Triple H Discusses Next Week’s Takeover Event, NXT vs. Main Roster, Future Announcements, The Importance of The Independents, And More

– Triple H did another NXT themed conference call ahead of next week’s NXT Takeover: London special. Here are some highlights…

* Triple H is very excited about the NXT brand right now, and is pleased with the reception of the UK tour. They have sold out Wembley Arena for Takeover and feels that the tour presents a big opportunity for the NXT brand and WWE as a whole. He said to have the UK fans getting a live PPV level event airing live in prime-time in the UK is special for them and they hope to do it in other locations (similar to the Beast in the East special).

* He feels that the card for the NXT Takeover: London special is great, and said that this will be the first time that the audience will really get to see Asuka really unload and thinks that she and Emma will put on something special. Dash and Dawson are working to change the landscape of their tag division, and Enzo and Cass have the most charisma of anyone. He spoke about Crews vs. Corbin, and feels Corbin doesn’t get as much respect as he deserves because he didn’t come from the independents. He also feels that he has seen a passionate, invigorated Samoa Joe in recent weeks and said he’s “switched the switch and has gone back in time.”

* He next said that they will be taping extra matches at next week’s Takeover: London event to air the following week on TV (similar to what they did in Brooklyn). Triple H stated that Sami Zayn will wrestle at the Takeover: London tapings; also Elias Samson will debut and they will also tape a fatal four-way match. This will all be for the following week’s TV.

* Triple H said that after the holidays, they will be making some announcements that he feels the people will be very excited about. This year exceeded his expectations and he hopes 2016 will exceed them as well.

* Triple H was asked about giving NXT the first hour of Raw in order to make the booking of the three hour broadcast easier. He said he’s heard the suggestion, but if they just add another hour of live content that it all becomes the same. There might be a way to do it differently but he doesn’t know, but what eh does know is that doing three hour of live TV every week is too much at times. He has issues watching a two-hour movie. He also notes that they need to become more creative and more focused on the shows. They’ve had some unfortunate injuries and it’s on them to build a better format for the shows. They’ve heard the frustrations of people and they feel the same way.

* When asked about moving Finn Balor to the main roster, Triple H said that Balor wanted to ground himself to NXT and it’s important to remember that he came from Japan so he still had many aspects he’s still learning. They do not want to rush anyone, and wants there to be a long term plan for them when they are brought up and not a quick fix for injured performers.

* When asked about NXT possibly airing on traditional TV (like the USA network) Triple H stated that there are positives to being on the Network, and doesn’t think it holds them back. He added that having the Sopranos on a paid channel never hurt them. Also, they sold out nearly 15,000 in Brooklyn and 10,000 for next week’s special, so the Network isn’t hurting them.

* When asked about NXT working with UK Independents, said he is wide open to finding talent wherever they are, whether it is talent who have been doing this for years or guys who find their way to WWE immediately. He wants the best talent in the world, and watches a lot of international video with William Regal. Next he says that the success of the independents are vital to them finding talent; having talents go out to Progress, ICW, Rev Pro, EVOLVE or New Japan to fain experience and time learning their craft is important. He’s open to working relationships with independent groups that do business the right way.

* One big positive of the UK tour is that they will the chance to evaluate the talents and see how they do in front of UK vs. U.S. crowds. They are constantly evaluating talent to see how they are growing as performers. He added that the UK has always been a market with such a passionate fan-base and that the place will be great and be a great moment for a lot of the performers.

* Finally he spoke about wrestling’s connection to music. They have done the NXT matches at music festivals, and now bands have reached out to them and it’s beneficial as it helps the bands as well. The festivals they were part of were big deals, and they may do some UK music festivals in 2016 as well as another NXT tour. He added that being able to call Lemmy and being able to ask for a song is a great thing for him. He said in wrestling, music sets the tone for the characters and the event and he’s thankful for all the bands that have been willing to work with them.