Triple H has revealed that he would like to do one more match – but admits he may never compete at WrestleMania again.
Appearing on ESPN’s SportsNation, Triple H spoke with Arda Ocal, known to WWE fans as Kyle Edwards, about whether he will lace up his Lemmy boots again. The Game said it “isn’t a big deal” to him, but says Ric Flair has given him the sage advice that he may regret it if he doesn’t.
“In my mind, it’s not a big deal to me. I guess maybe I’ll regret that one day, I don’t know, cuz [Ric] Flair tells me, ‘You’ll regret it, you’ll regret it!’ Maybe if I hadn’t found the other side of that, the NXT side of it, the production side of it that I enjoy so much, maybe I would feel differently about that.”
Triple H, who recently admitted AJ Styles has been “pestering” him for a match, went on to say he would love to do one more match – but not necessarily at WrestleMania – naming Madison Square Garden, Allstate Arena, Staples Center, the 02 in London, and Japan, among others.
“If I was to say, ‘Would I like to do one more match?,’ Yes. The WrestleMania factor is less a factor to me than anything else.”
Triple H’s in-ring performances have been few and far between in recent years and, when discussing a potential clash with AJ Styles, The Game revealed how he’d selfishly love to face The Phenomenal One – but stated that he just doesn’t believe he has the capacity to get ready for a WrestleMania clash with someone of the calibre of Styles while balancing his other duties.
“He pestered me with it every time I saw him. He would ask me about it and ask me about my schedule. I’ve said it before, getting ready WrestleMania is a different thing, and the older you get, the harder it gets. Doing this once a year, once every couple of years, especially now, is not an easy task. You try to stay in the best shape you can, but that’s not WrestleMania shape, and it’s a different thing. So when he very first came to me, I said, ‘Man, I’m not going to tell you… To be honest with you, personally, I’d love to work with you. At this point, you can carry me to something.’ I’d love it, and so the personal side of it, the athlete side of it to the performer side of it would love nothing more.”
Triple H went on to say how he just felt he wouldn’t have the “bandwidth” to do it, but said he is humbled by the desire of Styles to step in the ring with him.
“The reality of it is, I am not going to have the bandwidth or the availability schedule-wise to be able to pull that off, and then he would come to me every week or every other week whenever I would see him and say, ‘How’s that bandwidth coming? You gonna be able to make this happen?’ And I would say, ‘It’s not gonna happen.’ I’m flattered by that. I really am. I’m humbled by it, but I wish I had the bandwidth to do it, and I’m not saying I won’t do it in the coming year if it’s right and everybody believes that it’s what should be done. I’m at a point where to me, the in-ring stuff is a bonus.”
As for the talents he oversees in NXT, Triple H told Inside The Ropes’ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy how Raquel Gonzalez has “capitalised” on every minute she’s been given to establish herself in NXT, and become the new Women’s Champion, while paying tribute to former champion Io Shirai, with Shawn Michaels calling her the “best in the world” on a post-TakeOver media call.
h/tPW Torch