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According to Triple H, the global pandemic played a considerable role in the transition to WWE NXT 2.0.
The Game was the man in charge of the developmental brand since its inception. Over the last decade, he's guided it from game show to prime-time wrestling programming, garnering acclaim from fans and critics alike. However, NXT has undergone something of an overhaul in the last year.
Triple H recently sat down with Chris Vannini of The Athletic to discuss all things WWE. When asked about the transition from NXT's acclaimed Black & Gold era to the multi-colored 2.0, Hunter said the pandemic played a large role in the reboot:
"There was this point where it was on the (WWE) Network, had this cult following, and we needed to get on television," Triple H said. "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 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."
Triple H says the shift to NXT 2.0 was being talked about well in advance
Surprisingly enough, Triple H went on to reveal that the NXT shift was always the plan. The Game credited Shawn Michaels for being able to step up and create a seamless transition when he had to step away due to health issues:
"People used to say the constant churn of NXT was a negative. The churn is what’s great about it. That’s the magic," Triple H contined. "It truly is the developmental league. 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."
What do you make of Hunter's comments? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
