Triple H Talks Britt Baker At NXT Takeover, Survivor Series NXT Match, Kevin Owens' Status, Goldberg
Triple H held a media call and a Facebook Live interview with Cathy Kelley after last night's WWE NXT "Takeover: WarGames 2019" event went off the air. Above is video from the chat with Kelley, and below are highlights from the call and the interview. We have a few more highlights from the interview regarding his comments about CM Punk at this link.
* He called this Takeover a major success and said the brand has been on a roll for the past month and a half or so, hitting home runs every week. He saw Takeover as being a hit from top to bottom. He said this was the highest-grossing Takeover in this market, Chicago
* There were no major injuries and everyone was healthy, all things considered
* He praised the in-ring work the NXT Superstars did and said he will put their skills up against anyone else in the world. He also said the current NXT women's division could be the best, strongest women's division in the history of the business, and they proved that at WarGames
* Rhea Ripley was out to praise from both. Triple H called her the future of the business. Ripley announced the women's Team NXT for Survivor Series as herself the Captain, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, Bianca Belair and Toni Storm
* He also had praise for NXT Champion Adam Cole and believes Pete Dunne vs. Cole could steal the show at Survivor Series. He said the whole roster has the chance to prove that they are the best in the world at Survivor Series, and he thinks they will pull it off
* Finn Balor crossed a line at Takeover with the win over Matt Riddle, a line he wouldn't cross in the past. It will be interesting to see what is next from The Prince. Triple H said he's not sure if Kevin Owens will still be Team RAW after this, or if he's on Team NXT full-time now. He does know that Balor and Owens just want to be out there with the best. He later indicated that something is in the works with Owens and Team RAW/Team NXT, but wouldn't say anything directly. He blamed the current scenario that played out at WarGames on the travel debacle coming out of Saudi Arabia a few weeks back
* Regarding AEW star Britt Baker, who is Adam Cole's girlfriend, being shown on TV and acknowledged at the end of the show, he said the director in the production truck went to the shot of the most-concerned looking woman they could find in the crowd, and it just happened to be Baker. He didn't have any issue with Baker being shown and it had to be addressed or end up "the elephant in the room." He joked about the internet always making something out of nothing, but said he would never want to show her and get her heat with her employer. He said he noticed it was Baker being shown on camera and he felt somewhat bad because it could cause issues with her and her employer. He mentioned how she was also shown next to Stephanie McMahon at "Takeover: XXV" a few months back and said Britt doesn't have any issue with being shown, but he really doesn't want to get her in trouble. He added that Baker is doing a great job where she's working and killing it
* WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels is announcing the men's Team NXT on the Survivor Series Kickoff pre-show because of a creative decision, but also because they wanted to make sure everyone came out of Takeover in one piece before announcing them for the Survivor Series team. He's excited about their roles at Survivor Series
* He confirmed the NXT announce team of Mauro Ranallo, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, and Nigel McGuinness will be working Survivor Series, but which teams will be calling what are still up in the air. NXT will be represented on the announce teams for sure
* He was asked about Matt Riddle vs. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg possibly happening and said that would be up to Goldberg. He didn't know Riddle was going to do the Spear and Jackhammer in the loss to Finn Balor at Takeover