Triple H Explains To Fightful Why WWE Is Hiring Older Talent
Triple H has a plan for everyone he hires.
During Wednesday’s media call ahead of NXT TakeOver: WarGame II, Triple H was asked by Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp about hiring older talents such as Shayna Baszler and Luis “Punishment” Martinez and whether WWE/NXT changed their mentality when it comes to who they hire. Triple H revealed that there’s no rule he follows when it comes to hiring talent, but he does have a plan for everyone he hires.
“Sometimes you hear, or I read these things, ‘there’s a hard and fast rule where they don’t do this.’ There’s not a ‘hard and fast’ rule, it just became the norm. I can tell you that if you said to me, ‘How many people in their mid to late 30s are you gonna hire to get started in the business?’ It won’t be a long list. It has to be a special talent and a special talent that we feel has the ability to succeed and has the ability to do it in a timeframe that’s accessible and be successful in a period of time that’s worth the investment,” he said. “And then, what are the other plans for them long term? There are some talent that I bring in that are later in their careers and I’m really looking at them like, ‘look, I’ll bring you in, we’ll get you up to speed, we’ll put you in the program and if you have a couple of years and you do well, that’s great, but then I’d love to talk to you about transitioning to the other side of the business and maybe becoming a coach or player-coach while you’re still working.’ Having some of the younger talent coming up, having someone with a lot of experience that can get into the ring with them, that we’ve gotten up to speed with our playbook, and work with them on a regular basis and give them that hands-on guidance like generations prior had that ability to.” Triple H continued by stating, “I had that. I was lucky enough to come up at the time where there were a lot of veterans in the locker room and you get that ability to get in the ring with them and learn from them every single night. That’s how you got great. It doesn’t exist in a lot of ways in some places.”
The NXT senior producer ended by saying, “There’s a lot of different reasons why we hire people, other than just, ‘Hey, I’m looking for somebody that can be a main event player.’ There’s a whole different way of looking at it. There are some people I’ve brought in, even internationally, that I’ve said, ‘I’m gonna take a chance and see how they do physically.’ I don’t know they’re gonna make it, but I have another role for them in mind of something they’re really good at. I’m waiting to see if the physical pans out, if it does, great. If it doesn’t, I have another role in mind for you and I’d love to talk to you about this and seeing about moving forward with that and see where it goes. There’s a lot of thought that goes into it.”
NXT TakeOver: WarGames II airs this Saturday on the WWE Network. Fightful will provide live coverage of the event and a post-show podcast. Triple H revealed on the call that, despite undergoing surgery for his torn pectoral muscle last week, he will be in Los Angeles for the event.
You can listen to the entire media call with Triple H here.
