This past Saturday, Adam Cole defeated Johnny Gargano in the main event of TakeOver XXV. This victory would see Cole become crowned the new NXT Champion.
Post-TakeOver, Triple H took part in a Facebook Live discussion with Cathy Kelly to discuss the event itself, the bout between Cole and Gargano, and what Cole’s victory means for NXT.
“I think the crowd said it best when they were chanting, ‘fight forever.’ This is one of those things you could see them do this over and over and over again and never get bored with it, never feel like you’ve seen it,” Triple H said.
“They just [have] amazing chemistry. […] Then again, who does Gargano have bad chemistry with? In some ways, you can call him Johnny TakeOver. Almost every time you can make the argument that he’s match of the night. Amazing performance. He walks out of here without a championship, […] but I don’t necessarily think that he lost, I don’t think that he lost any respect from anybody. I think he earned even more tonight.”
“He Is One Of The Hardest Workers Here”
Turning the conversation to the new champion, Triple H said “It was an awesome moment, I’m happy for him. You can say what you want about Adam Cole, he is one of the hardest workers here, much like Gargano, much like so many people here, he puts his heart and soul into everything about this. I’m happy for him.”
Triple H then addressed Gargano’s status after the matchup, revealing that he was seen “hobbling” out of the arena before teasing a potential rubber match between the two NXT Superstars.
“[…] if my math is correct now they’re 2-2 in falls. We’ll see where this goes now. I saw Johnny hobbling out of here. I’m hoping he’s alright. But we will see where this goes, but for now there’s a new champ in town, and his name is Adam Cole.”
TakeOver
NXT isn’t slowing down, and WWE is making efforts to push NXT UK in a similar way.
The company recently announced their NXT UK TakeOver event, which will take place on August 31st from Cardiff, Wales. This date happens to coincide with NJPW’s Royal Quest event in London, as well as All Elite Wrestling’s show, All Out.
According to PWInsider.com the current plan for the WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament is to tape the entire tournament the week of 6/20 at Full Sail in Winter Park, Florida. It is currently slated to tape in over 5 days.
Competitors for the 32 Man tournament will begin to be revealed via qualifying matches held at EVOLVE, PROGRESS Wrestling and Revolution Pro next month and beyond. WWE will also reveal talents via Internet and social media platforms as a way to familiarize viewers with performers who have not previously been on the WWE stage.
The series will debut this July for a 10 episode run on the WWE Network. In an interview with PWInsider.com, Triple H noted that the hope is for the Series to become a recurring event for WWE.
Regarding the injury situation in WWE right now, the company is remaining very quiet in terms of disclosing information on the status of Daniel Bryan’s condition.
While specifics aren’t quite clear just yet, the word going around is that things are looking negative regarding Bryan’s future as an active pro wrestler. It’s been said that he is expected to be out a long time and it’s possible he may never be able to return, however as of May 18th there has been no definitive medical update on him.
Triple H acknowledged that Hideo Itami was injured during his conference call to promote the NXT Takeover: Unstoppable live WWE Network special, noting that he would be on the show in some capacity, but not actually wrestling.
It’s said that Itami’s injury was a fluke situation and not a case of wear-and-tear, which is said to be an issue troubling WWE these days among many of the wrestlers.
Triple H recently spoke to the folks at Bleacher Report about his friendship with pound for pound boxing star Floyd Mayweather.
During the interview, “The Game” spoke about walking Mayweather to the ring for a fight he had back in 2009.
“Walking him to the ring, it was a trip,” said Triple H. “To sit there with Floyd, the greatest boxer of his generation, to be around him while he was in his dressing room warming up, it’s amazing to be around somebody at that high a level and see what they go through.”
HHH will be in attendance for Mayweather’s upcoming mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao, which takes place on Saturday, May 2nd.
Hideo Itami finally pulled out his “GTS” finisher in NXT, using the move to win his match in the opener against Tyler Breeze.
Vince McMahon, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Seth Rollins were among those backstage watching the NXT event on Friday night in San Jose, California. Jim Ross was also in attendance, sitting in the front row. Below is a photo of McMahon, HHH and some of the other WWE executives watching some of the action from backstage.
Speaking of last night’s NXT show, the building was packed with lively fans from start-to-finish, with the rowdy crowd doing a lot of “This Is Awesome!” and even “We Are Awesome!” chants.
Former WWE performer Joanie Laurer (aka Chyna) is back at it again.
The former WWE Intercontinental Champion resurfaced on YouTube recently with some bizarre videos where she takes some more shots at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Laurer, who recently made headlines by accusing Triple H of physically abusing her in the past, is now calling HHH an “assh*le” and Stephanie McMahon “a b*tch, a total b*tch,” and is warning HHH that “she is coming for him.”
During Friday’s edition of “Talk Is Jericho,” Chris Jericho asked his guest, Samoa Joe, whether or not he has any intentions of joining the WWE.
Joe mentioned that he wanted fans to know that there have been discussions between the two sides and that, “there’s some negotiations going on.”
Additionally, Jericho noted that Joe’s name came up when he was talking to Triple H a few years ago. Jericho said that HHH told him that he was a fan of Joe and his in-ring style.
You can download the latest edition of Jericho’s podcast at PodcastOne.com.
As noted earlier this month, former WWE Diva Joanie “Chyna” Laurer accused Triple H of assaulting her during their relationship while talking to Vince Russo for a podcast interview. HHH subsequently issued a statement denying the claims by Laurer.
Former WWE Superstar Sean Waltman (X-Pac) who is good friends with HHH and also dated Laurer in the past recently noted that Chyna once told him a similar story about HHH abusing her while they were dating, but claimed she later admitted that all HHH did was push her out of the way once.
Waltman also said he didn’t want to be involved in a public back-and-forth issue with Chyna, but mentioned that she has said a lot of things about him in the past that weren’t true either, including a lie about being raped in college, a story that she once told and later admitted to him wasn’t true.
The latest edition of Michael Cole’s weekly sit-down video interview with Triple H is now online.
In this week’s installment, the two talked about the recent “Stone Cold Podcast” interview this past Monday night on the WWE Network, where HHH claims that his appearance on the show drew 40 percent more viewers than Vince McMahon’s interview on the show.
When talking about the controversy stemming from the Royal Rumble, “The Game” explained that “backing Roman Reigns into a corner” on Monday’s RAW was done in an attempt to make things fair, as he feels they didn’t get a fair result to the Rumble match this year and the changes they made now makes things fair.
HHH complained some more about The Rock and Sting interfering in his business in recent weeks. He says The Rock is always welcome in the WWE, but not in a way where he interferes in his business. He points out that Rock and Sting are not WWE Superstars.
He continued on the subject of Sting, bringing up their upcoming “face-to-face confrontation” at this month’s Fast Lane pay-per-view. He promises to put an end to their problem if Sting shows up at the pay-per-view, and if he doesn’t, Sting is the coward that he always thought he was.
– Triple H noted on social media that a replica WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt is being sent to the NFL’s Super Bowl champion New England Patriots team for their victory parade at Gillette Stadium. HHH tweeted the following:
– Speaking of Twitter, WWE announced today that the official company Twitter account (@WWE) has passed the milestone of five million followers. WWE tweeted the following today.
– The marijuana documentary titled “The Emperor, The President & The King,” which features Rob Van Dam in a prominent role, has been announced as having a release date in film festivals this summer. The company that produced the documentary, Hollymood Entertainment, has also produced and distributed such pro wrestling titles as “101 Reasons Not To Be A Pro Wrestler” and “New Jack: Hardcore.” The company is looking for potential investors to produce future wrestling and non-wrestling projects at HollymoodLA@aol.com.
A second trailer for the documentary, which features RVD, can be seen below. To watch the original trailer, click here.
– WWE will be taping the December 26th edition of SmackDown this coming Sunday in Sioux City, Iowa. If anyone is attending the show, feel free to send in a report.
– WWE recently posted the following video to their official YouTube channel, which looks at
As of around Thanksgiving, The Rock was no longer part of WWE’s plans for WrestleMania 31. Rock is said to have a very busy movie and television schedule and the speculation is that his schedule will be too hectic for him to be factored into WrestleMania in any real capacity.
There was talk at one point of doing The Rock vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 31, however WWE is apparently going with the idea now that HHH will be working with Sting.
Sting finally made his WWE debut at Survivor Series, appearing at the end of the Team Authority vs. Team Cena main event.
With Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins the final two men remaining, WWE COO Triple H took matters into his own hands. The Game attacked Dolph Ziggler and delivered a pedigree. Just as it looked like the members of Team Cena were about to be unemployed, the lights dimmed and the sound of a crow could be heard.
Sting delivered a Scorpion Death Drop to Triple H, put Ziggler on top of Rollins as the refere counted the three for Team Cena.
NOTE: Below and across the next several pages are photos of “The Icon” Sting at Sunday night’s WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view in St. Louis, MO.
CLICK TO PAGE TWO FOR MORE PHOTOS OF STING AT SURVIVOR SERIES …
On this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown, there will be a backstage segment involving The Rock, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. The segment sees Rock and HHH going back-and-forth over who would win if they wrestled again, including each guy taking shots at the other.
Apparently this was a tease for a potential WrestleMania 31 main event between Rock and Hunter. A match between the two was actually discussed at one point for WrestleMania XXX, but obviously ended up not happening.
During the segment taped for Friday’s SmackDown, The Rock actually brought up the main event of WrestleMania 31 and WWE generally does not tease something that big if it’s not in the plans.
The latest edition of Michael Cole’s weekly sit-down interview with Triple H is now online.
Check out the video above to hear HHH discuss the recent actions of the returning Dean Ambrose, the latest on Roman Reigns’ condition and the “huge match” that awaits this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
Ronda Rousey vs. TRANSSEXUAL?!, Wanderlei Silva BANNED FOR LIFE From MMA + MORE!
“The Game” also promoted Floyd Mayweather’s pay-per-view boxing rematch against Marcos Maidana. HHH has appeared in the corner of Mayweather in the past for some of his big fights. He tweeted this one regarding the one-time WrestleMania co-headliner:
– The former “KENTA,” Hideo Itami, tweeted the following on Friday about his official WWE in-ring debut at the NXT television tapings in Winter Park, Florida. For those who missed it, we have full spoilers for the next four weeks of NXT TV on the site right now.
– With WWE announcing that their “Payback” pay-per-view will be taking place on May 17th in Baltimore, Maryland, that means they are looking to widen the gap between the “B” level show that comes after WrestleMania, as there will be seven weeks separating the two.
– Triple H noted during the conference call earlier today to promote this week’s NXT Takeover 2 special on the WWE Network that WWE is in discussions with some former NFL players to come into the company. He refused to reveal any of the names, noting that none of the deals are officially completed at this point.
As seen here last week, the complete script for the September 1st edition of WWE RAW leaked onto the internet and those who watched the show realized how much WWE sticks to the script on their weekly flagship program.
The two key things that weren’t in the script that were clear when watching the show was the back-and-forth between Chris Jericho and Triple H in the opening segment, as well as the fact that John Cena put Seth Rollins through a table with an Attitude Adjustment later in the show.
The former was just off-the-cuff remarks between two veteran performers, while the latter is said to be a perfect example of how something significant can be changed very late in the writing process.
The latest edition of the Michael Cole weekly sit-down interview series has been added to the official WWE YouTube channel.
In this week’s video, which you can view above, Cole talks to Triple H about this week’s NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way special on the WWE Network and the arrival of international sensation KENTA.
– In addition to the press conference that is scheduled for today to promote this week’s NXT Takeover 2 special on the WWE Network, Triple H will also be hosting a live Twitter Q&A at 3pm EST. on Thursday. Fans can submit questions by using the hash-tag “#NXTTakeover.”
– The cast of Total Divas will be on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this coming Friday. The show will be available at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE stock has been rising lately due to the belief that rolling out the WWE Network internationally will greatly increase the subscriber count.
– Triple H will be hosting a NXT Takeover 2 press conference on Wednesday to promote this Thursday’s live special on the WWE Network.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross is scheduled to appear at the Homeland Grocery store on Lindsey Street in Norman, Oklahoma on Saturday from noon until 2pm. There will be free food available and JR will be taking photos and signing autographs with fans who show up.
Chris Jericho held a live Q&A on Twitter on Sunday night. Below are some highlights.
– He said Triple H was his biggest guest and best interview on his podcast so far. He said the ratings for his HHH interview are insane. He also mentioned that the next 12 weeks worth of “Talk Is Jericho” guests are planned out and he has some “amazing” names scheduled.
– He said Fozzy is working on a huge U.K. tour that will be announced in the near future.
– He confirmed that he will not be part of the WWE’s U.K. tour in November. He also confirmed that he won’t be wrestling at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
– He said if Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were still alive today they would still be “kicking ass” and “working behind-the-scenes.”
You can check out more from Jericho’s Twitter Q&A at @IAmJericho.
Former WWE and TNA writer Vince Russo wrote the following open letter to Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H after watching this past Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW. The letter comes courtesy of Russo’s official website, PyroAndBallyhoo.com.
Dear Vince, Stephanie and Hunter,
First let me apologize for my rant last night on Russo on Raw. I’m Italian, I’m emotional, I’m sorry I get that way sometimes. Come to think of it, you probably witnessed it first hand in a galaxy far, far away—many light years ago. The truth is—I hate to criticize RAW. I really do. Having been there and done that, I realize how difficult it is to come up with two hours of compelling content every week – let alone three. The job is not easy, I understand that, and nobody can be criticized for TRYING and giving their BEST EFFORT—nobody. But . . . the question I have to ask is: “Is what we see every Monday Night honestly and truly your best effort? I just know that having worked with all three of you in the past, I don’t think any of us would have been satisfied, or even ALLOWED last night’s show to air in its final form. Are we seriously not better than that? What happened to our mantra during the Attitude Era when this week’s show was going to be better than last weeks? Remember that, Vince?
I don’t know what it is. I don’t know the structure, because I am not there, but nobody—NOBODY—can tell me that with a bit more effort you couldn’t be doing better than what WE THE PEOPLE are being exposed to every Monday Night. Look—we all love wrestling, we are all HUGE fans of the WWE and in all truthfulness—WE WANT TO LIKE THE SHOW!!! But, you just make it so difficult. Asking anybody to sit through three hours of what you’re currently putting on the air is not only asking too much . . .but, it’s also unfair.
Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do, or how to do it, who am I? All I’m asking is that you all ask each other—is this the best that World Wrestling Entertainment has to offer its fans? If the answer is yes, that I guess I’ve just over-rated you, however, I think we all know that’s not the answer. I don’t think any of you can walk away from that building on Monday night honestly believing that you had just put your best foot forward. I don’t believe that for a second.
Right now, you have an UNBELIEVABLE talent roster, up and down from first match to main event, but the writing and producing of the show is just not serving them justice. You have to know that. What happened to the work ethic and the commitment that we all shared during the Attitude Era? What happened to that passion, when we literally used to leave our own BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS on the script that we wrote. If something didn’t exceed our expectations we were sick over it for days—I know I was.
Vince, Stephanie, Triple H, YES we will always be here no matter what. We support you, and we support the WWE, but the truth is . . . we deserve better. And, deep down inside I know that you know that.
