WWE Hall of Famers Triple H and Shawn Michaels held a media call after WWE NXT “Takeover: Stand and Deliver” Night One on Wednesday. Below are highlights:
* Triple H said it was amazing to think where NXT was and is now after their 34th Takeover event. He recalled how last year was hard on everyone, it was hard to create content, but tonight was the first time they could see light at the end of the tunnel of “this thing” they’ve gone through
* Triple H noted how they had loud and passionate fans in the building, and the wrestlers were anxious to show what they could do. He thanked Peacock and the USA Network for helping wth the show, and said he thought the set, the flow of the show, the matches and everything else was great
* Regarding Io Shirai dropping the NXT Women’s Title to Raquel Gonzalez, Triple H said Shirai had a monumental reign and is a phenomenal talent. Gonzalez is an incredible talent and she has improved a lot in the last 1.5 years, transforming herself into a star. Michaels recalled seeing Raquel and Dakota Kai at a NXT live event and knowing they would be stars. He praised Gonzalez and said Shirai is money who delivers every night no matter what, proving she is the best in the world every performance
* They were asked about Shirai possibly going to the main roster. He said there is always more to achieve in NXT but she has earned the right to do what she wants to do, whether it’s move on, take time off, or chase the NXT Women’s Title. He doesn’t see this as Shirai lost the title so she’s moving on. Michaels wondered why she’d want to go anywhere else when NXT has the best women’s division in the world
* They were asked about former WWE star Erick Rowan tweeting that he wanted to face NXT UK Champion WALTER. Triple H basically ignored it and said every boxer wanted to face Mike Tyson until they got punched in the mouth. He praised WALTER as a machine and for the aura he’s built for himself, which is rare. WALTER is excited to go home and be back in NXT UK, but Triple H is already looking forward to having him back on this brand as there are a lot of potential exciting match-ups. Michaels said WALTER is faithful to NXT UK and will be champion there for a very long time. The door is open for WALTER to come to the United States but the travel is a lot. They are open to working with him to make it easy as possible
* They walked about working with each other in NXT after being friends for 25 years. Triple H said Michaels was the most important person they could bring to NXT. He doesn’t know if there’s a better combination when it comes to creating ideas when they start bouncing ideas off each other. Michaels said he thanks Triple H every week for letting him continue the job with WWE. Their friendship has been great and now they get to bring that to the NXT product
* They were asked about the reports on the talent meeting last week. Triple H said if he wanted everyone to know about it, he would’ve printed a memo, handed it out, and let it leak. It was no different from other standard meetings and nothing was brought up about other talents, it was just a motivational meeting to let the roster know where things are going and why, in regards to the move to Tuesdays
* Michaels was asked about his recent TV staredown with Adam Cole, and if he’s itching for one more big match but this time in NXT. Michaels said he just saw Cole staring at him so he stared back, joking that he was going to take him out. It was just a fun moment before he came out with the ladder for Santos Escobar and Jordan Devlin. He said he loves Cole, and he’s one of his guys. He said it’s a situation where he wishes he was 10-15 years younger because it would be so cool
* Triple H praised Toni Storm and Zoey Stark for their Kickoff match. He said Stark keeps hitting it out of the park. Stark moving forward doesn’t hurt Storm. They want to make as many stars as possible. The win for Stark didn’t hurt Storm’s momentum, but did help Stark’s momentum. Michaels also praised Stark. Triple H said they are excited to have her and she’s already moved herself into the mix after being here for just three months. Triple H said she is a machine and the sky is the limit for her. He mentioned how she was the first person he saw training this morning and she was training later before the show
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