WWE News: Triple H Reveals Big Changes Are In Store For ‘NXT’ And ‘205 Live’
In less than one week from now, NXT will be switching to a live weekly television format, following years of shows pre-taped well ahead of the official airdate. This move will mark the next big step in the brand’s evolution, which has largely been driven by the leadership of Paul “Triple H” Levesque. In a recent interview with Newsweek, the WWE executive and occasional wrestler opened up about the major changes that fans could expect once NXT goes live and its eponymous weekly show switches to a two-hour format.
After expressing high hopes for NXT‘s future and explaining that the brand’s switch to live tapings was a process that took “a year and a half” to finalize, Triple H revealed that more opportunities may become available for NXT superstars that didn’t get the exposure they deserve. He told Newsweek that the brand now has the “space and time” to give chances to more wrestlers under the new two-hour schedule, also hinting that the changes might drive more “competition” among talent to stand out and become successful as part of the black-and-gold brand.
Regarding the possibility of more standalone Takeover pay-per-views that don’t take place on the same weekend as a main roster event, Triple H teased that “things [will] build organically” in order to avoid overexposing NXT and overwhelming viewers with too much programming. He also suggested that it will become easier in the future for WWE superstars to move across brands, as the goal is for Monday Night Raw, SmackDown, and NXT to become “very much distinctly [their] own brand.”
Interestingly, Triple H related to Newsweek that it won’t just be NXT UK getting promoted alongside the primary, U.S.-based version of the brand, as WWE’s cruiserweight-centric weekly show, 205 Live, will eventually be folded into NXT. According to the 14-time world champion, this would be done in order to “[breathe] some life” into the frequently overlooked program.
“That creates three distinct brands that talent, over the course of their career — which hopefully is long — where they can migrate from one to the other and be reinvigorated and have fresh starts and have longer, more meaningful and lucrative careers while staying within the same company.”
Additionally, Triple H remarked that it would be “more meaningful” if the Cruiserweight Championship becomes part of the broader NXT brand, as WWE’s smaller wrestlers will ultimately get to compete against anyone regardless of weight.
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Triple H has opened up about his plans for weekly NXT show. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the longtime WWE mainstay said toward the end of August that more main-roster superstars will be appearing on both U.S. and U.K. versions of NXT in the future. He also hinted at the possibility of NXT UK — a WWE Network exclusive since its late-2018 launch — moving to another network if the opportunity arises.
