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Triple H Comments on WWE NXT, Nakamura still being in NXT, Balor & More

TJR Wrestling

Triple H wears many hats in WWE these days as the VP of talent relations, Vince McMahon’s right hand man on the creative team and sometimes appearing as a performer on TV, but one of the things he’s most passionate about is WWE’s NXT brand. He’s been the man in charge for the last few years as NXT has grown to the point where they are running nearly as many live events in a year just like the talent on the main roster. He recently spoke to WWE on ESPN about the brand as well as some of its stars. I’ll have some thoughts on my own after his comments.

On NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura’s remaining in NXT:

“One of the things that’s funny to me — I always laugh at it — is when people say to me, ‘I watch Nakamura every week in NXT. I don’t know why they don’t put him on Raw so I can watch him on Raw every week. You’re getting to see him, right? You’re getting to see him doing what he does, in a big way. The opportunities are there. He’s got that clean path now to get here, when he gets here he might go there, he might go back.”

TJR Thoughts: We are getting to see him because for those of us that are hardcore fans we watch Raw, Smackdown and NXT. However, a lot of casual fans probably know nothing about the guy because committing to three hours of Raw in a week is enough for them. I think Nakamura is a guy that has a lot of appeal as a potential draw to casual fans that want to see cool looking wrestlers. There’s nobody like him and I think keeping him in NXT hurts the main roster because he would be a great asset to Raw or Smackdown right now.

On seeing NXT as a product that could be equal to the main roster:

“We say that it’s developmental, but at the same time it’s a third brand — 200 events this year, specials and the weekly show itself which are one of the most popular things on the Network. I think over the years you’re gonna begin to see Raw is its own brand, SmackDown is its own brand, NXT — you’re gonna see people move around. It’s no longer gonna be just, this guy got called up, it’s gonna be maybe ‘this guy got moved over, she got moved here,’ and see that transference of talent. At the end of the day, it’s all content; it’s all product that our fans wanna see. The difference in those products is big, but there’s something there for everybody. I think that’s what’s exciting about it.”

TJR Thoughts: It will be interesting to see if it reaches that point where main roster talent moves to NXT. Remember that Breaking Ground show when they had that clip of Tyler Breeze getting called up to the main roster. They celebrated that as a big deal with Hunter leading the way, yet here he is saying it should be seen as being equal. Perhaps that is the goal of it, but right now most fans aren’t going to see it that way.

On how former NXT Champion Finn Balor was blown away by NXT:

“Guys have things to learn along the way. Unless you’ve done this, you can’t understand the difference in what the television product is at a Wrestlemania level, to a Raw level, to an NXT level. We’re trying to create that product. Finn Bálor is a guy that came in from an indie group — so successful, a great in-ring performer, but had never really talked much. The first NXT event we did, he looked at me afterwards and was like, ‘Dude, my mind is blown, because I never once thought where cameras were, or any of the other things that we do.'”

TJR Thoughts: That’s where Hunter makes a great point. It is a lot different than the indies, so guys can benefit from being in NXT. No doubt about that.

When to call up a ready made talent to the main roster is one of the most difficult thing for Hunter and Vince McMahon to do. It’s important that they keep NXT strong, but they should also think about what’s best for the main roster. I think a guy like Nakamura would be a draw on the main roster because of his unique styles and different look. While I think it’s wrong to say he’s being “wasted” in NXT at the moment, I sure hope he’s on the main roster by WrestleMania this year. He deserves it.

There are a few more comments in the interview that you can read right here if you want.