WWE NXT held their pre-NXT Takeover: War Games conference call today with Triple H. WWE’s Mark Vasquez opened the call, thanking everyone for taking time out of their day to call-in and then turned things over to Triple H who like Mark, thanked everyone for being part of the call. Triple H said that he is really excited about this weekend’s events and thanked the Houston area, who are still coming off the effects of Hurricane Harvey, for their great hospitality despite the disaster and all of what they went through and said that it was great to see the amount of people that are coming to the shows over the four days from NXT Takeover on Saturday to WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, to RAW on Monday and SmackDown Live on Tuesday and said that he hoped that the area is on the uptick and that they can do what they do best and that is to put smiles on people’s faces. Triple H then talked about how the War Games Match is a chance to turn a whole new generation on to what the War Games concept is and said that he is excited to see how The Undisputed Era, SAnitY, Roderick Strong and The Authors of Pain do this Saturday night before discussing the rest of the card.

Triple H then opened it up for what he noted is his favorite part of the conference call, the question and answer session. The first caller asked about Triple H starting The Undisputed Era as a faction. Triple H said that they done that to get Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly rolling in the company, as they had a buzz as a group coming in and that it seemed like the right thing to do and they were excited to do it. Triple H said that whether they will stay together as a group down the line, who knows, but time will tell.

The next caller asked about the changes in the rules compared to the original War Games Match. Triple H said that when 20 years go by, it gives you the option to update it, as well as tweak it and said that it works for NXT in the three team scenario, due to the groups that are involved and in some ways, it changes the concept a bit, but in the end, it is about groups going to war and that is what this is all about. Triple H said that there will be no roof on the cage, because he thinks that is limiting what can be done and said that they have not changed the concept of what War Games is and the match itself does not really start until every member of the teams are in the ring, so in that sense, the concept is still the same.

The next caller asked about whether this will be the best WWE Survivor Series pay-per-view in a while and if Triple H’s presence is still needed in the WWE for it to grow. Triple H said that yes, it is a very impactful Survivor Series card and said that he believes that AJ Styles vs. Brock Lesnar will be a very cool match. Triple H said that there are a lot of things on the card that he himself is looking forward to and thinks that the RAW vs. SmackDown elimination match is phenomenal and has a lot of star power, before noting that he does not think that his presence is necessary and that it was a creative decision and not his. Triple H said that no one is 100 percent necessary, but from a storyline perspective, it makes sense and said that it is also about what comes out of this match, noting that it is a step in the storytelling and thinks that the card on Saturday at Takeover will make people again on Sunday state that they have to up their game at Survivor Series and said that is one of the best things about NXT, in that it pushes the main roster when they do their shows on weekends like this.

The next caller asked about the origins of bringing back the War Games match at a time when they are also bringing back Starrcade and if they were independent of each other, before asking if more of the Crockett/WCW gimmicks will be coming to WWE. Triple H said that the connection between Starrcade and War Games is purely coincidental and that he has always had a keen interest in doing the War Games concept and that as NXT ramped up, he was looking for the right time to pitch it internally and get it approved and said that it works well in conjunction with Survivor Series weekend. Triple H said that NXT has matured to the point where they now have their own franchise events and said that the timing worked out great and that making it a must-see event fit in well for Houston. Triple H said that as for Starrcade, it basically came down to the company being in Greensboro around the same time that Starrcade would run for Jim Crockett Promotions and said that theya re meaningful assets to have and it is great in his own mind, that they have the option to use them again and thinks that time needed to pass before they could use them and that now is the right time to do so. Triple H said that with War Games, they could take something from the past and make it the future, all while staying within Dusty Rhodes’ vision and said that himself and Dusty talked about it over the years about bringing back the concept and Dusty would be proud to see it eventually happen. The same caller then asked if it was a hard pitch to get the company on board. Triple H said that there was some resistance to it, but that solving some of the creative issues and the timing being right in NXT made it easier than expected to get it approved and said that the timing is right for NXT to do it and this Saturday will be a meaningful event.

The next caller asked about doing the WWE NXT tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta. Triple H said that this was due to a schedule conflict with Full Sail University and said that at that time of the year, it is always tough to record at Full Sail, but said that this year, they had more events there due to them growing, but Full Sail is still their home, they love Full Sail, but at the same time, it is cool that the NXT roster get the opportunity to go to Center Stage and mentioned that he television there for WCW under a certain name and said that they looked at other options around, but Center Stage worked out the best. The same caller asked as to why the Center Stage dates happened, to which Triple H said that is just how things worked out and that given some of the talent also work with WWE to do television, they sometimes have to juggle things.

The next caller asked about Triple H’s comments in the recent Ric Flair ESPN 30 For 30 documentary where Reid Flair was given a second drug test after he failed the first one, noting that Reid got a second chance and if that was standard. Triple H said that he gave Reid one entry test and time went by before he was given a second chance and that it wasn’t an immediate re-test. Triple H said that it was done to let the talent know that it was coming and for them to prepare and said that in the documentary, that was taken out of context.

The next caller asked about Pete Dunne and what the status of the show in the United Kingdom is at this point. Triple H said that all of the United Kingdom crew are very talented and that putting together the television and touring in the United Kingdom takes some time and said that he would have loved for it to have happened quicker than anything, but this is just the reality. Triple H said that they are still on the WWE crew and that they are working while they wait, but he hopes that they have a territory for them soon and that many of them are at the WWE Performance Center right now, before noting that Pete Dunne will defend his WWE United Kingdom Championship against Johnny Gargano on Saturday before Takeover and that will air on WWE NXT television next week.

The next caller asked about the booking process and what Triple H learned from Dusty Rhodes. Triple H talked about things change at times that make you adapt, such as injuries and that when one thing changes, you have to change others and that leads to a domino effect and said that sometimes you book something and it does not work, so you make the changes and that affects other things and that you do things with the best intentions and then see where it goes. Triple H said that Dusty was a big help and that NXT would not be what it is today without him.

The next caller asked about Kurt Angle returning to the ring and whether Triple H would like to reignite that rivalry down the line. Triple H said that it is great that Kurt Angle is back and said that when Kurt came back, they said that they would take it one step at a time, noting that they put him through the medical process to shee where he was physically and that coincidentally, when he was cleared was when they needed him to replace Roman Reigns for the TLC pay-per-view. Triple H said that he is happy for Kurt and the success that he is having now and said that he would absolutely love to get in the ring and work with Kurt once again. Triple H said that if it is right for everybody and they want to do it, then absolutely, before noting that Kurt is an all-time great and no one to this day picked up the business faster than Kurt did.

The next caller asked about the women’s match and how none of the 4 women in the match have been Champion before. Triple H said that the Mae Young Classic will have a huge impact since it made them aware of the amount of talented women that are out there and said that they are in a start-over phase, but would not call it a rebuilding phase. Triple H mentioned all of the women that they have on the roster and said that they are pretty loaded with talented women, so it is on them to tell the stories that they need to tell and said that it is up to the creative to tell the right stories and hopefully, that is what they are doing. Triple H said that it is cool for him, because the NXT fans are so invested in the brand and that it is cool to see that level of investment and it is meaningful to the future of the business.

Triple H then thanked everyone for being on the call, before noting that this weekend for him is a cool and exciting one. He then put over the vision of Dusty Rhodes and his impact on WWE NXT, so it is meaningful to him and said that he wants to do Dusty justice and also take the concept to another place, where it will be meaningful to the NXT fans.