SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
This afternoon, WWE Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul Levesque (Triple H) held a media conference call ahead of tonight’s NXT on USA and this weekend’s NXT TakeOver: XXX. Levesque hyped both programs and took calls from an international array of outlets.
Levesque was sure to put a particular focus on Pat McAfee coming in as a competitor against Adam Cole. He openly observed that the obvious reasoning for McAfee’s new role is to get “the press that comes around it” and to “bring in fresh eyeballs,” and that the former NFL kicker is viewed as being “from the outside.” Regarding “purists that run the risk of saying ‘why,'” he “[believes] that Pat will show you why.” He went on to add that “this is not a one-off” for McAfee, “this is Pat McAfee showing the world why he wants to be in this.” He added, “there is no better person for him to be in that ring with than Adam Cole.” When asked for further detail by Alistair McGeorge of Metro UK, Levesque said McAfee “grew up a WWE fan and always dreamed about doing this, and that’s what a lot of people don’t understand.” Based on a training video he’s seen, he complimented the “athletically gifted” McAfee as “a natural,” and that “the reason I’m putting him in that spot, the reason why he’s doing this with us in NXT where the level of performance is what matters, and the scrutiny will be different… I believe that he has that skillset and the ability to do it.”
Brian Fritz of Between the Ropes asked about the decision for NXT on USA and NXT TakeOver to remain at Full Sail Live even though WWE is priming the debut of the enhanced and interactive “WWE ThunderDome” as part of their new residency at Orlando’s Amway Center, to which Levesque replied WWE has “enough on their hands” between Raw, SmackDown, and events like SummerSlam being moved to the ThunderDome. He highlighted that WWE’s “partnership with Full Sail, to me, is probably one of the most important partnerships we have.” He said, “For the foreseeable future, staying in Full Sail, or at least for the immediate future, is where we’re at,” though not before prefacing that “in this environment right now, today, with everything that’s happening, you can never say never.”
Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net inquired in detail regarding the investigative steps WWE took to address allegations against Patrick Clark (The Velveteen Dream) and Levesque’s comments to CBS Sports on the matter which came nearly a week after Clark had appeared as an advertised surprise opponent for last Wednesday’s NXT on USA main event. Levesque reiterated that “we take all of these things very seriously,” and that “we looked into it, didn’t find anything there in the manner that would, you know, what we were looking for.” He added, “If there’s something else there, we’ll look into it; that goes across the board for anybody,” before declaring, “We’ve already talked about it so I’d rather just move on to other topics.”
At multiple points, Levesque expressed the great importance to WWE of getting fans back in attendance, and in response to Mike Johnson of PWInsider asking about a return not just to running TV with fans present but also live events in smaller venues, he emphasized that their research into that matter is “a constant” and that “We’re looking into every conceivable avenue, and it includes everything.”
Asked specifically about Karrion Kross by James Varsallone of Miami Herald, Levesque said he’d had an eye on Kross for “a long time” and that Kross “has [the ‘X’ factor] and then some.” He also pointed out that “the learning curve is steep when you get to the WWE,” but “[Kross] is a sponge for the business,” and that “his improvement rate and growth rate has been incredible just since walking through the door, much like Keith [Lee].”
To close, Levesque wanted to spotlight the newly released compilation programming on WWE Network from Evolve, Progress, wXw, and ICW. He said, “I’m really excited about that. The opportunity for these other promotions, and for the ability for everybody to see young talent, up-and-coming talent, returning talent, whatever that is, but to see the different styles, the different things we get to see on a regular basis, it’s not easy to get to catch all of it; we’re hoping to be able to put that all into one place and kind of have the Network – WWE Network – be a hub for all those things. You’ll see more announcements on that, I’m sure, and more opportunities for people. It’s a very exciting time, and that’s something that we’ve been working on for a few years and here we are now and it’s coming to fruition.”
Complete audio of the call as recorded on the line by PW Torch will be available as soon as possible, with additional notes from Levesque on focusing on the NXT product itself as opposed to ratings and demographics, wrestlers returning to training at the Performance Center, pacing major storylines for talent that could get tapped for the main roster, NXT wrestler/trainee appearances on Raw Underground not necessarily constituting a call-up, the potential for SummerSlam to have been held on a boat not being “quite so easy,” learning Lars Sullivan has resurfaced online, discussing with Keith Lee that Bronson Reed is “coming in to his own,” an interesting aside about WWE tracking the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, and more.
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