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Paul Levesque met with reporters today via a conference call in advance of Sunday’s Takeover In Your House PPV. Adam Hopkins introduced Paul and he started by sending his condolences to the family of George Floyd and to all of the families that have been victims of senseless violence.
He said we have a lot of international reporters on the line. He was excited to be back with a show due to COVID-19 and the quarantine people have been through. He said that he is happy to bring back In Your House.
After he previewed the card, he took calls, one per person today due to the number of people on the call.
The first came from Nick Houseman. He was asked that with Florida entering phase 2, will NXT run outside of the PC? H said that they are looking at all options all the time. They have worked closely with the government in Florida to do what they need to do. They are looking at all options and they need to understand completely to what can and can’t be done, and they will respond accordingly. What they do is for their fans and they want to deliver for them. He said the faster they can get in front of fans safely, the better.
The next caller asked about H’s 25 years in WWE. He was asked to give a defining moment. He said that there were a lot in 25 years, he enjoyed all of them. He enjoyed the out of ring things even more than wrestling. For him now, it comes to watching the future talent grow and knowing he is giving them the platform to do so. You will see people rise and grow on Sunday. He said that those moments are almost bigger to him now than his own moments in the ring. It’s like watching your kids grow and succeed.
He was asked about Drake Maverick’s journey, as he kept working once he was released. H said that they already had the tournament booked out when the releases happened. He said they are horrible and a lot of companies have to make them right now. He said difficult decisions were made. They gave him the option to work in the tournament. He is one of the most passionate guys around, he loves WWE and wants to be there. Through the tournament he captured people’s hearts and imagination. It was out there so they could have ignored it or turned it into something. They did the latter. H is happy for him that he is back.
The next caller came from Italy and it was hard for me to understand. I think he asked what Paul wants to say to the Italian audience. H said they want to bring in great performers and it doesn’t matter when they come from. He said he is thrilled for Fabian Aichner. They look all over the globe and have talent from everywhere.
Mike Johnson got on. Adam and H buried him for being late. He was asked about the cinematic qualities of Dream vs. Cole (which has been taped already given what H said). Is anything else on tape? No, the rest is live, The taped match was done already due to weather conditions.
I have no idea what the question was, so did H. She repeated it. She asked about how great the women have been doing. H is blown away by how great they are. Most of the time they are stealing the show. He talked about the amazing roster of talent he has. They have worked so hard and they deserve everything that they have gotten and are getting.
He was asked about cinematic matches and the boneyard. How much credit does Jeremy Borash and Matt Hardy deserve? He said that they have been doing cinematic stuff for years. Rock and Foley in Halftime Heat. Booker and Austin in the supermarket. Did they take it to the next level? Yes. He loves Borash and he loves working with him but it was also a team effort. A lot of people made it happen, including the editing team. He said that everyone deserves credit and it’s not a knock on Borash, he’s phenomenal. He was thrilled for AJ and Taker too.
He was asked, I am not really sure what, something about red herrings. H seemed to take it the same way. He said, basically, you don’t want to be obvious, you want to have surprises when you tell stories. He said that you book things and hope they don’t get out and that is a plus for TV now since it doesn’t happen as much. He said it’s nice for fans too to not have it spoiled.
He was asked how happy he was to have Charlotte to carry the NXT Women’s Title. He said he knows sometimes she gets bashed to her lineage. But to him it says a lot about her that she would want to work across the brands and help build up other talent. He said that he wished that Rhea and Charlotte could have had their moment in the stadium since it would have been such a making moment. He said that the loss may actually be a plus long term of taking her to where she needs to go. Charlotte is seen as special and different and having her step in with Io and Rhea will create a special time. He said that Charlotte feeds off of people saying she had things handed to her. Rhea and Io will step up as well. They will want to steal the show and he is thrilled.
He was asked if WWE will be opening PCs in Japan and Latin America. H said that global expansion is always the goal. With the pandemic it has put things on hold. They will figure out where they go when they come out of it. But global expansion is still the goal. They have a lot of people champing at the bit to get back to work. When all of this is behind them they will all be happy.
Jason Powell is asked if talents are getting COVID 19 testing and if not, why not? He said that their medical team works with the government to define what is the best testing to do, and that is what they do. He said that some tests aren’t always accurate. He said the protocols they have used are effective and they work. He didn’t say specifically what the testing they use is.
A called from India said that WWE is the second most sport watched in India other than cricket. I am not sure what he asked. H said the safety of their talent is paramount and that keeping them safe is challenging. I think the guy wants them to come to India. HHH likes India and can’t wait to come and tour India with NXT.
The next caller was Christian Bruns from Germany. He asked about the awesome Fight Pit. H said it came about organically and they had two talents that were the perfect fit for the concept. They based it off of things from the past and it captivated people, plus the match delivered. He thinks Fight Pit will become a signature match of NXT that can be used as a go to grudge match. H loved the match and he looks forward to doing more with it. Ouch, he took a shot at H about the Hogpen match! He took it stride.
The last caller asked about bringing back the In Your House theme and will it be a regular event. He said it definitely came about due to the fact that people were in their houses due to the pandemic. It seemed that it was the perfect timing to do it since people were in their house. He said that they decided to do it not realizing it was that close to the anniversary of the first IYH. We will see if the enjoyment level will make the people demand for it to come back.
H closed the call saying he appreciate all of us being here. He appreciates our time and interest. Stay safe and healthy.
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