Live Notes from Today’s NXT Takeover: WarGames Conference Call w/ Triple H

This Saturday the superstars of WWE NXT invade Las Angeles, California for another stacked NXT Takeover event as a part of a massive four-day Survivor Series weekend.

Ahead of that event, Triple H hosted a conference call with members of pro wrestling media to address the show, as well as talk about the future of the NXT brands and the Performance Center in general. Below are live notes from today’s call:

— Triple H had surgery last Tuesday. Everything is feeling good. He’s on the road to recovery and doing constant rehab, and will be flying to L.A. tomorrow to begin preparations for NXT Takeover.

— He said every match on the NXT Takeover card could be the main event. Praised the storytelling of the Aleister Black story and said he’s really happy with how things played out, and the development of Johnny Gargano within all of it.

— There is so much talent in NXT right now. They filled an entire Takeover card, and so far EC3, Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, Lars Sullivan, Bianca Belair, Lacey Evans, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and plenty others aren’t even on the card yet.

— Says the roof on WarGames was “limiting” for wrestlers, and believes they proved that last year.

— Triple H praises the talent of today calling them “sponges”. He says he doesn’t know if their method of delivering information is better now than it was years ago, or if the talent is just better, but the wrestlers are just picking things up at such a rapid pace now at the Performance Center. He specifically praised Pete Dunne and Velveteen Dream as “sponges” that pick things up instinctually, that have a “light bulb” on at all times.

— Praise for Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley for how quickly they evolved as characters and added to their gimmicks in such a short period of time. He says sometimes he has to remind himself that some of them have only been wrestling for one or two years.

— He says his long-term goal is to have global training centers (which means possible NXT brand expansions) all over the world. Big announcements coming in the first part of 2019. He noted that certain markets like the UK came quicker because they’re already more developed and can move at a faster pace, but the rest are coming.

— He says we’re at a point where “main roster level” people remain in NXT, and likewise we could be seeing talent from the main roster move back to NXT. Sometimes you just need a change of pace and scenery and you explode and take off.

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— “I’m not a big fan of giving more, just to give more.” He says they’ll increase the amount of NXT Takeover specials if the demand is there, but says they are in a “sweet spot” where people really look forward to those shows, and they’re not too long where they feel burnt out by the end of it. He envisions WWE doing some larger events in the UK in the coming year.

— Takeover: WarGames may stay at four matches. The WarGames match itself takes a lot of time and with the entry order this time they wanted to give everything plenty of time. Plus the women’s match is Two Out of Three Falls, so they didn’t want to cram something else in there.

— Triple H says there is no “hard and fast rule” about the age at which they sign performers. However, the list of people they sign looking to break into wrestling in their mid-to-late 30s isn’t long, just because of what the business does to your body over the years. Says a lot of people he brings in and if the physical doesn’t pan out, he’s already got roles for them in his mind, be it as a trainer, a speaking role, etc.

— He says he won’t allow toxic culture in the Performance Center because it’s a team atmosphere, and he’s very hands on in making sure that atmosphere is maintained. Praises people like Adam Cole for growing, but also constantly reaching down to help the people below him come up. Praises the coaching staff with Sean Michaels and Sarah Amato, but the real successful key to the P.C. is everyone is helping everyone.

— He says Undisputed Era can “go wherever they want to go”. They all get along and think similarly, and have this great connection between them. It’s authentic. He says the old “they won’t make it because they’re too small” thing doesn’t matter when you’re in a group that good, and really it doesn’t matter anymore because if the fans want it, that’s who they’re going to see.