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.”

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."

WWE Announces NXT Live Event Tour Schedule

 

WWE announced on Tuesday that NXT will return to live event touring across the state of Florida.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NXT has not held any live events since 2020.

The touring will begin on Friday, June 10 at the UACDC Complex in Tampa, Florida.

Below is the announced schedule so far:

* Friday, June 10 – UACDC Complex in Tampa, Fla.

* Saturday, July 11 – Largo Event Center in Largo, Fla.

* Friday, June 24 – Jacksonville Armory in Jacksonville, Fla.

*  Saturday, June 25 – Venice Community Center in Venice, Fla.

* Friday, July 8 – Citrus Springs Community Center in Dunnellon, Fla.

*  Saturday, July 9 – Engelwood Neighborhood Center in Orlando, Fla.

* Friday, July 22 – Melbourne Auditorium in Melbourne, Fla.

*  Saturday, July 23 – Cocoa Armory in Cocoa, Fla.

Tickets for the first eight events are set to go on sale this Friday, May 20 at 10 am ET.

WWE NXT Reportedly Set To Resume Touring

It was reported via Wrestling Observer Radio how there have been talks of NXT resuming a touring schedule of live events, and now POST Wrestling’s John Pollock reports that a schedule has been put together.

The NXT brand is set to resume non-televised live events in the state of Florida beginning in June.

NXT has not held any non-televised live events since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. At one point NXT had two groups touring, one for the state of Florida, and another in various states across the country.

The current plan is for the NXT roster to tour just the state of Florida beginning next month, but it’s possible that they resume the NXT Road Trip tour across the country in the near future.

WWE Releases 10 NXT Superstars

WWE released several NXT talents:

* Dexter Lumis

* Malcolm Bivens

* Dakota Kai

* Harland

* Persia Pirotta

* Raelyn Divine

* Draco Anthony

* Vish Kanya

* Mila Malani

* Blair Baldwin

Triple H Addresses WWE NXT Changes, Competition From AEW, Wrestlers Jumping Ship, More

During an interview with The Athletic, Triple H discussed the recent changes to the WWE NXT brand to NXT 2.0, and the new directive to hire hiring younger talent.

On hiring college athletes and younger talent:

“It always bothered me, like, (to get into wrestling in the past) you’ve almost got to be someone with nothing else going on or can’t take no for an answer and dig and dig and dig. But that pool is so small, people trying to get into this business. As I met more people, and you become savvy to the world of athletes, you realize the NFL is letting go 500 players a year. … You look at that massive pool of incredible athletes (from all sports). If you take that pool and 10 or 5 percent have big personalities that would be good for your business, you’re talking about a talent pool that’s 1,000 times bigger than right now.”

On the change to NXT 2.0:

“There was this point where it was on the (WWE) Network, had this cult following, and we needed to get on television. How do we do that? We need more experience, need to professionalize this a little bit to make the product to where fans want to see that. We got them to that place. The pandemic (messed) it up a little bit because it was right when we went on TV and we had to shift our focus, doing it in front of no people. It completely altered what we were doing. We couldn’t recruit or train talent for almost two years. … But the show stayed. Then we said, OK, let’s reboot it and go back to what we originally were. Some of these people won’t be ready for television, but we’re gonna put them on television, and we believe the audience is invested enough that the numbers might come down, but a core group of them will stay, and now you’re creating fresh stars all the time. That’s where we are now. The numbers have stabilized.

People like Bron Breakker, he’s been training for a year. Half the women, they’ve been here a year maybe. There’s a lot that’s just so fresh and new. People used to say the constant churn of NXT was a negative. The churn is what’s great about it. The people here now, hopefully a year and a half from now, none of them are even in NXT anymore, and the ones that make it will be on to “Raw” and “SmackDown. That’s the magic. It truly is the developmental league, the college football, Triple-A baseball. Yeah, they’re not all quite ready to be in that major-league role yet, but you’re discovering them before they become household names. We were talking about this shift anyway. That’s where we were headed. It happened at a period of time where I had to leave for a bit. Luckily, Shawn (Michaels) had been doing it with me all that time, so it was a seamless thing. I stepped out, did what I needed to do, but that team has killed it. They’ve really created a show where you can really say that’s the next generation of stars.”

On competition with AEW:

“As far as the competition aspect goes, it’s great. It makes everybody sharper. You get lazy if you’re all there and everybody goes about their business. The end of the day, it’ll make us better, and we’ll all be better for it. All those things have forced us to be in a better place right now. Not that we wouldn’t have gotten there anyway, but we had to do it quicker in some manner. That’s an important piece of it, right? As long as there aren’t things hurting the business overall, I think any of that stuff is good. If you’re a 6-year-old kid, you turn on the TV, wrestling is on and you like it. Now you’re caught up in it. Then you start sampling all of it. You get to where you’re a huge fan. That’s the money. There’s room for everybody to do it. It’s like saying the USFL or XFL is starting up and the NFL is panicking about market share. It’s just going to increase people’s love for football. If you love football that much, you’ll watch all of the football, and it’s great. But the NFL is not sweating that.”

On former NXT wrestlers in AEW:

“I like all those guys. They helped us get where we needed to get, and I’m thankful for it. The truth is there was a period of time where we were trying to build NXT. We built NXT. Then we were trying to build a brand that could get a television show and sustain it. All those names helped us get there. Whether anybody believed or not they fit on “Raw” or “SmackDown,” those aren’t necessarily my decisions solely, and they’re Vince’s (McMahon) decisions and fans’ decisions; and then, can we continue to do business with them? If they have great gigs, I’m happy for them. I stay in touch with almost all of them. I like to think they came into us here, we taught them a lot, got them to (a higher level) where they learned how to do television, how to be professionals and all that to be successful there. At some point, they might come back with us, or they might never because they don’t fit our brand as well, but that’s OK. They got us to certain places, and I’m thankful for that, and they’re thankful for that, and they’re off to different things. But that doesn’t stop the train. People leave football teams, move to different teams all the time, and it’s great.”

Triple H Returns To WWE Television To Send Off Tommaso Ciampa After His Loss

Triple H made a surprise appearance after the match as fans in the American Airlines Center in Dallas cheered them both on. The segment was only shown to Peacock Premium Plus subscribers, but the announcers replayed a clip from the appearance.

After the loss to D’Angelo, Ciampa stood tall and looked around the crowd as a “thank you Ciampa!” chant rang out. Ciampa then made his exit up the ramp but Triple H came out and they embraced. Triple H said a few words to an emotional Ciampa in his face, and then raised his arm in the air as the ovation continued.

Triple H and Ciampa then shook hands and embraced again before sharing a laugh and leaving together.

Ciampa paid tribute to Triple H during his entrance by doing The Game’s signature pose on the apron.

Rumor Mill - Triple H Not Returning To WWE NXT Anytime Soon

WWE Hall of Famer and Vice President of Talent Development Shawn Michaels has stepped up in a major way while his best friend has been away. Michaels is seen as the main person in charge of NXT 2.0 right now, and WWE officials are very high on his work.

There’s a feeling that Michaels has been under pressure to make new stars fast with the recent changes in the show, and he is credited with quickly making people like Grayson Waller, Tony D’Angelo, LA Knight, NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes, and NXT Champion Bron Breakker into stars very quickly. It was noted that this was not Michaels’ job when he was hired to work as a NXT Producer/Coach, but the workload fell upon him when Triple H took time off last year, and higher-ups feel like he has great aptitude for the creative process, and the understanding of how to make stars, and to make key talent stand out.

While Michaels is the main person in charge at NXT right now, he still has to answer to the top of the company, which includes WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and Senior Vice President Bruce Prichard. The Observer notes that even with the perception that McMahon and Prichard are running NXT, that’s not really the case as Michaels is in charge but McMahon has the final say.

Big Praise For Shawn Michaels

WWE Hall of Famer and Vice President of Talent Development Shawn Michaels has stepped up in a major way while his best friend has been away. Michaels is seen as the main person in charge of NXT 2.0 right now, and WWE officials are very high on his work.

There’s a feeling that Michaels has been under pressure to make new stars fast with the recent changes in the show, and he is credited with quickly making people like Grayson Waller, Tony D’Angelo, LA Knight, NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes, and NXT Champion Bron Breakker into stars very quickly. It was noted that this was not Michaels’ job when he was hired to work as a NXT Producer/Coach, but the workload fell upon him when Triple H took time off last year, and higher-ups feel like he has great aptitude for the creative process, and the understanding of how to make stars, and to make key talent stand out.

While Michaels is the main person in charge at NXT right now, he still has to answer to the top of the company, which includes WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and Senior Vice President Bruce Prichard. The Observer notes that even with the perception that McMahon and Prichard are running NXT, that’s not really the case as Michaels is in charge but McMahon has the final say.

WWE Releases Key PC Employees

WWE’s systematic pattern of mass releases has once again reared its ugly head as another quarter has come and gone.

Key employees of the WWE Performance Center, and notable NXT stars, have been cut as the promotion continues its aggressive move into a new era—both in terms of NXT and when it comes to a possible future sale.

WWE has reportedly released the following per Fightful:

Danny Burch

Timothy Thatcher

Hideki Suzuki

William Regal

Cathy Corino

Scott Armstrong

Hideki Suzuki

George Carroll

Ryan Katz

Dave Kapoor

Road Dogg

Ace Steel

WWE released the following statement regarding its most recent cuts:

“With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center. We thank them for their many contributions throughout the years and wish them the best.”

Shawn Michaels Gives Update On Triple H

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels sat down with Denise Salcedo to talk about NXT 2.0. Michaels has largely been at the helm of NXT 2.0 since Triple H has taken time off to recover from heart surgery, and he admitted he didn’t expect to have to do as much. 

Michaels was asked about Triple H, who only recently resurfaced at the construction site of WWE’s new office in Stamford, Connecticut following his health scare. Shawn Michaels revealed he had been in touch with Triple H since then and that he believes the lesser workload is ultimately good for Triple H.

“Most of it is me bothering him to be perfectly honest,” Michaels said. “He has worked so much over the last several years and I don’t think he understood that it becomes your normal. For him to step away for a little bit, look, that takes getting used to. I went through it obviously, I am one of the rare people that was ready to do it and embrace it. But when it just happens out of the blue and you’re not expecting it; for him to go a hundred miles per hour to nothing was an adjustment. But I think he is, especially around this time of year, he’s now starting to realize like ‘hey this isn’t too bad.’ I think he’s bordering enjoying himself now to be perfectly honest. It’s a well deserved break for him, for sure.”

Shawn Michaels Provides Update On Why Triple H Hasn't Returned To NXT Yet

 

During an interview with Jim Varsallone, Shawn Michaels provided an update on Triple H's status and health.

“Right now, for me, I’ve told him, ‘I don’t care how good you are, you stay away, get healthy, concentrate on you.’ The thing is, he put in a fabulous team here and that’s why it’s able to continue on without him because he put phenomenal people in place. I’m just the guy that gets to expedite everything and run traffic. The team he put in place was prepared for these kind of days and we want him to get healthy. He doesn’t have anything to worry about, we’ll be here when he gets back.“

WWE Releases More Superstars

WWE has released multiple Superstars including multiple-time champion John Morrison alongside former NXT North American Champion Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott.

As first broken by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, WWE has released the following WWE Superstars on November 18th:

John Morrison

Top Dolla

Ashante Adonis

Isiah Swerve Scott

Tegan Nox

Drake Maverick

Shane Thorne

Jaxson Ryker

WWE Releases Several Main Roster Names

WWE has released several main roster Superstars, according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful. The following names were released this evening – “B-Fab” Briana Brandy, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Eva Marie, Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Nia Jax, and Harry Smith.

Furthermore, the following WWE NXT Superstars were also cut – Trey Baxter, Jessi Kamea, Karrion Kross, Jeet Rama, Zayda Ramier, and Katrina Cortez.

WWE has also released Scarlett Boudreaux, Oney Lorcan, Franky Monet and Ember Moon.

Shawn Michaels Steps Up for Best Friend Triple H After Health Scare

Forever one of pro wrestling’s all-time greats, Shawn Michaels showcased a rare blend of charisma, athleticism and in-ring precision during his iconic career. He delivered an unmatchable slate of matches, particularly at WrestleMania, creating a timeless body of work in the ring. For the past five years, Michaels has worked as a coach at the WWE Performance Center, where he has also become an integral part of NXT.

Since its inception, Paul “Triple H” Levesque has been NXT’s driving force. But a health scare last month temporarily removed Levesque from his post, and it has been Michaels helping to carry NXT while his friend takes every step needed in his recovery.

“Trying to step in and fill his role is impossible to do,” says Michaels, whose official title is vice president of talent development. “Everybody here misses him unbelievably, especially me. But I always go back to this—everything in real life takes precedence over everything else. This was a situation where my best friend needed my help and needed me to step in, so I look at this as an opportunity, in a small way, to thank him for everything he did for me earlier in my career.

“Taking over the responsibilities here is a drop in the bucket compared to what he did for me all those years back. I’m honored to at least have the opportunity to pay him back a little bit and be there for him. That’s what this whole company does—this whole relaunch has been everyone pulling together, and I’m energized and inspired to keep this NXT territory going strong during his absence.”

NXT just rebranded from its trademark black-and-gold look to a colorful “2.0” version. Michaels noted that change is an inevitable, unstoppable force in the business of professional wrestling.

“Doing this now for 35 years, I’ve seen constant change,” Michaels says. “And change is certainly not new to us in WWE. It’s constantly evolving and changing. I’ve heard people call this a refresh, but it’s still the same crew, which is great because they’re so damn talented. It reminds me of he Attitude Era. We had the same roster the day before he Attitude Era started, and I still remember Vince coming into the locker room and making that speech, inspiring us and making us hungry for the future. That’s what this is—turning over a new leaf, restructuring a few things and putting a brand-new coat of paint on a dominant and incredible brand. It’s chummed the waters, so to speak, and that’s fun to be around.”

source:  si.com

Triple H Comments On His Recent Cardiac Event

WWE Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul "Triple H" Levesque posted his first public comments since his recent heart surgery on Twitter:

"I’ve been blown away by the outreach and support from so many people. I’m recovering, doing well, & deeply grateful for all the love in my life. Especially grateful for Shawn Michaels & all the Superstars & WWE NXT Crew! (Steph and the girls loved the snacks!) See you soon"

Rumor Mill - Vince McMahon Reportedly Looking To Make WWE NXT 2.0 An Edgier Product

WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon reportedly has some significant plans in store for the WWE NXT 2.0 brand.

Word going around WWE is that McMahon has plans for NXT 2.0 to be a more edgier product, according to Fightful Select. This would be a part of the ongoing revamp for the brand.

It was reported that the NXT 2.0 brand may target more of a P18-34 demographic, which would go for everything from in-ring work and aggression, to harsher language, and the like. It was also noted that there may be more lenience when it comes to the attire worn by female Superstars, although it wasn’t specified exactly what that means. Another point brought up was that the brand may “keep up with current affairs with promos and character verbiage.”

There’s no word on when these changes might be implemented, and it was noted that sources haven’t heard much more outside of a brief internal acknowledgement that the changes have been discussed.

At least some officials at the USA Network are aware of the potential changes, and are said to be in support of them.

Adam Cole Comments On Shawn Michaels And Triple H

“I’ve been so open with how much of a relationship I formed with Shawn Michaels. He is an idol of mine. A guy I look at as the greatest professional wrestler of all-time. To have the chance to work under him was really cool. Triple H, as well, treated me with nothing but respect and is someone I learned so much from, whether it be things that may seem small but are a big deal in the ring or a work ethic. I feel like the pro wrestler I am today is a lot better than Adam Cole was four years ago. A lot of that is because of my time in NXT.”

NXT 2.0 Arrives Tonight

Update On Vince McMahon’s Role In The WWE NXT Revamp

The weekly WWE NXT show will reportedly not be directly produced by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and Senior Vice President & Executive Director Bruce Prichard with the upcoming revamp that kicks off this month.

It was reported this week, via Wrestling Observer Live, that McMahon and Prichard were to produce the weekly NXT TV show beginning with the September 14 live episode. The report noted that McMahon and Prichard will be behind the big decisions for the NXT brand, but not the smaller ones. They will also be responsible for marketing, promotion and direction of the NXT brand. It was also said that NXT will be like “the old NXT” moving forward, which appears to be a reference to how the brand was at its peak, around 2015-2018 or so.

In an update, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE held a meeting with talent and staff where they were told the story of McMahon and Prichard directly producing the weekly NXT TV show is incorrect. Word is that McMahon and Prichard simply do not have the time to produce another weekly TV show.

While McMahon and Prichard won’t be directly producing the weekly NXT TV show, Vince remains in charge of everything in WWE, and there have been, and will continue to be more big-picture decisions on the NXT brand that are made my higher-ups in the company, those outside of the NXT circle, including decisions related to creative, branding and marketing. 

The people making these decisions, on their own, will be a group made up of McMahon, Prichard, President & CEO Nick Khan, Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis, and Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn. This group will have more influence on whoever they want pushed or protected in NXT, but it was noted that they likely will not be involved in weekly booking since they already have so much going on.

Regarding the changes in NXT, <b>Fightful Select adds that numerous WWE sources have effectively denied the original story on McMahon and Prichard directly producing NXT</b>

It was also noted that McMahon and Prichard were not at the recent set of NXT TV tapings. However, influential WWE Producer Jamie Noble has been seen at the WWE Performance Center more often than usual as of late. Furthermore, Prichard is scheduled to be at the Performance Center this weekend. There’s no word on what Prichard’s Saturday visit is for, but talent is not mandated to be there.

It remains to be seen exactly what this NXT revamp will mean for WWE’s Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H and his crew. We noted earlier this week that the NXT brand will still be “very much in the hands” of Triple H and his team, which includes Trainer & Assistant Coach Shawn Michaels, Director of Talent Development & Head of Global Recruiting William Regal, Head Coach & Vice President of Talent Development Matt Bloom, and others. Word was that the day-to-day operations of NXT won’t change too much, but that the revamp will mean at least some loss of power for Triple H.

The original report on McMahon and Prichard producing NXT led to a “#RIPNXT” hashtag trending worldwide on social media.