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Showing posts with label WWE NXT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WWE NXT. Show all posts

January 23, 2024

Netflix to Become New Home of WWE Raw Beginning 2025

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) today announced a long-term partnership that will bring WWE’s flagship weekly program – Raw – to the world’s leading entertainment service. This marks a major programming shift as Raw leaves linear television for the first time since its inception 31 years ago.

Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. Likewise, as part of the agreement, Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. as available, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. WWE’s award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025.

“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

“In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “We believe Netflix, as one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, is the ideal long-term home for Raw’s live, loyal, and ever-growing fan base.” 

With 1,600 episodes to date, Raw is the most iconic show in sports entertainment. Since its debut in 1993, Raw has delivered action, compelling drama and unmatched athleticism – 52 weeks a year. Blending the best of scripted content with unpredictable live entertainment, the three-hour show has helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple  H, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair.

The show is currently the No. 1 show on USA Network, where it brings in 17.5 million unique viewers over the course of the year. One of television’s best performing shows in the 18-49 advertising demographic, Raw trends on X 52 weeks a year while each new episode is airing. On social media, WWE has more than one billion followers across its platforms.

December 27, 2023

WWE Reportedly Sets All-Time Record At Madison Square Garden Live Event

Business is booming for WWE right now, with the promotion reportedly setting an all-time record at the recent Madison Square Garden live event.

"Fightful Select" has reported that the December 26 live event at the iconic New York venue is the highest-grossing domestic non-televised event in the history of the promotion. The show saw CM Punk wrestle for the first time since his return to WWE, defeating former "NXT" North American Champion, Dominik Mysterio, whom he will face once again at a live event in California. The report added that WWE has stated internally that the show was sold out, with WrestleTix revealing that over 15,000 tickets were sold for the show. 


"Fightful" has also revealed that the live event in Baltimore, featuring the "WWE SmackDown" roster, was the highest-grossing non-televised WWE show in the region.

The stacked card at the Madison Square Garden show featured several of "WWE Raw's" top stars, including the likes of Rhea Ripley, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Becky Lynch, and Cody Rhodes. Rollins and McIntyre closed out the event, where the former retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Finn Balor and Damian Priest retained their tag team titles against Sami Zayn and Jey Uso, while WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Ivy Nile and Shayna Baszler in a triple threat match.

The "Raw" and "SmackDown" rosters have a string of live events lined up ahead of the new year. This week's "SmackDown" will air a best-of show, recapping the highlights of 2023 from the blue brand, much like the "Raw" show on Christmas day.

November 10, 2023

Paul Levesque On WWE’s Merger With Endeavor: ‘I Can’t Tell You How Excited I Am’

Front row at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater last night for the Callum Walsh-Ismael Villarreal boxing match were UFC CEO Dana White, WWE President Nick Khan, and WWE Head of Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque.

 
The fight aired on UFC Fight Pass, which is investing more resources into its boxing and building around potential cornerstones like Walsh. A highly touted super welterweight prospect, Walsh (9-0) won a closely contested bout by unanimous decision, earning Levesque’s respect with his performance.
 
“It’s the first time I had the chance to see him fight live,” said Levesque, who spoke with Sports Illustrated while ringside. “He’s so well-rounded. I think this kid has it on all levels.”
 
Levesque marveled at the ten-round performance of the 22-year-old Walsh, who extended his undefeated streak with the victory.
 
“No matter what the genre, when you reach the next level, there are nerves and second-guessing that come at this level–and maybe a part of you that doesn’t believe in your hype,” said Levesque. “When you get to a certain level, a lot of it is a head game. To see how poised he is at this level, it’s awesome to see.”
 
Levesque is in the midst of a superb run of storytelling in WWE, especially since the company’s merger with Endeavor, which is also the parent company of the UFC. An old-school booker willing to embrace wrestling’s modern aspects, Levesque is molding Raw and SmackDown back into must-see products. Raw has been especially strong, with seemingly minute details–like advertised matches taking place–allowing multiple talents to have significant storylines.
 
Endeavor CEO has tasked Levesque to oversee all of WWE’s creative, a role he relishes.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am,” said Levesque. “Working with Endeavor, it’s next level. The flywheel for all the things they touch–if you were trying to build that on your own, it’s taking you a decade. For us, now, it fast tracks everything we’re doing.
 
“Endeavor, UFC, they’re the best in the business at what they do. They put things on a different level of professionalism, and we fit right into that. The future is so bright because of the opportunities Endeavor is going to provide for us and the synergies that are there. We’re going to take this to a whole new level.”

source:  si.com

November 7, 2023

The CW Network To Become The Exclusive Broadcast Home To WWE NXT

NXT Makes Broadcast Television Debut with Five-Year Deal Beginning October 2024
Network to Air Live Events Featuring WWE’s Next Generation of Superstars 52 Weeks a Year

November 7, 2023 (Burbank, CA & Stamford, Conn.) – The CW Network will become the official broadcast home to WWE NXT in October 2024. The five-year agreement marks the first time in its 13-year history that WWE NXT – which showcases WWE’s hottest up-and-coming Superstars – will air on a broadcast television network. WWE NXT will debut on The CW Network in October 2024 and air 52 live weekly events throughout the season.

“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round,” said Dennis Miller, President, The CW Network. “WWE NXT is a perfect fit for The CW thanks to its dynamic young talent featuring the hottest rising stars in the sport and exhilarating, unpredictable weekly events. The passion and engagement of WWE’s fanbase is unmatched, and we are eager to grow that audience as WWE NXT’s new home on broadcast television.”

“The CW has made impressive moves over the past year with its live sports programming schedule,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “It’s a truly exciting opportunity to expand NXT’s audience by bringing the show to broadcast television for the first time in NXT’s history.”

Launched by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE NXT has aired weekly since 2012 and features the brightest young talent in sports entertainment. Nearly 90% of the participants in last year’s WrestleMania were developed under the NXT banner. Led by WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, NXT is popular with younger audiences, ranking No. 1 in cable primetime on Tuesday nights last quarter among adults 18-49 and 18-34. Year to date, NXT’s average viewership is up 30% among adults 18-49. WWE Superstars, such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, have come up through NXT.

WWE NXT joins a growing roster of live sports on The CW Network, including ACC football and basketball games airing every Saturday throughout the season and LIV Golf. The CW is also the new home of the Emmy-award winning weekly studio series “Inside the NFL” and will broadcast NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning in 2025. The network will soon offer more than 500 hours of sports programming year-round.

October 11, 2023

WWE NXT Viewership Triumphs Over AEW Dynamite in Tuesday Showdown

On October 10th, AEW Dynamite and WWE NXT clashed, with the former airing a special Title Tuesday edition featuring multiple title shifts and Adam Copeland's debut match against Luchasaurus. This came as Major League Baseball playoffs were scheduled on TBS for October 11th.


On the other hand, WWE NXT promised fans a star-studded evening with the likes of John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Asuka, and Paul Heyman in attendance. Fans also anticipated appearances from NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, North American Champion Dominik Mysterio, and possibly, The Undertaker, following circulating rumors of his presence.

Before the showdown, reports mentioned Triple H and Shawn Michaels aiming to highlight the dominance of NXT over AEW. Tony Khan, on the other hand, had a sharp retort, labeling the NXT heads as "bald a**holes."

According to Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston, WWE NXT garnered an impressive 921,000 average viewers and a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic. AEW Dynamite, in comparison, achieved an average of 609,000 viewers and a 0.26 rating in the crucial demographic.

Interestingly, while NXT dominated in viewership during the October 3rd episode, AEW Dynamite led in the key demographic against the October 4th NXT episode.

September 25, 2023

Triple H's 2018 'Global Localization' Vision Now A WWE Trademark Initiative

On September 18, WWE submitted a trademark application for the phrase 'Global Localization' to the United States Patent & Trademark Office. The application reveals WWE's intention to utilize the term within the scope of 'entertainment services.'

Accompanying the application was the following description:

Entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling; entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service;

providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment; fan club services, namely, organizing and staging events with wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the field of sports entertainment; online journals, namely, blogs in the fields of sports entertainment; Entertainment services in the nature of development and creation of multimedia entertainment content.

The term 'Global Localization' was originally coined by Triple H in 2018 to outline his concept of creating international WWE hubs that would serve as talent pipelines for the US-based NXT brand

August 11, 2023

Details On Endeavor Deal, WWE-UFC Merger And Plans For NXT

Following the news from earlier this week that the WWE-UFC merger under Endeavor is expected to close next month, Dave Meltzer's latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter offers up some additional details. The report states that layoffs and other efforts to save money are expected to begin within the company very soon. Additionally, Meltzer indicates that people within Endeavor are hoping to work with WWE to make NXT more of a "sustainable third brand."

The idea behind that is to increase the show's ratings, allowing it to bring in higher TV rights fees. According to Meltzer, the company hopes to make NXT a touring brand once again, with both live events and TV taped on the road. However, there is no timeline for when this will become a reality.

As for the previously discussed revival of "NXT U.K.," there is reportedly an idea for a full-time Performance Center in London, as well as the introduction of a new show focused on all of Europe. However, there will be no updates on that until at least next year.

WWE's stock price hit another record-high earlier this week, reaching $114 per share, giving the company a market valuation of nearly $8.5 billion. When the dust settles, the board of TKO will include six individuals from Endeavor and five from WWE. On the WWE side, that includes both Vince McMahon and current WWE CEO Nick Khan, as well as Steve Koonin, Nancy Teliem, and one more individual who has yet to be revealed.

In addition to remaining on the Board of Directors, Vince McMahon will own 16.4% of the stock for the new company, which will be called TKO. Stephanie McMahon will own 1.1% while Linda McMahon will have 0.3% of the company's stock. There was no word on how many shares Shane McMahon will own.

July 20, 2023

Shawn Michaels Comments On Members Of D-Generation X Running WWE


Between Triple H serving as WWE's Chief Content Officer, Shawn Michaels heading up the "WWE NXT" brand, and "Road Dogg" Jesse James overseeing live events, D-Generation X's fingerprints can be found all over WWE's current product. In a recent interview with "Sports Guys Talking Wrestling," Michaels reflected on how far he and his former stablemates had come — from their days as rebellious troublemakers to being the adults in the room.

Michaels acknowledged that while trading in their olive, black, and green apparel for suits was still unfathomable, he and the rest of his DX teammates always had a penchant for the creative aspect of the business, and, as such, made a rather seamless transition to their corporate roles. "Even as degenerates back in the day, we had such a love and a passion for this stuff," Michaels admitted. He added, "Granted yeah, sometimes when it [our rebellious side] was unleashed, it could have been a little wild, and arguably, I don't know, controversial. But at the same time, it really was a deep-seated love and admiration for this business — and a passion for it." 

"And that's what it is now," Michaels continued. "We are now, thankfully, a lot more mature — and [have] grown up quite a bit. But I think there's still that little kid in us, that I know a lot of our athletes, a lot of our superstars, all appreciate because we make it fun. And we want it to be fun, especially here in 'NXT.' Granted, when you get to the main roster, it is serious business, as it should be — and it is here, too, but at the same time, I want this to be a fun experience," explained Michaels.

Michaels added that he wants "NXT" superstars to get the feeling of a "college experience" during their time in WWE's developmental brand. He elaborated stating, "We want them to learn what they're doing, but we also want them to fall in love with this and have fun with this job." "The Heartbreak Kid" feels that if these future WWE main roster superstars can accomplish this during their time in "NXT," that the future of WWE's business will be bright.

February 4, 2023

Booker T's Wrestling Promotion Announces WWE NXT Partnership

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T's wrestling promotion, Reality of Wrestling (ROW) announced on Saturday evening that it's going to be working with "WWE NXT." Their working relationship will start next Saturday, February 11 in Texas City, Texas with WWE "NXT" star and Diamond Mine member Ivy Nile set to be in action.

The "NXT" color commentator started his training school/promotion in 2005. He commented about Saturday's news on social media, noting how excited he was to merge his "NXT" favorites with the roster of his students. 

"Excited to merge my @WWENXT favorites with the roster of my students at @TheOfficialROW! Don't miss a HUGE show next Saturday! Can't wait to see @ivynile_wwe in the World Gym Arena," tweeted Booker T. 

Nile also reacted to her upcoming match, tweeting, "Let's goooooo. See you guys next Saturday!!"

One of ROW's most notable members is current "NXT" Women's Champion Roxanne Perez. Perez was just a teenager when she joined the promotion and during her time there, she held the ROW Diamonds Division Championship. After ROW and before WWE, she went to Ring of Honor and became the inaugural ROH Women's World Champion.

November 16, 2022

Shawn Michaels announces the Iron Survivor Challenge for NXT Deadline

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels returned to NXT to announce the brand new Iron Survivor Challenge, a new match type that will pit NXT superstars against each other to determine the No. 1 contenders for both the NXT Championship and the NXT Women’s Championship.


Five superstars will compete in this unique 25-minute Match as they battle each other and the clock.

Two superstars will start the match and every five minutes a new superstar will enter the match until all five are in the ring.

The goal is to have the most falls when the clock hits 25 minutes.

Falls can be won at any time via pinfall, submission or disqualification.

When a superstar scores a fall they will earn one point.

However, when a superstar loses a fall, that superstar must pay the penalty. They are forced out of the ring and into a penalty box for 90 seconds.

Once the 90 seconds are up, the superstar can re-enter the match.

The superstar who has scored the most falls when the clock hits 25 minutes will be named the Iron Survivor and become the No. 1 Contender for the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship respectively

October 19, 2022

Shawn Michaels Gets Emotional Talking About Paying Triple H Back

With the monumental news of Vince McMahon retiring beginning to fade into the past, the WWE is currently in a great spot, with Triple H running the main roster side of things and his best friend Shawn Michaels taking over his duties down on the developmental side with "NXT." The two have experienced it all together in the WWE and are now steering the ship for the company that helped 

"Hunter was there for me at a time in my life when I really needed it, obviously it's been 25 years since that time, but I guess for me it's always been how could I pay him back for that?" Michaels said during a recent appearance on the WWE After the Bell Podcast.

The answer to Shawn's question came last year when Triple H suffered a cardiac event that caused him to take the year off and undergo heart surgery. The former WWE Champion has been on the record stating it was a life-threatening situation and his absence from "NXT" would be something the company would have to deal with. While he was away, his best friend came to his aid, repaying the favor Triple H did for him, as Michaels took over his role with the developmental brand.

'It was absolutely not a moment's hesitation, it wasn't even difficult to do.' "For me, that's what I feel like some of this was, this was a way for me to be there for him and that means a lot to me," said Michaels. "I can get emotional, I'm all about the romance of this job. Even [taking over for Vince McMahon] has been pulling that out of him, another side of him that not many people get to see. To be able to be there for your friend in the best way you can, it was not easy by any stretch, the situation wasn't great at all, but it was absolutely not a moment's hesitation, it wasn't even difficult to do. Again because of the love, the respect, the care that I have for him."

"I appreciate the pats on the back but my goodness, it was nothing more than what he's done for me many many years ago. I was just happy to at least put a little dent in what he did for me in hopes that I helped him through a hard time in his life and that's all that really matters to me."

October 12, 2022

Shawn Michaels Talks Struggling To Run WWE NXT After Triple H's Cardiac Event

Shawn Michaels admits it was tough for him to take the reins of "NXT" during Paul "Triple H" Levesque's absence. Last year, Levesque underwent heart surgery following a serious cardiac event. "The Game" was in heart failure and had to have a defibrillator put in his chest.

Michaels, who is now WWE's Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, was dealt a rough hand as he had to take what Levesque helped build while also dealing with what his higher-ups wanted for "NXT" during the Vince McMahon regime. He explained that time period during an appearance on "The MMA Hour."

"Well, look, nothing sucks more than to have to follow in those footsteps, and then have all these abrupt changes that you have to then take over," Michaels said. "I will say this, my knowledge at the time, for instance, the logo, that came at the last minute and even from Hunter's standpoint, from the best of my understanding it was, 'This is what it is.' I think that's maybe something a lot of people — and I saw the interview you did with Hunter where he said – look, I know there are a lot of things people thought he wouldn't have done or decisions he didn't make, but they actually were."

With that said, Michaels admitted that there were also some significant changes that were out of Levesque's hands.

"So, there were some things that he did know about, but then there was others, especially as it started going and he wasn't there, that were very different and very difficult to sort of deal with."

credit: The MMA Hour Wrestling Inc

October 6, 2022

WWE Announces Updates To Commentary Teams

Today WWE announced that Raw, SmackDown, NXT and Premium Live Events will all have updated announce booths starting with this week's season premieres. The news was first reported by Variety on Thursday afternoon.

On Friday Night SmackDown, the commentary table will be headed by Michael Cole with Wade Barrett doing color commentary. Samantha Irvin will be the ring announcer, and interviews will be conducted by Kayla Braxton and Megan Morant.

On Monday Night Raw, Corey Graves will still be providing his colorful insights and will be joined by Kevin Patrick on play-by-play. Mike Rome will continue to announce from the ring, and Byron Saxton will transition from the commentary booth to backstage interviews. Also joining Saxton in backstage interviews is none other than Cathy Kelley in her return to WWE.

Over on NXT, Vic Joseph will be assisted by six-time World Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. Alicia Taylor will still provide her exceptional voice to ring announcing, and McKenzie Mitchell will once again be conducting interviews.

On the Premium Live Event side, Michael Cole and Corey Graves will come together again to announce from the booth.

Pat McAfee will return to the WWE announce booth following his commitments to ESPN's College GameDay.

September 23, 2022

Triple H Describes His Vision For WWE NXT

WWE Head of Talent Relations and Chief Content Officer Triple H discussed his vision of the "NXT" brand moving forward.

"NXT, for us, is that academy model or sort of that collegiate athletics for us," Triple H said. "If "Raw" and "SmackDown" are the NFL ... "NXT" is collegiate athletics and we had a small brand here called "NXT UK." We were headed down this road prior to the pandemic, pandemic kind of like, put a hold on it. But, we shut that brand down because we're going to relaunch it in 2023 as "NXT Europe" and try to blow it out bigger."

Triple H revealed what major sporting event he likened the future of "NXT" to be similar to. "The intent will be to take "NXT Europe" and take that around the world, so, "NXT Europe," I'll just throw names out; "NXT Australia," "NXT South Africa," South America, Mexico," Triple H continued. "Eventually build that into a global system that will lead to almost a World Cup.

credit "SPORTbible Stories" Wrestling Inc



September 14, 2022

WWE NXT Hints At Big Change To Brand

"NXT" had humble beginnings as a game show in 2010. It then became a developmental brand two years later and for most of its life since then, the brand has grown immensely, with Paul "Triple H" Levesque at the helm.

Vince McMahon became more involved with the brand in 2021, focusing on big-picture matters. WWE announced a rebrand. On September 14, "NXT 2.0" debuted with a new look and a new logo. However, now that McMahon has retired it appears Levesque has made the decision to go back to the brand's roots.

Tuesday's edition of "NXT" celebrated one year of the "2.0" brand and closed with a shocking ending, as Solo Sikoa made his return and managed to capture the North American Championship from Carmelo Hayes. 

However, the show did not end there. A short video narrated by Shawn Michaels then played as a montage of highlights from the brand over the past 12 months was shown.

"'NXT' has been and always will be about developing the superstars of tomorrow, but we will always reflect and acknowledge the past," Michaels said in the video. "'NXT' is constantly evolving and focused on the future. Superstars develop and move on, but our message to our passionate fans will never change. We are 'NXT.'"

The final shot of the video featured the current multi-colored logo. The "2.0" part of the log disappeared and the letters faded into silver letters outlined in gold over a black background. Many fans interpreted this as a sign that the brand will be reverting back to its "black and gold" roots before it switched over to the "2.0" era. Shortly after the show ended, "NXT's" Twitter account posted the shot with the caption "loading."

September 7, 2022

Shawn Michaels Promoted To WWE Senior Vice President Of Talent Development Creative

CBSSports.com reports that Shawn Michaels is the latest member of WWE to receive promotion, officially being given the title Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative.

In his role, it is said that Shawn Michaels "will continue to oversee creative in NXT, as well as being in charge of the development of talent in WWE's developmental brand" and he will also "oversee the expansion of the NXT brand, including the expansion of NXT UK into NXT Europe, which is planned to launch in 2023."

This new title comes after an August press release announcing the launch of NXT Europe had him listed as "vice president of talent development creative."

August 19, 2022

Kevin Nash Comments On Triple H’s Eye For Talent, WWE Dismantling The NXT He Created

Kevin Nash doesn’t mix words on his feelings regarding what WWE did to Triple H‘s NXT brand during his absence.

On the latest episode of In The Kliq: The Kevin Nash podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer spoke about the great eye that Triple H has for talent. This is something that frustrated him to watch WWE ruin his NXT Superstars when they were called up to the main roster. He also touched upon what they did to the NXT brand following his heart episode.

“He’s got an eye for talent, that’s for sure. Look at the people that he’s kind of hand-picked and pushed up on the WWE product on RAW,” Kevin Nash said. “And every time one of them went up there, it was just like, how quick can we dismantle what got him over and f*ck this dude up? It was just like when he got sick. He had the heart episode. They couldn’t f*cking get down there and dismantle what he had built in NXT quick enough. That was f*cked up, man.”

When Nash was asked what the impetus for that was, he didn’t have a good answer. He tried to talk to Shawn Michaels about it, but he seemingly didn’t get the answers he was looking for.

“I don’t fucking know,” Kevin Nash said. “I asked Shawn about it, you know, Shawn Michaels, and he was just like, you know… [long, awkward pause] Shawn has changed. He’s just not a shit disturber anymore. He just does his job. He does it well, and he does the best he can, and he goes home to his family.”

August 12, 2022

Shawn Michaels On Taking Over NXT After Triple H Stepped Back, His Position Evolving

Shawn Michaels recently talked about taking control of NXT after Triple H stepped back due to his health issues. The WWE Hall of Famer spoke with Bleacher Report for a new interview and you can check out the highlights below:

On being able to help talent in NXT: “I pride myself on being one of the guys who’s been around for a long time but also understanding and appreciating the business evolving and changing and being a supporter of that. Like with everything else, the athletes get so much better, whether it’s in our industry or others, and continue to be innovative and push the envelope. WWE never shies away from making those different innovations and merging them with what it is we do.”

On being in charge of NXT after Triple H stepped back: “When Hunter first left, it became all me, and certainly from a television standpoint. Matt Bloom is the head coach and takes care of everything from the PC training standpoint, but when it came to NXT 2.0 television, that’s something myself and my team took over creatively. I know a lot of people thought Vince and Bruce were doing that. I can promise you, they did not have the time to do NXT television. If it’s good or if it’s bad, that’s on me. It’s been a huge joy to run that show and work with these talents. Again, everyone was put in a real tough position, we all were, but that’s where you learn to do things in WWE. That, to me, is a form of talent development, which is understanding that things can always change … around here and you have to adjust to that. The show always goes on. It was trial by fire for a lot of us, but it’s been an absolutely fantastic experience.”

On his position in NXT evolving: “As everyone knows, I came in just as a coach and then slowly moved into assisting in creative and things of that nature. I was always the second guy right behind Hunter [Triple H]. I obviously never envisioned being the guy who had the final say on the show and what we do and don’t do and the overall vision for what it is we’re going to do and how we move forward.”

July 30, 2022

Rumor Mill - NXT Expected To "Somewhat" Return To Triple H’s Vision For The Brand

Shawn Michaels has been in charge of the day-to-day running of NXT since Triple H’s took leave last year with health issues, Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were also overseeing the booking but with McMahon now gone it is believed Triple H will be more involved with the brand.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that “in NXT, the belief was that the product will revert back somewhat to Levesque’s previous vision of it.”

Meltzer noted the belief was that while they will continue to heavily recruit top-tier athletes, WWE would be open to using more experienced wrestling talent, and going forward, “the door would be more open to better wrestlers who weren’t as big or as good looking as [Vince] McMahon wanted on the roster.”

June 23, 2022

Triple H speaks at the WWE Performance Center

Paul "Triple H" Levesque was back at the WWE Performance Center on Wednesday.

John Pollock of Post Wrestling reports that Levesque was in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday and spoke at the Performance Center. Pollock notes that -- according to the people he's heard from -- Levesque stated that he's "back," but it's unclear what that means.

"According to multiple sources, Paul Levesque was in Orlando today and spoke at the Performance Center," Pollock tweeted.

"Of the people I heard from, Levesque stated 'he's back' - it is unknown what that entails but that was the wording I was given."

Bryan Alvarez confirmed Pollock's report on Wednesday's edition of Wrestling Observer Live. Alvarez notes that Levesque said during the meeting that he "was there for business reasons and he couldn't say why yet."

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