In September 2021, NXT shifted to NXT 2.0 with a more colorful scheme and a focus on younger talent. The move coincided with Triple H stepping away from his duties as the producer of the show due to a heart procedure.
Many wrestlers who Triple H helped recruit such as Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Johnny Gargano left the company following their contracts expiring while other NXT talents such as Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, and Hit Row were moved to the main roster before being released.
Speaking about the switch from NXT to NXT 2.0, Triple H defended the move.
“There was this point where it was on the (WWE) Network, had this cult following, and we needed to get on television,” Triple H told The Athletic. “How do we do that? We need more experience, need to professionalize this a little bit to make the product to where fans want to see that. We got them to that place. The pandemic (messed) it up a little bit because it was right when we went on TV and we had to shift our focus, doing it in front of no people. It completely altered what we were doing. We couldn’t recruit or train talent for almost two years. … But the show stayed. Then we said, OK, let’s reboot it and go back to what we originally were. Some of these people won’t be ready for television, but we’re gonna put them on television, and we believe the audience is invested enough that the numbers might come down, but a core group of them will stay, and now you’re creating fresh stars all the time. That’s where we are now. The numbers have stabilized.
“People like Bron Breakker, he’s been training for a year. Half the women, they’ve been here a year maybe. There’s a lot that’s just so fresh and new. People used to say the constant churn of NXT was a negative. The churn is what’s great about it. The people here now, hopefully a year and a half from now, none of them are even in NXT anymore, and the ones that make it will be on to “Raw” and “SmackDown. That’s the magic. It truly is the developmental league, the college football, Triple-A baseball. Yeah, they’re not all quite ready to be in that major-league role yet, but you’re discovering them before they become household names.”
Triple H continued by saying, “We were talking about this shift anyway. That’s where we were headed. It happened at a period of time where I had to leave for a bit. Luckily, Shawn (Michaels) had been doing it with me all that time, so it was a seamless thing. I stepped out, did what I needed to do, but that team has killed it. They’ve really created a show where you can really say that’s the next generation of stars.”
Triple H helped oversee the WrestleMania week tryouts, which featured college athletes and made an on-screen appearance at NXT Stand & Deliver and WrestleMania 38.
Due to his heart procedure, Triple H has had to retire from in-ring competition. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
