Triple H took part in a post-NXT Takeover: New York conference call at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

HHH put over that NXT had a hell of a night and said that he feels like a broken record, but noted that the talent go out and nail it every single time and said that it was a special week for NXT, for the WWE and for where they are in this moment in time to come to New York City. HHH said that they were sold out for the event with 15,697, the biggest NXT crowd attendance to date and the highest-grossing event in WWE NXT history and said that to do that on a Friday night, with the WWE Hall of Fame tomorrow, where someone he knows with three H’s will be inducted, and to have 75,000 sold out at Metlife Stadium on Sunday for WrestleMania, it will be an epic week, but anything that happens after tonight has its work cut out for them. HHH said that he would then open the floor for questions.

The first question asked was in regards to the WWE United Kingdom Championship Match, the decision to have it at Takeover: New York, whether there were plans in place for the next WWE NXT UK Takeover event and whether there will be more mixing of the WWE NXT and WWE NXT UK brands on big events. HHH said that the timing was right in the build between WALTER and Pete Dunne that the match had to be done in New York City and said that they are already planning the next WWE NXT UK Takeover event, but when you do 600 live events a year, it is a bit of putting together a puzzle. HHH said that they have had some things shift, but he wanted to do the match in New York City and they delivered and said that makes him think that he made the right decision and looks forward to getting back to the United Kingdom. HHH said that the WWE NXT UK brand is one of the most-watched things on the Network and that they trended worldwide with the Blackpool Takeover and is excited to get it to another level, but the timing needs to be right to do that.

The next question asked was about some of the new talent joining the brand and what they can bring to the main roster. HHH said that he remembers when they had the first big number of call-ups and people thought that NXT was done and said that the call-ups are the secret that forces WWE NXT to evolve and to grow and it is not the brand that it was 5 years ago, as it has evolved. HHH said that Mauro Ranallo revealed that 14 NXT Champions will be on WrestleMania and said that 80% of the main roster has come from NXT and joked that the matches at WrestleMania that will air in black and white are made up of the talents who pre-dated NXT. HHH said that they have created a wealth of stars and are putting them on a global platform and that even if talents have a past and a following, the level of performer you are coming in and the level you are leaving are different and better and that the NXT future is bright. HHH said that for Tommaso Ciampa to go down due to injury and shift the show with just a few weeks speaks of the talent on the brand and put over several talents.

The next question jokingly asked if WALTER’s win had anything to do with the ongoing Brexit situation. HHH jokingly responded and said of course it did, but then said that it happened because WALTER is an awesome talent and he is excited to see him carry the WWE NXT UK brand as its Champion.

The next question asked about the reaction that KUSHIDA received from the crowd. HHH said that they put people in the crowd to gauge the reaction and KUSHIDA’s reaction was one of the largest and said that he has been on their mind for a long time and has been at the top of the list of talents they wanted and William Regal feels the exact same way. HHH said that he expects him to be as awesome as he has been everywhere else and that they are giving him a platform like he has never had before.

The next question asked about the thought process of Tommaso Ciampa coming out at the end of the show with a neck brace on embracing Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. HHH said that you go back and forth about it and what you want to do with it. HHH said that if you are a competitor, you want to be in the top spot and compete as hard as you can for it, but then if you get hurt, you want the person that you are closest with to have it and that as evil as Ciampa is and even though he as in a war with Gargano, if anyone else has to have that spot, it should be Gargano. HHH then put over the clips they create for the WWE Performance Center’s YouTube channel and said that it was a real moment and they want epic moments and that they talked back and forth and came to that decision.

The next question asked whether there was a main roster run beckoning for Pete Dunne and whether there was any consideration of letting him hit the two-year mark as Champion. HHH said that Dunne is just getting started and put over how much he has improved since signing for the WWE and said that he was a great talent to begin with. HHH said that Dunne will go onward and upward and does not know if there are too many people with a brighter future than Pete Dunne.

The next question asked about a certain section of fans booing Matt Riddle and whether that changed the trajectory for him. HHH said that he thought it was 50/50 in terms of crowd support, but that when you have two extremely popular characters, the chances are that it won’t remain 50/50 all the way through and said that part of what’s going to get Matt Riddle to the next level is having someone to push him to the next level of emotion and said that he does not think it means that Riddle walks out last popular and that it is hard to be more popular than The Velveteen Dream. HHH said that no one lost tonight and that the goal is to have everyone coming out bigger and better stars with bigger reactions.

The next question asked about the comparison of Johnny Gargano from coming in to being NXT Champion. HHH said that the level of emotional performer that Gargano has changed dramatically and that he was not handed anything in NXT. HHH said that he did not have the space to sign him and he was offered a chance and delivered again and again and that himself and Tommaso Ciampa earned those spots. HHH said that the level of polished all-round character and emotions have risen and that it is not about the spots and moves, but how do they pull the level of emotion out of you and said that Gargano is so much more polished and has taken advantage of everything offered to him and that it is fun to watch. HHH said that his favorite part of the Performance Center is to watch talents take what is in front of them and see them grow and put over talents like Shayna Baszler and Bianca Belair who took advantage and have grown a lot.

The next question asked if HHH has been surprised by how quickly the WWE NXT UK brand has become a success. HHH sad that he would not say surprised, because he saw the talent and it is great that it has been embraced by everyone. HHH said that the men and women there have been able to morph all the styles and make it their own and said that they had a hodgepodge of styles, but performed within that traditional UK genre and said that the interesting thing about some of those talents is that when they started building that brand, they would say the simplest things to the talent and they would be like, “wow”, because it had not been broken down to them and said that there was a moment where Pete Dunne looked at himself and Shawn Michaels and said something that had never been broken down to him before and then, when he went out and used the advice, he came back and said that he could not believe how easy it was. HHH said that he is not surprised by the swiftness of the brand being embraced, but he is excited by it and they just nicking the surface. HHH said that everyone was saying that they were taking forever and now they say, jeez it has happened so fast and said that he wants to make sure that it is right and that they do it the right way, so every step means something more.

The next question asked if the upcoming FOX deal meant that there was a chance for WWE NXT to transfer over to mainstream television. HHH said that you would have to ask the folks at FOX and said that there has been a lot of talk and potential for a lot of things, putting over the announced plans for a weekly studio talk show, stating that it will be in the vein of shows like Talking Dead. HHH said that as a brand, here and in the United Kingdom, there is interest, but they are important to the Network as the number one and number two most-watched shows on the Network after the pay-per-view events and said there is an opportunity, but the fact that they want NXT to be a part of that just shows the level of interest.

The next question asked if Ricochet was possibly hurt during a landing in his match. HHH said that Ricochet is fine, but that everyone in the moment went into protection mode and wanted to make sure that he was okay, but said that he ended up being fine.

The next question asked about the meetings to change their creative process after Tommaso Ciampa’s injury. HHH said that you have everyone bring as many ideas as they can to the table, sift through them and then decide what works and that there is no scientific formula as you let it sit and you hear feedback then go with your gut. HHH said that he decides what they are going to go with and that there were a lot of ways to go and they would have been right with all, but they picked the absolute best one and said that he felt like when he heard the ideas that he knew where he wanted t go, but said that you had to work the process of it and that they had a deep depth in the pool, but had to decide what to do. HHH put over the 5-way to determine the number one contender and said on that night, himself, Michael Hayes and Shawn Michaels all looked at each other feeling that they were in an epic place and put over the talent.

The next question asked about the company taping content at WrestleMania AXXESS. HHH said that he wanted t have something epic in the Worlds Collide events in AXXESS and said that it allows so many possibilities with NXT Alumni and matches that people don’t think that they are going to get and said that they are all great opportunities that are awesome for fans and says that as a fan, when he was a kid, he would have wanted to see that.

The next question asked about what he expects for Aleister Black and Ricochet and who can step up in their place. HHH said that they have stepped up, doing triple-duty across shows for weeks and said that it is always a bitter-sweet thing as you want to go to that next level and that next challenge and that if you look at NXT as college football, you are leaving all the people you know for a new opportunity and challenge and said that when they step-up, that is the real challenge and said that they have done well and that the future is bright for them. HHH said that he told them when they were doe that NXT was always their home, but pointed out that it is a different world on the main roster versus the Performance Center. HHH said that as far as who takes their place, he can name 10 people who can replace them seamlessly and said that talents are sitting right behind them. HHH then discussed a story about Stone Cold Steve Austin standing with Vince McMahon at Madison Square Garden telling Vince a talent that they were watching was good, to which Vince agreed and said that he hopes that talent makes it, which Austin thought was weird since Vince controls the show. HHH said that there is a component there that is true, but that it is also about what you do with the platform you are given and it is what makes you or does not and said that they have the platform and when you look at who that could be, it is a long list, but they will see whether they make the most of it.

HHH thanked everyone for their time and said that everyone will have to follow the template of what NXT set for the entire week and said that he has a busy week ahead himself too.