Pro wrestling legend and current World Heavyweight Champion Triple H has spoken to Merlin Alderslade of Metal Hammer about the recent passing of Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister from Motörhead; an excerpt follows.

What was it like speaking at Lemmy's funeral? You were standing up in front of some of your own rock and metal heroes.

"When they asked me to do it, I asked them, 'Are you asking me because you want me to do this, or are you asking me because you think I want to do this? Because if it's because you think, 'Oh, H would probably want to speak,' then I won't do it'. They said it was because they wanted me to do it, and so yeah, I was sat with Gene Simmons in the front row, and Ozzy's just behind me, and then I'm up there in front of the Metallica guys and Dave Grohl and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister. These people are peers and friends of his, so I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I was honoured to be amongst those people, and I made a point of saying that at the start."

Have you always been a big Motörhead fan?

“I got into them as a kid. I was really into the more metal, or heavy rock, side of things, especially the British bands. It was when the Iron Maidens were coming through, a really great time for music, but I remember I heard Motörhead, and it was just totally different to anything I'd ever heard before. It was so heavy, so raw and powerful, and Lemmy's voice was just so different to everything else out there. Metal at that time, there was a lot of high-pitched vocals, but Lemmy's was this low, guttural rumble. It was just totally different, and I was blown away by it."

To read the interview in its entirety, click here. View Triple H's speech at Lemmy's funeral (January 9th) below.