As he does before every NXT TakeOver special, Paul “Triple H” Levesque met with the pro wrestling media on a conference call this afternoon. Here’s a rundown of some of the topics that were discussed:
– TakeOver: Brooklyn feeling a little bit like NXT’s WrestleMania and the brand starting to fire on all cylinders again.
– Triple H sending his thoughts and prayers to Ric Flair as he battles health issues.
– Working with other promoters like Gabe Sapolsky, the PROGRESS co-owners, and Dave Prazak. Triple H clarified that promoters that they work with aren’t officially employed with WWE but there’s an opportunity to be around each other and learn.
– Being blown away by the Mae Young Classic tapings and a lot of people who worked on it thinking it was better than the Cruiserweight Classic.
– Experimenting with binge-watching and on-demand programming with the Mae Young Classic release schedule.
– Success stories from the Performance Center and being thrilled with the process while never being totally satisfied with the results.
– The potential for wrestlers to move from the main roster to NXT.
– A rundown of the TakeOver card and NXT becoming a hotbed.
As has become tradition, Paul Levesque (better known as Triple H) participated in his regular quarterly conference call with the pro wrestling media this afternoon ahead of next week’s NXT TakeOver: Toronto Network special.
The most noteworthy moments on the call were Levesque shooting down recent rumors. When talking about the NXT Women’s Championship match between Asuka and Mickie James at TakeOver, Levesque said that James was their first choice for the match and noted that she wasn’t a conciliation prize. Levesque seemed to be referencing rumors that had emerged claiming that Trish Stratus was initially their choice to face Asuka given that the match was happening in Toronto.
Levesque also clarified that Shawn Michaels isn’t the head coach of the WWE Performance Center. The idea originally came from an interview that Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, and Scott Hall did on the Kevin Gill show, but Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Matt Bloom still held that title.
While making the clarification, Levesque said that Bloom is doing a fantastic job in his role and said that Michaels’ involvement at the PC is still to be determined. Levesque said that he thought Michaels would be most helpful in polishing talent that are almost ready for the main roster.
Addressing a recent survey that mentioned the possibility of NXT airing live, Levesque said that they’re open to the idea if there is a big demand but said that there are no current plans for it. He also mentioned the upcoming 205 Live WWE Network series, saying that the cruiserweight performers and style would help differentiate the show from other WWE programming. He said that he sometimes finds it hard to keep up with all the content they have, but the beauty of the WWE Network is that you can watch it whenever you want.
Levesque said that it’s been interesting to build this TakeOver given recent turnover in the roster after the WWE Draft, calling it a rebuilding phase. He noted that the decision was made to have James challenge Asuka because he wanted time for other women to grow in NXT.
At the conclusion of the call, Levesque said that he’s been most proud of creating talent and elevating them to the main roster while still maintaining the same level of content in NXT. He said he hoped that everyone who is competing at Survivor Series would feel the need to up their game after TakeOver.
Full audio of the conference call is available for subscribers:
