WWE veteran thinks Triple H should not have made recent controversial comment (Exclusive)
Vince Russo has questioned whether Triple H should have answered a recent question about AEW vs. NXT differently.
WWE’s head of creative told BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani that NXT was not at “war” with AEW Dynamite when the shows went head-to-head. He also sarcastically congratulated Tony Khan’s promotion for beating WWE’s “developmental system” in the television ratings.
Russo, WWE’s former head writer, appeared on Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” show. While he agreed that NXT should be viewed as a developmental brand, he raised doubts about Triple H making that statement publicly:
“He’s one thousand percent correct,” Russo said. “NXT was never meant to be a promotion unto itself on television. It all came up through the negotiations with the USA Network. But, with that being said, if I’m the President of the USA Network and NXT is on my network, do I really want you describing it as a developmental [system]?” [1:08-1:37]
Watch the video above to hear more from EC3 and Vince Russo about NXT’s ratings battle with AEW between October 2019 and April 2021.
Why Vince Russo thinks Triple H’s response could have been better
NXT currently airs for two hours every Tuesday night on the USA Network. Shawn Michaels is the head of creative for the show, which underwent a logo change this week on the one-year anniversary of NXT 2.0.
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Vince Russo understands why Triple H responded the way he did. However, he still thinks the NXT founder’s “developmental” comment was unwise:
“I know probably Triple H didn’t have time to think the answer through,” Russo continued. “He was kinda caught off guard, so he kinda fired back, but if I’m USA Network I’m like, ‘Bro, you’re on our network. You really wanna promote yourself as being a developmental [system]?’ That’s like showing Triple-A [Minor League] baseball. You gotta think about those things.” [1:39-2:05]
EC3 performed on NXT between 2010 and 2013 before returning for another stint with the brand in 2018. Using baseball as an example, he explained why wrestling fans are still likely to watch NXT even if the show is viewed as developmental:
“I’m a big fan of the Major Leagues, but if ESPN2 threw on the Savannah Bananas [exhibition baseball team] game I’m probably gonna watch it and not feel bad about it, and [not] feel like I’m seeing inferior talent, as much as it’s a different presentation,” EC3 said. [2:09-2:22]
EC3 and Russo also disclosed how Vince McMahon’s approach to competition from other wrestling companies changed during his time as WWE Chairman.
Do you watch NXT? Let us know your thoughts about the brand in the comments section.
Please credit Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.