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Paul “Triple H” Levesque met with reporters today on a conference call in advance of Saturday’s NXT Takeover event.
Adam Hopkins welcomed us to the call and turned it over to Paul.
He opened by thanking us for being the call. He is excited for the Barclay Center and Takeover as it’s NXT’s version of WrestleMania, where things finish up and then start again for next year. He is excited and they have a lot of things in store. The Mae Young Classic is on the docket today as well. He said it was an amazing experience.
He then put out his thoughts and prayers for Ric Flair. He is one of H’s best friends, idol and mentor. It’s been a rough week for him and his family. He said Ric is a fighter and he won’t go down without a fight. He hopes to see him strutting down the aisle again real soon.
The first question came from Mike Johnson. Of course. Mike asked about Dave Prazak and Gabe Sapolsky working down at the Performance Center, as well as Progress Wrestling. Mike asked to clarify the relationships with NXT and WWE. He also asked if they have added to the creative process with NXT.
H made a joke about the Progress guys being in Florida, as if he didn’t know (which of course he did). He said that he wants to work with people that are in the business of cultivating talent, not people that are just interested in running shows. He said that there is an opportunity on both sides working with them. They can each learn from each other. And they can learn what WWE is looking for when they cultivate new talent for WWE in something of a feeder system. He said that Dave Prazak has been very supportive of women in the business and he thought it was important to bring him in. H said that he called him into a meeting to discuss something and Prazak was surprised that he would ask for his advice. All of that is important to H. He said that there was speculation about Gabe. He said he likes Gabe. He is a smart guy and when he has an opportunity to bring him and learn from him it’s good for everybody. They aren’t driving anything in particular but we will wait and see. He likes talent, wherever it comes from and he wants to work with people like that. They aren’t officially employed by the company but it seems like them are more learning consultants.
He was asked how a young Triple H would do in NXT.
He talked about the opportunity is there and the slate is fresh when people come in. When people are in developmental you give them opportunities and it’s up to them to make the most of it. It’s a process where he has to gauge where people are and what they are ready for. You also need to be cognizant of how they workers are paired. It’s a giant puzzle and they have to see where people fit.
He was asked if WWE and wrestling and general could have done more for the women’s wrestler earlier?
H said maybe but he just thinks that now is the right time for it. He said that at this point in time, women are getting to be the heroes in entertainment. Maybe that means that people are more ready now. All he knows is that the time is right for it now. People like it and are excited for it. He said when he came up with the idea he pitched it and took a while to get it accepted. He originally thought it would be 16 women but then he said that there were at least 32 he could use and it was hard to exclude people. He said that when they got to the tournament and he expected it to be good but he was blown away by how good it was. So was Shawn Michaels. Some of his people said they thought it was better than the Cruiser tournament. He said that these are all women that got into the business for the same reason he did, they saw wrestling as a youngster and thought it was great and wanted to do it. For the guys, there was always the pot of gold at the end but it didn’t exist for the women. They went for the ride anyway. He said that it was even hard to find footage of some of them due to lack of opportunities. He hopes that little girls watch the tourney and they say they have to do it too. He is excited to show this to the world. He can’t wait for them to see it.
Dave Meltzer asked about WWE releasing many episodes of the Mae Young at once.
H said that the world is changing. His kids are 11, 9 and 7 and they don’t get the concept of watching something at a specific time. He said it’s an experiment to get the episodes out in a big way. You can watch the first round in a week, then watch the rest the next week. He thinks people will binge watch it and in a couple of weeks they will go to the live show in Vegas on 9/12. He is interested to see how the binge works.
He was asked about the final on the 12th. What is the plan?
H said he isn’t 100 percent sure yet. His intent is to make a big promotion around the final match, with a big build. He isn’t sure how 205 Live will shake out that day. The logistics are being worked on.
He was asked how many of the women he thought that WWE would sign. Is there a plan for a Women’s Only show?
H said he would never say never. We could end of there. We are experimenting and watching how the world shifts and move. With the women, it could be different because they could send women to the three brands and beef up the rosters, plus the UK. He doesn’t know that they need their own show. It might make it less than more.
He was asked about adding more Spanish wrestlers to WWE.
H said that they are constantly looking and recruiting. They look everywhere but they don’t always find it, but they are always working on it.
He was asked about bringing NXT to Spain.
H said that at this point it just has to make sense logistically. They are trying to get there but nothing has been finalized yet.
Jim Varsallone mentioned that there are NXT alumnus all over the SummerSlam card. That means the system is working right?
H said yes. Sure they take guys from other places but they have to teach them. But they have also created people like Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte. They are bringing them in and cultivating them. It’s about 80% of the roster so the system is working as it should. It will never be everything he wants it to be, but that is because he has such high standards. They do all they can to make the talent succeed and then they need to go and do it. He is thrilled with the process and where they are.
He was asked about taking talent from the main roster and bringing the back to the Center. He talked about Jinder and how they always had faith in him. It didn’t pan out when he got to the main roster. Drew McIntyre the same thing. They both left to figure some things out and come back ready, and they did. Sometimes guys need to go away and learn to come back and be better.
Our last call came from Scott Fishman. He asked about the overall card for Saturday.
The premise of the show is kind of coming home and redemption. The first year in Brooklyn was the turning point for the brand. He talked about NXT alumni wanting to come on Saturday and be a part of it. It is kind of a homecoming for Drew McIntyre too. He mentioned Bobby Roode spending the year as pompous champion. Ember and Asuka are ready to go. He talked about the perseverance of Hideo Itami and his heel turn has been great. He put over Aleister Black and how cool he is. He is looking forward to Sanity vs. AOP. And finally Cien Almas and Johnny Gargano. He wants to see it. Can Andrade reinvent himself. Can Johnny start a singles run. And that doesn’t even take into account all of the great talent that are not even on the show. NXT is the hotbed and place to be. This card is the finish of the season, on a high note, but we are also starting a new season in high gear.
He was asked what Vince McMahon says when they talk about it?
H said that Vince is excited about. Some people he asks when he will get them. So he works with his team to get that person ready. There are a lot of things he has to get them ready for. When they talk they exchange what they see with each other. Sometimes that means he has to tell Vince he is protecting people, for instance, so Vince relies on H and his team. H wants it to be the best that it can be for all of the talents. They can’t all be the main event, but he wants them all ready when they get their opportunity when they make the main roster. They have to give them the tools to do it.
H apologized for being late, but that is SummerSlam week. He hopes we all enjoy Takeover and Mae Young, and left with a get well soon for Ric Flair.
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