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Adam Hopkins opened the call by reminding us that tickets for WrestleMania next Friday at 10 AM.
Triple H then came on and talked about how excited he was about the event. He talked about how things have changed in NXT with the call ups that they have had over the last six months. He also spoke about how they have had to rebuild the Women’s division. He previewed the card and said he was looking forward to Shinsuke Nakamure vs. Samoa Joe. He made a point that Mickie James was not a consolation prize, she is who they went after while the other women in NXT continue to percolate.
He said that The Revival vs. Gargano and Ciampa would be a match of the year candidates. It is best of three falls. He said that Bobby Roode vs. Tye Dillinger will be great and since they are from Toronto it should be crazy.
And of course, TM61 vs. The Authors of Pain in the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Classic. He said he is also opened to questions for the 205 show, saying he is really looking forward to it.
He added that they will have an All Access at the NXT Center on 11/14.
Triple H guessed that Mike Johnson would be the first call. He was wrong! Brian Fritz beat him.
He was asked how tough it will be to make a new show in 205 stand out. H said that the talent and style will make it distinctive. He said that you will get to see them showcase their talent there. He referenced the Cruiserweight Classic and he said he would try and give it the feel that it had. He said that WWE does have a lot of programming, for sure. He said it’s hard for him as an executive to watch all of the product, so it is a lot. He said that the best part of The Network is you can watch it when you want to. He said that the beauty of the Network is that people can watch what they want, and that is the trend now overall in TV.
Mike Johnson got in next.
Mike asked about the state of touring with NXT, referencing the cancellation of NXT. Mike talked about losing Finn Balor and Bayley going to the main roster. How has the loss of talent affected the tours and business.
H said that he feels that the shows are still strong and part of the secret source is the constant change. Sure, Australia wants to see the Bayleys and Balors, but they also want to see the Joes and Nakamuras. He said that they have be constantly growing and changing and evolving. He said that he is always watching the talent and making sure that they have the talent for national and local tours.
Mike asked what led to New Zealand being canceled.
H said that there were a few factors. They are working with a group in Australia and they got together and decided the changes made sense.
Jim Varsallone asked about the Ten movement and what will grow it.
H said that he thinks that building about a character is about a lot of things, not just one chant. He said that the fans love being a part of the show in NXT but it also takes momentum to take things to the next level.
The next question asked about the September Canada events being canceled.
H said that he hated cancelling those events but there are other factors involved than just NXT. Once it became an option to make the Survivor Series a weekend opportunity they had to move the show. He said that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to run those cities, he just wanted to give the fans in the area a bigger show. For those that can’t go next week, they will be back to those venues.
Jason Powell asked about the chance that NXT TV could be live more often.
H said that they are always doing fan surveys to see what people want. They want to make sure they are giving them what they want, when they want it. They are open to NXT being live more often. It all depends on what the fan base wants and what they are looking for.
Is there any plan to go live right now with the TV show? At this time no but sometimes decisions in WWE happen very quickly. If the feedback comes back that the people want it, they will see if they can make it happen.
The next call asked about Shawn Michaels working at the Performance Center. What is his role?
H said he meant to address this earlier. He said that Michaels is not the head coach, Matt Bloom is and will continue to be.
He put over Bloom for the job he did. H said that he doesn’t know where it started. He was told Kevin Nash. H had fun with Nash not always being accurate. He said he didn’t want to talk about Shawn’s life but there is a plan to have Shawn being part of the Center. He said that there is lot that he can do. He said that Shawn understands all of the aspects that go into being a top guy and to H that is the thing he thinks Shawn will be excellent at. It will be a fluid process and will be determined after he gets there. They will see as it goes on. He said if he had to pick what would be best for him, it would be to have him be the one who puts the polish on a talent to make them a star.
The last question came from Scott Fishman who asked what he is most proud of from the year 2016.
H said that as a brand to say that they created and elevated all of the talents, he thinks it’s 16, all at once to the main roster and yet continued to put out a product that people enjoyed and the same level content that they had been delivering. He said he likes to think what would have happened if the main roster had lost 16 talents. It makes him proud that people have stepped up and are now rising. Building new talent is a massive team effort and not easy to do. He talked about the talents working as a team and veterans like Eric Young step in and help teach younger talent. He said that losing those talents and still continuing with great shows, everyone should be proud. He added that the Fan Base has been great too during the transition.
H thanked us for coming, apologized for being late and said he is very excited for the show in Canada. He once again wants to put a show on Saturday that will raise the bar for the talent on Sunday.
That concluded the call.
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