Triple H recently participated in a media call prior to NXT Takeover: War Games II. Triple H spoke on a variety of topics about NXT. During the call, he was asked about WWE recently hiring some older wrestlers for NXT.
This recently includes Luis Martinez (Punishment Martinez in ROH) and Jaxson Ryker (Gunner in TNA), who are both 36 years old.
Here is what Triple H had to say (h/t to Fightful for the quotes below):
“Sometimes you hear, or I read these things, ‘there’s a hard and fast rule where they don’t do this.’ There’s not a ‘hard and fast’ rule, it just became the norm. I can tell you that if you said to me, ‘How many people in their mid to late 30s are you gonna hire to get started in the business?’ It won’t be a long list. It has to be a special talent and a special talent that we feel has the ability to succeed and has the ability to do it in a timeframe that’s accessible and be successful in a period of time that’s worth the investment. And then, what are the other plans for them long term? There are some talent that I bring in that are later in their careers and I’m really looking at them like, ‘look, I’ll bring you in, we’ll get you up to speed, we’ll put you in the program and if you have a couple of years and you do well, that’s great, but then I’d love to talk to you about transitioning to the other side of the business and maybe becoming a coach or player-coach while you’re still working.’ Having some of the younger talent coming up, having someone with a lot of experience that can get into the ring with them, that we’ve gotten up to speed with our playbook, and work with them on a regular basis and give them that hands-on guidance like generations prior had that ability to. I had that. I was lucky enough to come up at the time where there were a lot of veterans in the locker room and you get that ability to get in the ring with them and learn from them every single night. That’s how you got great. It doesn’t exist in a lot of ways in some places.”
Triple H continued:
“There’s a lot of different reasons why we hire people, other than just, ‘Hey, I’m looking for somebody that can be a main event player.’ There’s a whole different way of looking at it. There are some people I’ve brought in, even internationally, that I’ve said, ‘I’m gonna take a chance and see how they do physically.’ I don’t know they’re gonna make it, but I have another role for them in mind of something they’re really good at. I’m waiting to see if the physical pans out, if it does, great. If it doesn’t, I have another role in mind for you and I’d love to talk to you about this and seeing about moving forward with that and see where it goes. There’s a lot of thought that goes into it.”
On a related note, here is what Triple H had to say on the call about main roster Superstars potentially being sent to NXT.