Talents have been told not to talk about WWE business while speaking to Triple H after his emergency procedure earlier this month according to the latest reports.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently provided some updates on The Game\’s health and status. He noted that the former world champion is in good enough shape to take calls:
“Everything remains quiet regarding Paul Levesque [Triple H]. We are told that he’s in good enough shape that he is taking calls. Talent was told that they can call him and wish him well but that they are not to talk any WWE business with him.\”
WWE sent out a statement earlier this month announcing that the Executive Vice President underwent a successful procedure following a cardiac event.
End Of Triple H\’s NXT?
The timing of this health event was unfortunate for NXT talents as the show\’s rebranding brought a lot of uncertainty to the NXT locker room and the absence of Triple H created an environment of trepidation.
A new era begins tonight for NXT, WWE\’s developmental brand. According to PWInsider, there is a great sense of unease in the locker room as the wrestlers learn what \”NXT 2.0\” will actually look like.
Talent was already on edge following the last round of releases. The feeling is that people who \’did everything they were supposed to\’ and received praise from coaches were still let go. This has led to trepidation and uncertainty as it relates to job security.
NXT has already undergone a dramatic overhaul in recent weeks. After losing the ratings war against AEW Dynamite, NXT moved to Tuesday nights. Viewership has been acceptable since the move, but the show failed to generate much momentum.
Earlier this month, news broke that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard would be taking over NXT, with Triple H and his team carrying out their vision and handling the day-to-day operations.
Triple H undergoing an emergency medical procedure only fueled concerns about NXT\’s future. Then came a report by Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net about a new wave of NXT production cuts. He described NXT being down to a \”skeleton crew.\”
Former two-time WWE Champion Drew McIntyre says his WWE return wouldn\’t have happened if it wasn\’t for Triple H.
McIntyre signed with WWE back in late 2007. After some time in developmental, McIntyre was given a push as the Intercontinental Champion. WWE chairman Vince McMahon even called him \”The Chosen One.\”
Despite the hot start, McIntyre would soon fall into obscurity. He went from being a serious heel to being a joke character in the 3MB faction. In 2014, McIntyre was released by WWE.
McIntyre built up a ton of momentum outside of WWE. He returned to ICW and made his mark in Impact Wrestling. McIntyre was leaning towards making his way to Japan when Triple H got in touch with him. Here\’s what McIntyre told Inside The Ropes.
“I wouldn’t be back in WWE if it wasn’t for Triple H, it’s as simple as that. William Regal put me on the phone with him, we talked for 40 minutes, within that conversation at the beginning I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back, I was honestly leaning more towards Japan and by the end of it, I was 100% coming back. The thing that meant the most to me was not just how far I’d come professionally but how far I’d come as a man and how proud he was of me, and that kind of meant a lot because I have so much respect for him and that’s grown into a friendship today, and he really is somebody who is not just a friend to a lot of people but a father figure to a lot of people, and again the news caught everybody off guard but he’s got a lot of positive energy coming his way right now and he’s going to be fine, which I’m very happy to hear.”
Since making his return to WWE, McIntyre has realized his true potential. First, Drew McIntyre became the NXT Champion. He then transitioned back to the main roster and defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 to capture the WWE Championship.
WWE executive Paul Levesque (Triple H) is recovering from a recent \’cardiac event.\’
According to a statement sent in by WWE, he underwent a successful procedure last week at Yale New Haven Hospital. The episode was caused by a genetic heart issue.
“Paul Levesque, a.k.a. Triple H, underwent a successful procedure last week at Yale New Haven Hospital following a cardiac event. The episode was caused by a genetic heart issue and Paul is expected to make a full recovery.
– WWE Statement on Triple H\’s health
Levesque serves as WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development.
SEScoops wishes Paul \”Triple H\” Levesque a full and speedy recovery.
Triple H recently took part in a live taping of the Herd with Colin Cowherd. During the discussion, he spoke about potentially making an in-ring return.
\”If people want it, if it\’s the right thing, it has got to be intriguing,\” Triple H said (transcriptions via Fightful). \”At this point, with as busy as everybody is in WWE from the business side, for me to get ready for WrestleMania, at my age, it\’s not something to enter into casually.\”
It\’s been over 2 years at this point since Triple H wrestled. His last match was on June 29th, 2019. He teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura on a house show in Japan and defeated the team of Robert Roode and Samoa Joe.
\”I\’d have to train a lot, a couple times a day for three months or so to get ready for that,\” he continued. \”In-ring training and everything. I\’ve already torn most of everything off my body so I want to make sure I\’m not ready to do that again. The training would be the tough part with the schedule, but if it was something people wanted and it was intriguing to me, I would love to do it.\”
Triple H continued to say that he\’d love to do another big WrestleMania match. He\’d also like to do a final tour and wrestle matches in cities that he has a long history with, however.
\”If I was to do something like that before I called it a day, go to the Garden again. Go to Japan. Go to different countries and have that one more match. Step into those cities where you have 25+ years of memories and opponents and to be able to go out there and do it again in front of them one more time.\”
The 52-year-old has had as complete a career as anyone ever has in wrestling. He is a 9x WWE Champion, 5x World Heavyweight Champion, 2x Royal Rumble winner, 1x King of the Ring, 3x tag team champion, 5x Intercontinental Champion, and 2x European Champion in WWE.
Triple H spoke with the media following tryouts held in Las Vegas yesterday. When Triple H was asked if the recruitment policy in the company has changed, he said it has not shifted at all despite reports to the contrary.
\”It’s a funny thing, people talk about the shifting of what it is. It never really shifted,” Triple H said (transcriptions via Wrestling Inc.). “So if you go back and look at the hiring process, not the hiring process of a television show, the hiring process of who we’re looking to train and make WWE Superstars. Long term. If you go back and look at it, it hasn’t shifted. It’s been the same process. I don’t negate anybody.\”
Triple H continued to say that someone would not be denied an opportunity because of having wrestled on the independent scene. He never did mention if someone would be denied an opportunity because of height or size, however.
\”Vince used to always say ‘we’re a variety show. We are. In some manner, you need a little bit of everything. That’s the key to all of this. But people hear one statement and then make one (assumption). ‘Now it’s that. No, now it’s this.’ It always has been.”
Triple H would continue to talk about how the company is not looking for professional wrestlers as much as they are superstars. It\’s about finding those \”diamonds in the rough\” who have the potential to do great business for the company.
\”You’ll hear Vince say it a lot. It’ll sound wrong to a lot of people, but it’s right. We’re not looking for professional wrestlers, we’re looking for superstars. We’re looking for somebody that can break through that. The rest of it takes care of itself,\” Triple H continued.
Several reports recently have stated that WWE\’s hiring policy moving forward will place greater emphasis on larger wrestlers who have the potential to \”one-day main event WrestleMania.\”
The wrestling landscape is changing. The opening of the forbidden door paved the way for all manner of working arrangements and partnerships. However, WWE COO Triple H just announced possibly the strangest partnership in the history of WWE. The wrestling empire has formed a partnership with Enfield Town FC. A UK based football club that currently plies their trade in the Ithsmian League Premier Division.
This is not to be confused with the Premier Division. Home to the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. The Ithsmian League is currently six leagues below the top level and three away from the professional leagues. Why is a WWE legend like Triple H building ties to an amateur football team?
The partnership is not as crazy as it sounds. The WWE has long-standing ties with the UK, and the NXT UK performance center is located in Enfield. So the town and the company share a deep connection.
Triple H took to social media to confirm the link just as the new season of football begins in the UK.
Triple H and WWE Want to Support Their Local Community
At the time of writing it is not clear as to the extent of the agreement or if WWE will be providing any financial investment into the club.
\”Not only is it a big week for WWE with SummerSlam on Saturday and NXT Takeover 36 on Sunday, but it\’s a big week for the UK. The football season has returned. Enfield in London has played a big part in the journey of NXT UK since the opening of our UK Performance Centre. That\’s why I\’m proud to announce today, the first of its kind partnership between NXT UK and Enfield Town Football Club in celebration of their 20th anniversary. As the UK\’s first supporter-owned football club, they share our passion for putting fans at the centre of everything we do. Be on the lookout for plenty of exciting things to come over the next few months.”
“But for now, there\’s only one question left to ask. Enfield Town football club, are you ready?\”
-Triple H
WWE have a long association with building roots in their local communities. Under the leadership of Triple H, NXT UK and the general WWE presence on British soil continues to grow. It only makes sense for them to form relationships with other companies as their brand expands.
The Thunderdome era saw WWE scoring some of the lowest TV ratings in their history. WWE officials seem to have taken note of this. Triple H recently talked about their efforts to bring the attention of fans back to the WWE product.
Dan Gelston of The Associated Press did a story looking back at the Thunderdome era of wrestling and the effect the lack of fans had on WWE programming.
Talking about the record low ratings, Triple H said that the company will “take a hard look” at how it can attract more fans to the product each week. He then explained how they are seeing it as a moment in time to shift everything:
“It never is one thing; we see this as a moment in time to shift everything. I think you’ll see it in just the layout of everything, the set designs, the way it’s presented.
There’s a greater emphasis on utilizing the spaces that we have and the TV aspect of it while still engaging the fans.\” said Triple H, \”A lot of that comes from the time we had to experiment inside the Thunderdome.”
The article also featured comments from the Universal champion Roman Reigns. He explained why the situation would have been better if they were doing it in front of live crowds, claiming that crowd response keeps you sharp.
Triple H went on to praise the Tribal Chief for his performance during the pandemic era. The Game claimed that Reigns has been able to bring a level of emotion to his performance that wouldn\’t have been possible with the fans cheering or booing over him.
WWE spent years to have Roman Reigns be the top star in the promotion, but the fans didn\’t accept him in that role until after a global pandemic took place. Following his hiatus, WWE decided to turn him into a heel, which took his career to another level.
While speaking with Sports Illustrated, Triple H talked about the Universal Champion, who just successfully retained the title over Edge in the main event of Money in the Bank.
After the match, Reigns had a staredown with the returning John Cena. According to the WWE Hall of Famer, Reigns is not only the biggest star in WWE but in all of pro wrestling.
“Roman is the biggest star in WWE, he’s the biggest star in the industry. He perfected his craft at a really hard time to do so with no fans. He put so much into his character work, and his reaction to Cena was as powerful as the moment itself. Watching that, I couldn’t help but think back to how long he’s been doing this and some of the tougher times he’s been through. Right now, he’s performing on a whole other level. He’s at the point where he is no longer thinking about the character, he just is.”
Reigns will face Cena in the main event of next month’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Las Vegas, Nevada at Allegiant Stadium.
Samoa Joe was released by WWE in April due to budget cuts, but Triple H was reportedly “not happy” about the decision and wanted him back in WWE NXT.
That happened as Joe is now the enforcer for NXT General Manager William Regal. He’s also working as a talent scout. Speaking to the New York Post, Triple H stated that Joe’s release was actually more of a transition.
“It wasn’t like he got let go from one part of the company and the other part of the company [hired him]. It’s all one big company,” Triple H said. “Everybody knows what everybody’s doing. There was an opportunity for him to transition, no different than you would say, ‘Well, he was released from this pitching contract and started managing the team and became a coach.’ It’s a similar situation.”
Triple H stated the conversations about Joe’s backstage role were already being discussed even before the COVID-19 pandemic started. He put him over being a smart guy who is very business-oriented and has a level head. Triple H stated that Joe was enamored with the other side of the business.
Triple H likened Joe’s situation to the one he’s been in as they went from in-ring competitors to having a role behind the scenes. He noted that Joe will be a bigger component and that’s in developing talent. He’s excited to see Joe being in this stage of his career and helping develop the next generations of superstars.
Things aren\’t always contentious between WWE and talent that have left the company. Renee Paquette spoke about this recently on her Oral Sessions podcast. During the show, Paquette revealed that WWE offered to help Jon Moxley with an injury after he had left the company.
“Even when Jon left, there was times that Hunter pulled me aside because Jon was injured when he came back from New Japan. Hunter kept checking in to make sure that Jon was okay. If he needed anything, they would have been able to help him in any kind of capacity.”
“So it was nice to know that, that olive branch was still extended, and it wasn’t that heat-seeking thing that everybody thinks that it is. We’ve all spent so much time together and nothing bad went down.”
Chelsea Green On WWE Helping Her Recover From Injury
Renee\’s comments are similar to some made recently by Chelsea Green. The former \”Hot Mess\” revealed on her podcast that she was rehabilitating an injury at the WWE Performance Center despite having been released this spring. Granted, in Green\’s case her injury occurred in a WWE ring.
\”I reached out to WWE and they were kind enough to let me come into the Performance Center and use their Physical Therapist, and rehab my arm. Thank God. I’m very thankful for that because the injury happened in a WWE ring, so even though I was released, they still take care of that injury, thank God.”
Last night at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, Tian Sha (aka Mei Ying) rose from her seat and attacked Mercedes Martinez. The character is, or at least believes herself to be thousands of years old and trained by dragons. Triple H and Shawn Michaels were asked recently about their approach to supernatural characters on the NXT media call.
“So, I’m a big fan of a variety within the shows and having things that are different. You know, different characters, when you can get them, different characters, different personalities, different sides of performers, all of that, but also different characters in general,\” Triple H said when asked by Gary Cassidy of Inside the Ropes.
Triple H then continued to talk about supernatural characters using Tian Sha as an example.
“To have characters like Tian Sha, I think you have to handle them slightly differently so that you can make them sort of make sense in your world, right?\”
He continued to say what it takes to make a character make sense in NXT is different than RAW and Smackdown.
\”All the shows are slightly different. I feel like even there’s a slight difference between even just RAW and SmackDown as to what works on one show, what doesn’t on others. I feel the same way. So having that good mix is great, but also how you handle them and making sure that they fit within the sort of the universe that you’re existing in.”
Triple H then used Marvel as an example of a company that does this particularly well.
“Marvel does a really good job with it of having serious, almost dramatic movies and then having moments where, you know, this guy’s a god and the other guy’s a robot and this guy’s from outer space.\”
Shawn Michaels then spoke about the Undertaker and how the supernatural character felt larger than life.
“For me, I guess I always looked at it is there are some people and some characters, or some groups, that have the ability to look larger than life,\” HBK said. \”I’d argue that about me. Taker was somebody who was a little bit more larger than life, so it was a much bigger production when he was coming out, as opposed to the Heartbreak Kid who was just music and silly dancing, you know what I mean?”
Bray Wyatt, Alexa Bliss and her doll Lilly are all current examples of supernatural style characters on the main roster. Undertaker, Kane, Papa Shango, Gangrel and many others have had such powers in the past. The Ultimate Warrior also demonstrated some supernatural abilities during his WCW run as well.
Learn more about the Tian Sha origin story with the below video:
NXT General Manager William Regal seemed to cast doubt on his future with the brand on Sunday night. The former Intercontinental Champion mentioned how the NXT locker room had been at war over the past few weeks, specifically the performers in the Fatal 5 Way match for the NXT Championship.
Regal said after the event that it might be time \”for a change\” on NXT. It wasn\’t clear if William Regal meant he was going to leave the position, however Triple H did discuss the situation on the post-show media call.
“William Regal, he’s been such an integral part of this since day one,” Triple H began. “There are certain people that have and then there’s people that have come in along the way. It’s hard to envision doing it in any sort of way without them.\”
Triple H on William Regal
\”Regal’s definitely one of those people\” \’The Game\’ added. \”And I don’t think that we will ever do it without him. He’ll be a part of this until the day that he tells me he doesn’t want to be a part of it anymore.\”
“It’s why Shawn’s here, it’s why I’m here, it’s why Matt Bloom’s here, Sara’s [Amato] here, it’s why this whole team is here, they love the business, and they love all the aspects of this business and want to see it continue and move forward\” Triple H added.
\”They want to help guide it and change it into the future, try to create the business that they always hoped and wished it could be as they were coming up and get rid of the things that none of us liked or understood about the business and enhance the bits and pieces that we did love about it.\”
It\’s likely that the situation will be addressed further on this week\’s episode of NXT on Tuesday.
Triple H made some interesting remarks about female talents during his latest Takeover: In Your House media call. It appears that Tony Khan does not agree with a specific part of it.
The Game was talking about how their roster has the best female talents in the world and he claimed those who are not in their company want to join it.
Khan took exception to Triple H\’s remarks. On the latest Busted Open Radio, he explained that it\’s ok to think that your product is the best and what offended people was the thinking that everybody wants to work for WWE:
\”I think where people got offended yesterday is when he said ‘everybody wants to work there.’ That was like; people are confusing the two things.
If you want to say like ‘hey, I think my show is the best. I think my product is the best’, there’s nothing wrong with that. Like you should feel that way. That’s good.\”
The AEW president then said that it\’s crazy to think that everyone wants to go to WWE and there are plenty of AEW talent who have no interest in competing for the rival promotion:
“But when you say it like ‘anybody of any value wants to work here’, that’s not true. It’s crazy. There’s plenty of people who work in AEW that have no interest in working there.\”
What did you make of Triple H\’s remarks about the female talents? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Stone Cold Steve Austin is the latest guest on the WWE Network series Drew & A. Austin joined former WWE Champion Drew McIntyre to discuss a number of topics surrounding his career, including the short-lived but fondly remembered Two Man Power Trip tag team alongside \’The Game\’ Triple H.
“I love working with Triple H,” Austin began, speaking to Drew McIntyre. “We hit it off when he came down to WCW way back in the day, we didn’t travel roads together but we were on the same page. We both loved bodybuilding, powerlifting. He’s a great worker, good mind for the business.”
“But Triple H, a great mind for the game,” Austin continued, before revealing that the Two Man Power Trip concept in 2001 was his idea. “I picked his opinion on many different things, and asked his opinion on many different things when I was on my run. One of my ideas as a heel that I wanted to do was form a tag team with him, and call it The Two-Man Power Trip.”
Steve Austin on Triple H
“We were really, really trying to get some heat” Austin stated. “Laying some heavy steel chairs down on The Undertaker, Kane, Hardys, Lita, my God.\”
“We were doing everything we could in my alliance with him” Steve Austin claimed. “Which kind of ensured that I was headed in a heat direction. Then fate hit one night in a tag match on Monday Night RAW; he blew out that quad, and that was the end of that.”
Austin finished by praising Triple H for his return in 2002 following the quad injury. “He made a successful comeback. Obviously he’s had one of the greatest runs in the history of the business” Austin concluded. “But [he’s] a guy that’s a lot of fun to be in the ring with.”
Triple H recently appeared on ESPN’s Cheap Heat podcast with Peter Rosenberg. Hunter Hearst Helmsley discussed a number of topics during his time on the podcast, including the company building a \’physical\’ Hall of Fame building with interactive elements.
“For me to say, ‘It’s on the way’ makes it sound like we’re already building it” Triple H began on Cheap Heat. “It is definitely something that we contemplated in our mind. It has to be done right.”
“In the world today, it’s a funny thing; people go like, ‘oh my God, that would be fascinating to go to see somebody’s old trunks’ or… Hall Of Fames like that, physical Hall Of Fames, museums like that tend to be money pits and not do well because over time, people will [see] them and just think, ‘well you need to make it something more’” Triple H added.
Triple H on Hall of Fame Building
“I think if it was interactive, with technology the way that it is now? Those objects were there, things that people can see and be wowed by, but also there’s reasons to keep going back” The Game continued, giving context as to why WWE may not have as of yet pulled the trigger on creating a building for their HOF.
“I’m of the opinion that, there means to be more than a thing you go to one time and go like, ‘Oh that was neat. I saw some boots\’\” The WWE executive noted. \”But more of a, ‘you gotta go see this. I was there. There’s a virtual this, there’s a 3D that.\’\”
\”Technology takes you to another level\” Triple H concluded. \”Like Disney, you go see these incredible things but also have these mind-blowing experiences around WWE and you can also spend the day there.\”
Would you like to see a physical Hall of Fame built? Let us know in the comments
“Road Dogg” Brian James is not only making progress on his road to recovery but he is already back to working with the NXT brand, according to Triple H.
The Game provided the latest update on the wrestling veteran\’s health during his media conference call following the NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event.
Triple H mentioned that James has been recovering at home the last few days. He also revealed that the former DX member is already back to work and he worked from his home for the latest TakeOver event:
“I want to mention that Brian James, Road Dogg, has been home the last few days, he is recovering, but he is healthy, he is good. He is recovering at home, doing well. We had him set up, so he was on a headset over the last two days, and you know, kind of being involved and stuff.
“As he gets his strength back and everything, feeling good, he will be back at it, back to being the Road Dogg in no time. I just wanted to give a shout-out to him, and we greatly miss him here. He’ll be back soon enough, but he is doing well.”
Triple H and \”Road Dogg\” Brian James
Brian James Health Scare
Brian James suffered an apparent heart attack towards the ending of last month. He had to be hospitalized for a couple of days before being released and he has been recovering at home since then.
James was working as the head writer of SmackDown until WrestleMania 35. He was repositioned within the company after he resigned from the role and he has been working backstage at NXT since then.
During it, he revealed that he spoke with CM Punk in the past two years, which is a surprise considering that Punk didn\’t highly of “The Game” in his famous interview on Colt Cabana\’s podcast.
“Last time I talked to [Punk]? A year and a half… a year and three quarters ago?,” Triple H answered. “A funny thing that people constantly will say, when his return is or… but in some way, I don’t know whether he does or not, but that has to be what he wants. When people talk about, they go, ‘Make the call!’ What says if we make the call he wants to answer? What says if we make the call he doesn’t go, like, ‘Yeah, I’m not interested in doing that anymore.’ Maybe he’s just done with it.”
The Desire Needs To Be There
Triple H thinks those are conversations that only those people can directly answer and if Punk wants to do it then WWE would get word of that and have conversations or he would make a call to let them know about it. He said there has to be a desire there to do something like that instead of just reluctantly agreeing to it.
Triple H continued by indicating Punk had the chance to return to WWE while working with FOX Sports on the Backstage show.
“CM Punk worked with us on the FOX show, what, a year ago? There was opportunities there,” Triple H said. “There were people around each other at all times. You know, again, I’ll never say never but the desire needs to be there on all sides to make that happen.”
Punk decided to walk out of WWE on the Monday following the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in 2014 to go on hiatus. Months passed with him thinking he would return only to be fired on his wedding day.
Former MMA fighter and UFC legend Tito Ortiz recently revealed that he trained at the WWE Performance Center back in 2020. Speaking to SportsMattersTV, Ortiz thanked Shane McMahon and Triple H for allowing him to spend some time at the state of the art facilities.
“Last year in February, before this pandemic came about, I was actually at the WWE training facility” Ortiz began. “I was there for fourteen days; So I put in a lot of work and I learned a lot of stuff in a quick amount of time you know?”
“I think we worked 13 days, every day” Tito Ortiz continued. “And I was learning stuff that guys were learning who been there eight or nine months that were just learning. The coach is like you ‘catch on really, really quick.’ That’s always been a commodity for me that I am able to learn quickly; I am a fast learner with everything I do.”
Tito Ortiz Talks WWE and TNA
Ortiz also mentioned when he worked for TNA. This was back in 2013 as part of the Aces & Eights storyline. “It goes back to working hard; working for TNA was a blessing in disguise. I had an opportunity to sit down with Hulk Hogan, meet Hulk Hogan for who he truly is, a human being,” Ortiz mentioned.
Tito Ortiz finished by thanking Shane McMahon and Triple H in particular for giving him a chance to train at the WWE PC. “Once again, I got an opportunity to train at the WWE training facility and I loved it; I liked it, I thought it was great and I would fit in perfect [there],” Ortiz said.
“The pandemic came about and everything got to a halt, a stop where there was no audience. I understand I don’t want to take someone’s job who’s trying to take care of their family. I dunno, we will see what happens in the future” Ortiz added.
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle revealed another unbelievable story during the latest episode of The Kurt Angle Show podcast.
During Angle\’s rookie year he was involved in a love triangle storyline with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Kurt Angle would end up kissing Stephanie backstage whilst she was \’concussed,\’ and Angle revealed how Vince McMahon had to direct the scene.
“This was ridiculously weird,” Angle began on the podcast. “To come backstage with Stephanie and have to do a pre-tape that was going live so we weren’t going to tape it, it was going to be one take. I think Vince did that on purpose so we only had to kiss once.\”
Kurt Angle Talks Vince Backstage
\”We got backstage and Vince wants to direct it\” Angle continued. \”I was like holy s–t, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon’s father is going to direct me kissing her during a pre-tape.\”
“I was nervous as hell\” Kurt Angle added. \”Vince was four feet way, his eyes were open and I was like ‘this is so weird man. I don’t know how I’m going to do this.’ I went down to kiss her and we caught eyes and then we went to kiss and I stuck my lips out, I didn’t want to go with an open mouth because Vince was there and I didn’t want to disrespect Triple H or Stephanie.\”
\”After the pre-tape she goes ‘you kiss like a fish.’ I was like ‘what’d you expect Stephanie? Your Dad is here watching, he’s directing and your dating Triple H. What did you want me to do?’\”
Triple H apparently put the ixnay on that storyline shortly after, but this has never been confirmed publicly.
AJ Styles had been lobbying for a match against Triple H at this year\’s edition of WrestleMania but the plans couldn\’t come together for this dream match.
During his recent media call to promote the upcoming NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event, The Game talked about a number of things and explained why he turned down the offer for a bout against the Phenomenal One.
Triple H explained how AJ Styles wanted the bout and he kept asking for it from the former world champion as the Show Of Shows came closer. He revealed that in the beginning, he hadn\’t said no to the match:
“He pestered with me every time I saw him! He would ask me about it and ask me about my schedule and as we got closer, man, I’ve said this before, getting ready for WrestleMania is a different thing. And the older you get, the harder it gets.
“When he first came to me, I said, ‘AJ, I’m not going to tell you no. Personally, I’d love to work with you and at this point, you can carry me to something.’ So, I’d love it.”
However as time passed by, Triple H realised that he wouldn\’t be able to get in the shape for a match at the show. Even though Styles was still hoping for it until last minute, the King Of Kings decided to cancel the plans:
“There’s a part of me that wants to do it, and then there’s just a bigger part of me that says, ‘I’m so busy 24/7, that to even try and contemplate how to train in the way I would want to train and get in-shape – and by shape, I don’t mean look—in-shape ring wise so you don’t embarrass yourself once you get in there at 52.
“It’s a lot of work and I don’t know that I have – I’m not afraid of the work. If I could make more hours in the day, I could find time to do it. It’s just time.”
After getting a negative answer from Triple H, AJ Styles is now scheduled to compete in a tag team match. He will be teaming with Omos to challenge The New Day for the Raw tag team championships on night one of WrestleMania 37.
WWE Executive Vice President Triple H recently held a media call to promote the upcoming NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver event taking place during the WrestleMania week. During the interview, the Game who has a long history with The Undertaker was asked about the Dead Man\’s comments about today\’s product being \’soft\’ which received negative reaction from a lot of people.
Triple H first mentioned how the wrestling business is always changing and different people have different opinions which you can agree and disagree with. He praised the former world champion saying that he is bluntly honest with his opinions. However, the Game then said that Taker\’s comments always have the best intention:
“His comments and his intention are always with the best of intent, or desire, to improve and I do believe he has a wealth of knowledge, that if he speaks… you know, there’s certain guys in the business that if they speak, they’ve been around a long time, seen a lot of things, and they’ve earned the right to, if they speak, you listen and you take the point of view, and you work with it. He’s one of those guys, for sure.”
The former DX member continued by comparing the whole debate to the debate about the music of different generations. He mentioned how everyone believes that a certain generation of music is better than the other but at the end of the day, they are all just opinions:
“So, if he says it and believes it, there’s something to it, then yeah, every generation is different and what people are willing to accept in generations. You know, everybody believes certain generations of music are better than others, too, and at the end of the day all of this is opinion. We all like what we like, we all dislike what we dislike, and we give our opinions on it, and it really comes down to what do the masses of people like.\”
After the Final Farewell segment at last November\’s Survivor Series event, there has been some talk of The Undertaker possibly coming to the Performance Center to help talent. Commenting on this possibility, Triple H said that he is looking forward to working with Taker and \”making it all better at every level.\”
The big news on Friday was Chris Jericho slated to make an appearance on the next episode of Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions series.
The episode will air on Peacock on April 11th, which is the day of the second night of WrestleMania 37. Austin has since gone into details about getting permission from Vince McMahon about having the AEW star on the show.
During today’s NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver conference call, Triple H was asked about the upcoming episode.
“We’re open for business. We’ve said it a million times on things. Vince has been very adamant in that. We’re open for business, whatever is best for business for WWE. Whoever that is.”
He noted that the funny thing is people sometimes create their own situations in their head but it’s not shocking to him. He pointed out how he hadn’t heard about the news until this call, but it’s not shocking to him in any way, shape, or form.
“People make comments about people that leave and that they received a nice call from Vince or whoever it is. That’s not shocking to me at all. The perception and the creation of what people believe in their heads when they have zero knowledge of it personally is amazing sometimes. The fantasy world that is created. It’s not shocking to me in any way.”
This will be the first time that an AEW star will appear on WWE programming.
According to reports from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, the focus of the meeting was the show\’s move to Tuesday nights and it started with a reflection of the brand\’s evolution since its inception.
Trriple H mentioned how the Black and Yellow brand has come a long way from being a small brand that sold out a show during the WrestleMania weekend to becoming one of the top brands in the company.
The move to Tuesday nights was sold as a good thing for the brand because they will have the lead-in from Raw on Mondays. It was said that everything is going to change now that the brand has its own night.
Triple H revealed that the change of nights has been in the works for some time. He noted that the USA Network first considered this change as far as a year back.
The Game also said that he hopes people will focus more on the show now rather than being worried about the viewership and TV ratings of NXT.
The first night of the NXT Takeover: Stand & Deliver will be the final NXT episode on Wednesday nights and the show will start airing on Tuesday nights from April 13, following WrestleMania 37.
It was recently confirmed that WWE and USA Network will be moving the NXT program to Tuesday nights starting on April 13. Triple H recently spoke to Joe Otterson of Variety regarding the move.
“We now feel like we’re in a good place where we can move that consistent fanbase over to Tuesdays,” Triple H began. “We believe they’ll follow us. That way we can grow the brand more given the lead in from ‘Monday Night Raw,’ which we’ve seen in the past.”
Something that the company is likely not going to discuss is the \’Wednesday Night Wars.\’
The \’wars\’ saw AEW consistently beat NXT most Wednesdays in the overall rating and also in the key 18-49 demographic.
Triple H Talks NXT on Peacock
It was also confirmed that NXT will be airing on the NBC Peacock streaming service every Wednesday going forward. Triple H also discussed how this will help further the reach of WWE\’s Gold brand.
“The ability for us to be on [Peacock], a bigger platform where so many more people have the opportunity to experience it and and to let it grow into something more, is very exciting,” Triple H noted. “And once you sample it? We believe that the product is something that people will stick with and become involved in.”
The move of NXT to Tuesday nights has been a wish of fans over the past few months. With NXT and AEW arguably being some of the best weekly programming in North American pro wrestling; this gives fans the chance to watch both on a live basis going forward.
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