Triple H is extremely proud of NXT as a whole. Between the shows, the talent in and outside the ring, to those helping train the stars of tomorrow, Triple H has gone on record multiple times to praise those working to make the Black and Yellow brand what it is.
In a recent conference call, The Game took time to address a few stars who he credits with the growth of the developmental brand, both inside and outside of the ring. Triple H was in the middle of talking about the change in the main event finish at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV when he named three superstars he considers locker room leaders.
From two guys (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) walking in the door and at first without having full contracts with us, I didn’t have the budgeting room to have them as full-time contracts, but I said, ‘Guys, I like you. I really wanna work with you. Let me one-off you and I’ll kinda structure something around that and do what I can.’
They’ve been a pleasure to work with. Seeing that level of guys walking in the door sheepishly trying to find a place for themselves to guys who are probably leaders of a locker room of 100 talent or so that are of all different levels of skill.
Even to the point where we were just at the Mae Young Classic and Tegan Nox has a tragic accident and blows her knee out, and they take her through the back door and the doctors are there with her. By the time I come around to the back a lot of other women are around her, and as I walk into the back the person holding the icepack on her knee is Tommaso Ciampa.
He’s a leader. Gargano is a leader. Aleister Black is a leader in the locker room to those people. That will resonate here. I look for those things in talent.
Sadly two-thirds of NXT’s locker room leaders are currently out with injuries for the moment. Black was injured prior to the title match at TakeOver, and Gargano injured his knee near the end of that same match.
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
