"He's not someone who ever had to get angry" - Recently-released WWE star praises Triple H's backstage behavior
Triple H's job, for a good part of the 2010s, was to develop talent through NXT before sending them to the main roster under brighter lights. In many cases, however, even the top-tier stars don't make it on the main roster, and several former champions have been released. One such former NXT Champion spoke about The Game and the impact he had backstage.
Over the last few months, a lot of work that Triple H has done with NXT has been undone. Most of his hires and people working under him have been released, including the likes of William Regal and Road Dogg. With the rebranding of the brand into NXT 2.0, it seemed to be a complete overhaul with too many changes in a short period.
One former NXT Champion who was released not too long ago is Killer Kross, fka Karrion Kross in WWE. While he had an underwhelming run on the main roster before his release, his run with the company's third brand was successful and he is one of the few two-time NXT Champions.
Speaking to CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri, Kross praised Triple H for being a natural leader and having several great qualities:
"To me, he is a natural leader. He was not someone who ever had to raise his voice. He's not someone who ever had to get angry for people to listen to him," Kross said. "He was a person where I would come into work and he would be completely focused with each and every person he was working with. I never saw him play favorites. He never told you wanted to hear, he always told you what you needed to hear. He inspired people to be better versions of themselves at work"
Kross explained that the talent wanted to perform well, not only for the fans but out of respect for The Game and Shawn Michaels:
"I could tell you for sure as much as people wanted to perform in this business for the fans, they also wanted to perform out of respect for Hunter and Shawn [Michaels] because of how much time they would put into them and helping them improve... They always say, 'Never meet your heroes,' right? I had a good feeling for it from the get-go. He's definitely somebody for me, personally, that totally didn't disappoint at all. He exceeded expectations of the person you think you want to meet from watching on TV growing up," added Kross.
It only confirms the impact and legacy that Triple H has left behind in his years handling NXT.
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What is Triple H's role with NXT going forward?
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It seems unclear as to what WWE has planned in store for The King Of Kings going forward. Ever since his cardiac incident last year, Triple H hasn't returned to his role in NXT.
In that time, Vince McMahon launched the overhaul of NXT into NXT 2.0 and put Bruce Prichard as one of the creative heads of the brand. It's a different direction for the brand that has now been re-labeled as developmental - a decision that hasn't sat well with many WWE fans.
While there was a report about Triple H being disappointed with all that has happened, there hasn't been a word from him yet about his thoughts on the situation.