Triple H today held a conference call to answer questions on all things NXT, Sami Zayn’s return and NXT TakeOver London. We have the exclusive information and all his thoughts from the call detailed below;
Triple H thanked everyone for joining the call and said it’s an exciting time for the NXT brand with the UK tour and TakeOver London special airing LIVE on the WWE Network for the first time in history. Wembley Arena is sold-out for the Takeover. He did note the time difference in the States and said that it’s a chance for the UK to have a live event coming from the UK. HHH said his desire to do this is “to reinvigorate that process to the world” and his hope is that they will be doing this more in different markets in their local time zones. He said the Beast in the East led the template that such events can work. Whether or not the UK will get a WWE PPV exclusive is yet to be confirmed, however this certainly looks like they are trialing the idea.
HHH said he’s excited about the entire lineup from top to bottom. This will be the first time that the audience will get to see Asuka and Emma, and both are really entertaining to see live.He gave props to Dash and Dawson and mentioned Enzo and Cass’ charisma being the best right now. He broke down Apollo Crews vs. Baron Corbin and the differences in their background. He also noted Crews’ rise through the independents and Baron not getting the respect he (and Triple H) thinks he deserves. He called Bayley “a great babyface” and stated that Nia Jax will get a big spotlight this week. He’s seen a passionate, invigorated Samoa Joe in recent weeks and he’s “switched the switch and has gone back in time.”
Triple H also confirmed Sami Zayn will be on the entire tour, including the NXT Takeover show in London.
He also confirmed that they will be taping matches for the following week in London, including the debut of Elias Sampson.
After Christmas, there will be more announcements to be made that “people will get really excited about”. This year has exceeded his expectations and he hopes 2016 will exceed them as well.
A question was asked about giving the first hour of Raw to NXT to make the three hours watching a little easier. Triple H did say that even he looks at his watch after two hours of a movie, however there is no plans to do this and any rumours are purely from people outside the company.
Triple H was asked why Finn Balor hasn’t been ‘fast-tracked’ to the main roster with all the injuries that Raw has seen. Balor wanted to ground himself to NXT and he is still growing as a performer, being from Japan he wants to ensure his training is down to a fine art. Triple H made a great point of not wanting to rush people up to the Main Roster because of injuries, because they are just “band-aids” and he wants there to be a long term plan.
Triple H was asked about the relationship between the UK independant scene and NXT, WWE “have eyes everywhere” and there isn’t many people that they don’t know about. PROGRESS, ICW, Rev Pro and EVOLVE all got a mention of places that William Regal scouts and tells HHH about.
Triple H said they are constantly evaluating the talent they have, including different crowd of USA vs UK, but this gives them a chance to learn and grow and evolve on the fly. He said being able to go all around the U.S. and the U.K. is an experience that is valuable to the talent. HHH said the UK fans have always been a market with such a passionate fanbase, other than having to take the flight, he’s jealous he’s not there in Newcastle for tonight’s show because he knows when the lights go out, the place will be unglued. He said that talents walking out for the first time and getting that feeling is awesome.
The UK NXT Tour dates in Blackpool and Cardiff are sold out.
HHH was asked about the connection to music and are talking and having conversations about doing UK music festivals in 2016 as well as coming back to the UK for another tour and are also looking at other countries for touring. He feels the musical connection might give lapsed fans a chance to find out about the product and create an entry point for them to return. He said being able to call Lemmy from Motorhead and being able to ask for a song is a great thing for him. In WWE, the 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.
HHH closed out and again invited the media to come down and check out the Performance Center. He noted they are doing the All Access event at the Performance Center Royal Rumble weekend. He said you will never have a more up close, intimate experience. NXT will be running a special TV event on the Central Florida Campus on January 27th 2016 with an “awesome card.” He thanked everyone for their support of the NXT brand.