Triple H spoke with Sports Illustrated to promote tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network and once again addressed concerns that Vince McMahon will become “too involved” with the brand. He was asked if Vince’s influence in NXT is a positive or a negative.
“Everything that happens within WWE has Vince’s fingerprints on it,” he said. “There is no NXT without Vince. It wouldn’t exist without him. He wants NXT to be different, something for the more passionate fan base. It’s a darker, grittier feel, it’s different. He totally understands that. But he has no desire to be in the day-to-day operations. Vince has a lot of other things on his plate.”
Triple H also spoke about competition as NXT prepares to go head-to-head with AEW Dynamite tonight. He said the real challenge for NXT is competing among themselves.
“To be truly great at something, you make the competition in and of yourself,” Triple H said. “For me, the competitive juices are always flowing, but the greats don’t just rise to the occasion. If you’re truly great, you deliver all the time. The competitive nature of it, for me, is internal. As NXT has grown in the past five years, we’ve been on Wednesday nights and we’ve been doing TakeOvers. The challenge is competing among ourselves.”
Triple H admitted that the direct competition from AEW is a challenge, and said he wants Wednesday to be the best NXT no matter what, whether there is another wrestling show on or not.
“That’s a challenge, but I love creating the competition amongst ourselves,” he said. “I want Wednesday to be the best NXT no matter what, whether there is another show on against us or not. I want to put on the absolute best show every time we’re on the air.”
Triple H also talked about another famous figure he learns a lot from – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
“I learn from Bill Belichick every time I watch him,” Triple H said. “I’m not sure you can find a better example of someone who can build a team, keep that team together, and never allows internal conflicts to stop everyone from running in the same direction. Belichick’s built a team that will run through a wall for him, and he’s built something that will last. There is something remarkable there, and that’s why he’s been as successful as he is. I do try not to mimic his fashion sense. I’m not sure the short sleeve jacket over the sweatshirt is working, but that’s not my call.”
