Hulk Hogan's record of eight, since the 2000 version in California when he successfully defended the WWE Championship against The Rock, Mick Foley and The Big Show in a fatal-4 way elimination match.
It now seems highly unlikely he will lacing up the boots again this time around now, with the marquee event taking place over two nights on April 2 and 3.
