For many years it’s been well known that NXT was Triple H’s baby, but last year the brand went through a major change when it was relaunched as NXT 2.0.
NXT 2.0 is certainly a different presentation compared to Triple H’s NXT, but during a recent interview with The Atlantic the Hall of Famer explained the thought process behind the transition that the brand has gone through.
“There was this point where it was on the (WWE) Network, had this cult following, and we needed to get on television. How do we do that? We need more experience, need to professionalize this a little bit to make the product to where fans want to see that. We got them to that place. The pandemic (messed) it up a little bit because it was right when we went on TV and we had to shift our focus, doing it in front of no people. It completely altered what we were doing. We couldn’t recruit or train talent for almost two years. … But the show stayed. Then we said, OK, let’s reboot it and go back to what we originally were. Some of these people won’t be ready for television, but we’re gonna put them on television, and we believe the audience is invested enough that the numbers might come down, but a core group of them will stay, and now you’re creating fresh stars all the time. That’s where we are now. The numbers have stabilized.”
The Game went on to say that the shift was being talked about, and that the transition was seamless. He also praised the current team for the work they’re doing with the brand.
“We were talking about this shift anyway. That’s where we were headed. It happened at a period of time where I had to leave for a bit. Luckily, Shawn (Michaels) had been doing it with me all that time, so it was a seamless thing. I stepped out, did what I needed to do, but that team has killed it. They’ve really created a show where you can really say that’s the next generation of stars.”
Stay tuned for more updates on NXT 2.0 as they become available.
