Triple H thought he was going to have an easy WrestleMania weekend.
At WWE Crown Jewel this past November, Triple H suffered a torn pectoral muscle in a tag team bout with Shawn Michaels against The Undertaker & Kane. The injury put Triple H's WrestleMania status in question. While no match had been officially announced, a bout against Batista was teased at SmackDown 1000 in October 2018.
On Feb. 25, Batista returned to Raw and laid out Ric Flair on his 70th birthday. Batista's return and message to Triple H on that night setup their WrestleMania bout, which became official on Mar. 11 when Batista got what he wanted.
Speaking to ESPN, Triple H discussed getting the call that he was needed at WrestleMania and returning from injury.
"I went from a month ago thinking, 'Oh, this is great -- I'm going to have an easy year this year, I just go watch the Hall of Fame and then I get to work behind the scenes at [Wrestle]Manias. It will be easy. Then, Vince tells me I'm in the Hall of Fame ... and then next thing [I know], I'm working at WrestleMania. So I got busy quick," said Triple H.
"Vince came to me (in February) and told me, 'I need you to be in WrestleMania this year.' And I was like, 'Really? Because I haven't been cleared to train yet even -- I don't know that I'm going to make that.' Batista and I had this conversation a while ago about trying to do this ... then I had to call him and go, 'Dude, I tore my pec and I don't know what's going to happen. I'll see.' To this day, I'm still ... I'm going to get in the ring next Sunday, and you and I will both find out at the same time whether my pec will hold on," he said. "I got cleared up to perform, and my training is good and I feel good. But until you get in there, lifting dumbbells and getting hit by Batista are two totally different things. So I'll see how it goes, but I feel good and I'm excited to get in there. And at this point in my career, I don't ever want to make it sound like it's not as big as it is, but at this point in my career, it's all gravy."
This Friday, Triple H will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of D-Generation X. Two nights later, he will put his career on the line in a No Holds Barred match against Batista.