WWE News: Triple H talks about the turning point for NXT
Triple H has been a cornerstone for the success of NXT. He is the main force behind WWE signing some of the best wrestlers on the planet. Over the past few years, talents like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, Austin Aries, Samoa Joe and many others have made their way to the WWE, courtesy of Triple H.
This policy of signing Indie sweethearts has drastically changed the face of WWE so much so, that SummerSlam is being main evented by Seth Rollins and Finn Balor – both of whom were well-known names on the independent circuit before making it to NXT.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Triple H discussed about the success of NXT. The Game said that NXT turned into a rage after the first NXT TakeOver event.
Hunter said, "To me, the turning point is when we did the first TakeOver -Arrival, and it was so well-received and so wildly successful, not only for NXT, the brand, but also for the WWE Network. It just changed everything for us, because now, in the United States as well as every place else that we were being seen, NXT had a home and had a global base. As it started to become apparent how popular this show was, it became apparent that we could tour outside of Florida and we could go global."
When asked if the WWE draft and brand extension had hurt the NXT, depriving its roster of some incredible talent, Hunter said, “When we did the draft, I got a lot of questions like, 'Well, doesn't this spell doom for NXT? Isn't this kind of what's wrong, what's inherently flawed in the system, because when you create something that is great, Vince is going to want to take it, or the company is going to want to take it and put it on the biggest platform possible?' I feel the exact opposite way. That's why I'm building talent, it's to make them as successful and popular as possible.
Hunter iterated that despite losing top guys like Finn Balor from the NXT roster, they were still selling out arenas such as the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He said that it was just with a different crop of people.
This year’s NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn will be headlined by Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT title. The show will also feature the likes of Austin Aries, Bobby Roode, Asuka and Bayley among others.