"They kinda pulled Triple H away from it" - Former WWE star explains how Vince McMahon changed NXT (Exclusive)

EC3 believes Vince McMahon took a more hands-on approach with Triple H’s WWE NXT brand when the show went head-to-head with All Elite Wrestling.

AEW Dynamite and NXT began airing at the same time on Wednesday nights in October 2019. After frequently losing the ratings battle, the latter show moved to Tuesday nights in April 2021 before undergoing a major rebrand last September.

EC3 left NXT in January 2019 to join the main roster. On Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” show, the 39-year-old explained how McMahon and WWE executive Kevin Dunn became more involved in NXT:

“When I left and then AEW happens and NXT goes to the USA Network and I almost feel, correct me if I’m wrong, Vince wanted to go against AEW.” EC3 continued, “And then at that point Vince was being more hands-on, and Kevin Dunn was more hands-on with NXT and they kinda pulled Triple H away from it… to then, ‘Hey, we need to fight this war against this guy here with your army,’ and there’s nothing he [Triple H] can do about it but just go, ‘Alright.’” [4:03-4:34]

Watch the video above to hear EC3 and Vince Russo discuss The Game’s recent comment about NXT being a “developmental system” for the main roster.

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EC3 thinks NXT was no longer the same for Triple H

The 14-time world champion replaced Vince McMahon as the head of creative for RAW and SmackDown in July. His long-time friend and D-Generation X stablemate, Shawn Michaels, is now in charge of NXT storylines.

EC3 believes The King of Kings’ vision for NXT was vastly different to what McMahon had in mind:

“It wasn’t probably the same for him,” said EC3. “So, in hindsight, maybe almost not a direct shot at AEW, but a direct shot at what Vince and Kevin may have taken from him, and [in Triple H’s view], ‘Maybe had I still had the reins and I was cooking my product the proper way, yeah, we would have kicked their a** too.’” [4:35-4:54]

NXT was rebranded as NXT 2.0 in September 2021, shortly after Triple H took a leave of absence due to a heart problem. It was revealed during the latest NXT episode that the brand will receive a new logo which pays homage to its black and gold history.

Are you excited for NXT’s future? Let us know in the comments section.

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