"You don't have a true victory over anything" - Former WWE star weighs in on AEW's battle against Triple H's NXT (Exclusive)

EC3 has given his take on Triple H’s recent claim that NXT has always been a “developmental system” for WWE’s main roster.

NXT was heavily promoted on WWE television when the show went head-to-head with AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights in October 2019. AEW ultimately won the ratings battle before NXT moved to Tuesday nights in April 2021.

EC3 spent a combined three-and-a-half years in NXT during his time in WWE. On Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” show, he downplayed the importance of AEW’s ratings success:

“I hate any braggadocios claims of victory in an artificially unrecognizable, unregulated, not a real war,” EC3 said. “You’re not claiming scalps, you don’t have a true victory over anything other than maybe better numbers that are all speculation anyway based on an outdated rating system.” [2:53-3:18]

EC3 also clarified that his former boss never viewed NXT simply as a developmental brand:

“I know you mentioned when we were off air saying, ‘Did Triple H treat NXT as a developmental system when I was there?’ and I would say no. When I was there it was probably a little different, but that was Triple H’s child, so he treated it as such. He loved every bit of it. He loved doing tapings within an hour and that old-school feel.” [3:19-3:39]

Watch the video above to hear more from EC3 and former WWE writer Vince Russo about Vince McMahon’s thoughts on AEW.

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EC3 elaborates on Triple H’s view of NXT

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels now leads the NXT creative team, while Triple H oversees RAW and SmackDown storylines.

Reflecting on his own NXT experience, EC3 recalled how The Game enjoyed witnessing the brand go from strength to strength under his leadership:

“He loved TakeOvers and selling out buildings and having just a raucous environment. That wasn’t developmental. That was something else to him at that time. The talent is not developmental as much as unique to that niche market.” [3:39-4:00]

Vince Russo added that the 14-time world champion made a mistake by publicly referring to NXT as “developmental.”

Are you a fan of NXT? Let us know in the comments section.

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Please credit Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.