Scott Hall Says It's A Good Idea For NXT To Go Head-To-Head With AEW, Talks Teaching At WWE PC
Many are saying that we are entering another Monday Night Wars era with the rise of AEW. They landed a TV deal for Wednesdays this fall in which they will, in a way, be competing with NXT which airs on the WWE Network on Wednesdays.
Before AEW tries to compete with WWE, they must first compete with NXT and that's what Scott Hall foresees when he spoke to Wrestling Inc. on our WINCLY podcast.
"I think AEW is basically competing with NXT. NXT is booming and global and now that TV wants wrestling, every network is a copycat network," said Hall. "People want more wrestling on TV so it won't be long until NXT has a show, I predict. And you heard it here first."
Hall said his opinion has changed about pitting shows against each other as he now thinks that putting NXT up against AEW would be the best idea. He also made a comparison by saying that wherever you see a McDonald's, chances are you see a Burger King or Wendy's right next door.
"If you believe in your product, then you put it right up against the guy. I'm coming in right next door and we're gonna compete for the money. It makes everything sharper and better," stated Hall.
WWE recently named Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown, respectively, and Hall was asked how that affects the creative power that Triple H has in WWE.
"He handles himself and I saw him when he started [in WWE]. He's doing everything exactly right and is still a family guy," said Hall. "That's the problem: even though they're publicly traded, they are still a family run business too. So, personal relationships get involved. How are you gonna disagree with Vince?
"I think he can point at his track record to defend himself and he's been right more than wrong."
Hall added that the wrestling business is made up of guys standing around a room at the last minute trying to figure out what to do and that the loudest voice usually wins.
Hall recently paid a visit to the Performance Center to lend his wisdom and he said he prefers to work with one specific group of trainees.
"It was about my third or fourth time down there and I love it. I asked Triple H to let me work with the big guys; they have some whoppers down there. It's just a different style to teach a big guy how to work vs. a high-flyer," said Hall.
"I had so much fun down there and got so excited watching a kid I helped train (Jordan Omogbehin) to debut that I couldn't sleep that night."
Many in the wrestling industry have always praised Hall for his mind for the business and the PC environment gives him a great opportunity to bestow his knowledge.
"Apparently I'm really smart. Rumor has it that I'm really good at wrestling," said Hall. "I do come alive when I'm in that environment. I've been to the PC several times and they've had me sit in HBK's class which has the top NXT performers. These are the guys who've been around for a while but I didn't really wanna sit in on that class. I'm gonna give them any feedback I can but I like catching them right when they come in the door. I like getting into young guys' ears and being at the curtain right when they come back."
Hall said that with everything filmed now, that's a great advantage for the talent. He longs for the connection he makes with talent when he sees the light bulb go off over their heads.
"That's a connection you make that never goes away. I had been in pro wrestling for a long time and I wasn't always considered a very popular guy. I don't care. I have a handful of friends I'm gonna hang with and it's not show-friends it's show business," Hall said before pointing out that he's done great business with guys he never had dinner with or shared a road trip with.
Scott Hall will re-unite with Kevin Nash this Sunday afternoon when Capitol Wrestling makes it's Nashville debut. Tickets and info for Capitol's Nashville debut can be found here. His full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of today's episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it, Hall discusses re-uniting with Kevin Nash at Capitol Wrestling's Nashville debut, helping to free Adam Braseel from prison, his recent stint coaching at the WWE Performance Center, if he'll be Chris Jericho's mystery partner on AEW's TNT debut, NXT as potential AEW competition, Eric Bischoff trying to poach WWF seamstresses and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.