NXT TakeOver Media Call: WWE ThunderDome, Velveteen Dream, Renee Young, WWE Draft, & More

Triple H held a NXT TakeOver media call on Wednesday discussing a variety of WWE and NXT brand related topics.

On the topic of NXT shows not being taped at WWE’s new ThunderDome setup at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, Triple H stated that the reason was due to him wanting to maintain NXT’s great relationship with Full Sail University. Triple H also stated that he has misses fans being present at WWE’s events and praised the new ThunderDome for providing that fan experience for WWE shows.

On the topic of Velveteen Dream’s accusations, Triple H stated that there is an online accuser that was not contacted during WWE’s investigation but reiterated that the company found nothing in regards to the allegations against Dream.

“We take all of these things very seriously, allegations or misconduct of any nature, we take very seriously. I’ll stand by what I said with CBS; we looked into it, didn’t find anything there in the manner of what we were looking for and we moved on. It doesn’t change the fact that we take it seriously and if there’s something there, we’ll look into it. That goes across the board for anybody.”

On the topic of Renee Young leaving WWE, Triple H stated that he was not going to comment on her status but praised her contributions in the company.

“I won’t comment on that status, I’ll let Renee deal with that on her terms, but as far as her as a person and as a part of WWE, it’s been awesome. She has been a large part of this. I’ve personally enjoyed working with her tremendously and it’s been awesome to see her do different and attack things in the company and try different roles and I thought she’s done an amazing job with all of them. I’ll let her handle the rest of it, but as far as her contributions, they’ve been awesome.”

On the topic of the status of Lars Sullivan, Triple H stated that he was unaware that Sullivan has been posting workout videos online and gave no official update for Sullivan.

On the topic of Randy Orton being interested in working with talent from the NXT brand, Triple H stated that there always have been conversations with Orton about NXT ideas but making them actually happen is harder.

On the topic of NXT’s status as WWE’s third brand, Triple H confirmed that a new WWE Draft will be taking place later this year.

“That definitely has changed that mindset, there is different protocols and procedures, ‘hey, we’d like to move this talent, we’d like to do that,’ and you’ll see that coming up in the Draft later in the year.

You definitely have to think about it a lot more and think about those changes, but I think long-term, it’s better for everybody. It’s the opportunity where somebody has their run on SmackDown and Raw, they can come change gears on a brand that feels totally different with a different style in NXT. Maybe refresh, get a fresh coat of paint, maybe they’re doing something that didn’t work, maybe they want to try something completely different. When you see talent that has been in the same company — I go back to early in my career when I would talk to Undertaker and he would talk about being in the company five or six years, that was unthinkable to me, unreal that someone could be in one place that long, with one company, and still be successful. It was hard to believe. Now, you have a lot of talent that has been in the company 10-15 years, they have that ability to refresh, put a fresh coat of paint on something, start over with a different character or a different take on who they are, that’s important for everybody. This opens up the door for them to be able to do that because [each brand] has their own primetime and live spot, the brands all become important and you can’t just take away from one to support the other, you have to support all of them.”

Other notable topics discussed during the media call included Triple H praising Karrion Kross as a potential future big star, his lack of worries regarding the ratings war between NXT and AEW, NXT talent showing up on RAW Underground is not meant to be an actual call-up, and praising Pat McAfee for the work effort he has put during his time in the company.

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1, 2 , 3, PWInsider.com