Triple H Reveals Jinder Mahal Almost Won NXT Title, Talks Hideo Itami, Booby Roode as Champion, NXT Alumni at SummerSlam & More

Triple H held a conference call today with members of the media ahead of this weekend’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III live special on the WWE Network. Wrestlezone’s Justin LaBar was on hand and documented the entire call over at his Twitter account @JustinLaBar.

Check out part one of our conference call coverage including The Game’s thoughts on women’s wrestling, the Mae Young Classic, independent promoters at NXT and more.

– On the success of NXT as a developmental brand, there’s at least one alumni in every match on the WWE SummerSlam card. That is actually true. Triple H said there’s a good mix of indie stars as well as people like Alexa Bliss, Braun Strowman and Baron Corbin who had no experience before coming through NXT.

– He said WWE always saw potential and ability behind Jinder Mahal, and that he was one of the final people originally considered to win the NXT Championship. He admitted that the first time Jinder went to the main roster it didn’t work out, and it took some time for him to get it right, but now it’s working out great.

– This weekend’s Takeover is something of a homecoming for NXT, as the original event at the Barclays Center put the promotion on the map and made it big-time. Hunter said that former NXT stars and alumni have been reaching out wanting to help in whatever way they can with the show.

– Triple H said he enjoys the story of Bobby Roode making NXT his brand, and Drew Galloway coming back wanting to take things back to the early “We Are NXT” era of the promotion.

– He put over Ember Moon and said that she’s come a long way and really come into her own in the last six months. He also praised NXT Women’s Champion Asuka.

– Hunter said he feels bad for all the starts and stops in Hideo Itami’s career because of injuries that have set him back. He thinks the attitude change has really benefitted Itami and that he seems to be on the right track finally and in the right position to thrive. He also mentioned how great Aleister Black is and said he has no ceiling as something totally different in NXT.

– Vince McMahon keeps an eye on NXT and occasionally asks him how certain talent is developing and when he can get his hands on them on the main roster. That being said, a lot of fans criticize them for certain stars saying they’ve been “ready” for the main roster for a long time, and that the fans don’t see what they do, because there’s a lot of components behind that.