Triple H On The Departure Of WWE NXT Head Writer, The Return Of NXT UK
At the conclusion of NXT "TakeOver: XXX", Triple H conducted a media call that is featured on a special bonus episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily. At the end of the media call, Triple H took time to thank the staff for putting on a great show, and he thanked NXT head writer Joe Belcastro, who will be leaving WWE.
"I want to put over the staff and the crew for what we did and our partners here at Full Sail, because they make it possible for us to do what we do here, and no matter what we ask them, it's like, 'absolutely, let me figure out how we can do it.' Full Sail, one, is just a hub for what we do behind the scenes, and what they teach these kids here is amazing," Triple H said. "The college itself is amazing, but as partners for us, there is no better partners on the planet. Full Sail – can't say it enough. And on that topic I read some speculation about Joe Belcastro that has been the leader writer of NXT for a very long time.
"We have a great team here, and Joe has made great contributions here in NXT. And I want to thank him for that because he's going to move on to some other things. Much like everybody, he had some dreams that he wants to try to accomplish in life, and he found himself here in a position where if he didn't leave now and try to do those others things, he was like, 'I would never do it because I love it here so much, and I don't want to kick myself down the road for never doing these other things.' That's the hardest thing in the world to do is to give up something you love to try to accomplish something else that you love.
"My hats off to him. All the respect in the world. Thank him for his accomplishment here. He moves on to different things, and hopefully he succeeds at those, but if he doesn't, the door's always open. Because once you're NXT, you're always NXT. And he's welcome back here at any time. He's been a big part of this, but the team that is behind him, he's done a great job of having everybody ready, and willing, and able to go to that next level.
"So, we won't miss a beat; it will be awesome. And thank him again for his contributions. Good luck with his future, and like we say in the business, it's never goodbye. It's see you down the road. Joe Belcastro, we'll see you down the road."
Announced on "TakeOver: XXX" was the return of NXT UK in September. Triple H confirmed that the planned October TakeOver event will probably be postponed, but he talked about WWE's partnership with BT Sport.
"I don't know that the t's have been crossed and the i's have been dotted on October yet, but I believe that will get postponed even further. And again, that might already be a done deal," Triple H revealed. "And I just did, in this moment, get out of a call, but I look forward to the brand starting back up. Our partnership with BT Sport started before all of this happened with COVID, and they've been amazing partners. And they are just really engaged in the brand, and as this was going down and everybody got into the COVID world and things got into lockdown, I was starting to take a look at what is going to happen on the other side of this.
"We had started conversations before COVID hit around working closer with BT and using their studios in London. They're right in the heart of London. They are truly London-based in a worldwide global city, and they have amazing studios there. That came back onto the table, and here we go. So we will be setting up there."
Triple H discussed the safety protocols that they will be taking because of Coronavirus. He said that there will be a team working on the ground in the UK as well as a team of himself and others working in the U.S.
"One of the things that is awesome about it is we can take every safety protocol and every precaution that we can with talent there," Triple H noted. "We'll be working with minimal staff there, and we will be digitally, from here, engaging with everything over there. So all our teams there will be on the ground working together but in restricted fashion and with all the safety protocols, and the rest of us will be here digitally working with them. I'm not the most tech guy in the world, but in a virtual standpoint, we will be here, Shawn Michaels will be here, I will be here with Matt Bloom and different coaches. We will have directors here, we will have producers and people working from here, working through their studios.
"They will be able to see us live on giant video walls, and we will be able to see them and go through everything with them as if we were there in person. But we will be over here. That's a little bit all outside of my technical wheelhouse, but everybody is using it. It will be amazing to see. It's very futuristic, but I look forward to the experience into doing it and can't say enough about our partners at BT, and I look forward to putting back out there the amazing product that is NXT UK. And I think that it's only going to get better and better. The talent there are amazing. We're going to continue to build that up."
Triple H said that he hopes to have TakeOvers again in the UK. He also expressed the desire for fans to return, saying he misses them dearly. He hyped up everything about NXT UK, saying that it's something that people won't want to miss.
"When we can, we'll get back into TakeOvers and everything else that makes that brand everything it can be. And hopefully, when the time is right, we'll be back over there too, because they're some of my favorite fans in the world," Triple H expressed. "I can't wait to get back there in person. So I will say that for this, across the board from a TakeOver standpoint, God, I miss fans. God, I miss them. I can't state it enough. As hard as we're all working to try to make this special, and something for them, and incredible and for them to watch at home, man, having them here, and that energy, and that drive, and blow the roof off the place. And there's just moments in time where you know something would just be epic and that it will blow the roof off of the place.
"It's just not everything that it can be. Talent are killing it. I mean, giving every single thing they have to make this epic. The production crew are giving it every single thing they have. All of it – the writing team, everybody! And it is just a team effort, and everybody is doing every single thing they can to make this happen. But I'll tell you, we cannot wait. I cannot wait to have you back in person."