It was a huge moment for Paul (Triple H) Levesque, whose plan for an all-inclusive training facility for up-and-coming superstars became a reality. The WWE grappler has traded in his DX chop for a business suit these days as the WWE Executive Vice President Talent and Live Events. He has transitioned smoothly in the role, with this project being a prime example.
The Game remembered doing the walkthrough for WrestleMania 29 at MetLife Stadium and wanting to take a tour of the New York Giants’ Timex Performance Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The wheels in Levesque’s creative mind began to turn. An idea was born.
“When I saw it, I went, ‘This is it,’” Levesque said. “This is the field, and this is the rest of it. I just took what they had created and thought about how I could take all the components they had and turn that into what we do. That’s how we got here. The Timex Center is nicest center in the NFL. When I saw it, I didn’t need to see any other ones because this is what I wanted to do.”
Levesque’s vision continued to meld, including where this potential state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center would be housed. Full Sail University helped make the decision an easy one.
“As we started thinking about this whole process, where is what I thought about first,” Levesque said. “All the pieces in my head, but the first piece that came to me was Full Sail. [WWE senior vice president of live events and Orlando resident] John Saboor was like, ‘There are these guys that run this media school in Orlando. I don’t know if there is anything there that you guys could do, but it just seemed like a behind the scenes of everything you guys do.’
“They gave me the information, and I went there not thinking anything else about Performance Center or developmental. Then to see it with my own eyes walking into Full Sail Live thinking, ‘We can definitely run a show in here. I can make an arena for television.’”
WWE NXT, featuring future WWE superstars and divas, is broadcast on Hulu Plus and seen in 100 countries from Full Sail Live at Full Sail University in Winter Park, near Downtown Orlando.
Levesque continued: “We started with the pilot there [Full Sail Live], and then we had gone three months to see how it worked for them. Then when we signed on for a few years, it was locked and sold in Orlando. Next step is this [Performance Center] and scouring for buildings.”
The groundbreaking for the facility was April, making a quick turnaround time. Levesque’s wife, Stephanie McMahon, Executive Vice President Creative, couldn’t help getting emotional at the grand opening of the WWE Performance Center after seeing what her husband and everyone involved accomplished there.
“I just think the word that sums it up is pride,” McMahon said. “I’m just so incredibly proud of him, and I’m really proud of the team. I’m really proud of all the superstars and divas, but it takes a leader and a visionary. My husband is that man, and this is his vision. I couldn’t be more proud… They executed it all amazingly fast and on budget. Its high quality, and they delivered on everything. We have an incredible team. There were lots of great people behind this.”...More?
source: miamiherald.com
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