Triple H once made the decision for popular WWE star to retire for him: "It was the last answer I wanted to hear"

A popular WWE star recently revealed that the company's Chief Content Officer, Triple H, decided for him to retire from in-ring competition. The name in question is SmackDown commentator Corey Graves.

Graves signed for World Wrestling Entertainment in 2011 and started performing on the company's then-developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling. During his time in WWE NXT, the star feuded with some of the biggest names, including Seth Rollins and the late Bray Wyatt. However, after suffering multiple concussions, the 40-year-old had to announce his retirement from in-ring competition in 2014.

During a recent interview on Short and to the Point podcast, Corey Graves mentioned that after the doctors refused to clear him to wrestle again, he stumbled upon Triple H, who was training at the Performance Center.

Graves said that The Game told him to retire from in-ring competition because he and WWE wanted to protect the star from something tragic.

"He [Triple H] looked me dead in the eye and he wasn't prepared to have the conversation then and there. You know when you're speaking to somebody you can hear a lump in their throat and I felt the emotion coming from him. He was trying his best to keep it together for me but he explained to me that he and the company didn't want it on their hands if going forward I ended up, he used the term 'Punch drunk.'" [31:34 - 31:57]

The 40-year-old added that he did not want to hear about his retirement from Triple H at the time but is now thankful to The Game for the advice.

"He compared it to boxing, he's a boxing fan and he goes, 'You look at mixed martial arts, you look at boxing, you look at all these different sports where the competitor is rarely if ever wired to protect themselves, right?' At the time, it was the last answer I wanted to hear. Here we are all these years later and I'm externally grateful because I know I wouldn't have been the one to protect me from myself." [31:57 - 32:20]

You can check out the whole interview below:

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Triple H sent a message after Bull Nakano was confirmed for the WWE Hall of Fame 2024

After Bull Nakano was confirmed as an inductee of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024, Triple H took to Twitter to praise the legend as one of the greatest women's wrestlers of all time.

"An unbelievable talent with an unforgettable look, and a mean streak a mile long. Bull Nakano isn’t just one of the best Women’s wrestlers of all time - she’s one of the best of all time, period."

Many fans want to see Corey Graves step inside the WWE ring again. It remains to be seen what the star has planned for his future in pro wrestling.

Please credit Short and to the Point podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from the first half of this article.