Triple H Comments on Role with NXT, Finn Balor, Independent Promotions and More

A sharp decline in ratings and seemingly stagnant creative product has many inside and outside the WWE wringing their hands about the state of the product. One major culprit many point to is the three-hour commitment necessary to watch Raw, which WWE Executive Vice President Triple H admits is a problem. 

“I’ll be the first one to admit, when I’m going to a movie and it runs over two hours, I’m looking at my watch. I don’t care how good it is," Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, said in a conference call Thursday, per ProWrestlingStories.com.

Levesque, 46, was speaking to journalists to promote Wednesday's NXT TakeOver: London show, which will be broadcast on the WWE Network. A longtime performer in the ring, Levesque's grand accomplishment since moving to the executive suite has been NXT, a developmental system that doubles as arguably the best weekly wrestling program in the world.

With Raw flailing—the show's ratings have been nosediving all year—and NXT becoming perhaps the Network's main calling card, many have wondered why the main roster does not incorporate more NXT-like elements. For Levesque, the answer is simple: It's not his call. 

“For NXT, I control the product and I don’t on the main roster,” Levesque said, per ProWrestlingStories.com. 

He elaborated by comparing the two styles to "chocolate and vanilla," saying neither one is right or wrong. The main crux differentiating the two, Levesque said, is the size of the audience. 

“Sure, obviously, if I’m utilizing them, I think they’re right," he said of the techniques at NXT. "Otherwise, I wouldn’t be utilizing them. There is a stark difference of what works in NXT from what works in the larger arenas in front of the world. In some ways, and I’ve used this analogy before, it’s different musical styles. If the WWE is more pop music, then [NXT] is a bit more alternative rock, or something like that, where there’s a bit more niche to it."

The wide-broaching conference call also touched on NXT's biggest star, Finn Balor, and what's next for the promotion's champion. Some have said it's time for Balor to make the leap to the main roster, especially with unplanned absences from John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Cesaro and others shortening Raw and SmackDown's bench. 

“I hate taking a guy like Finn Balor and saying, ‘Hey look, you’re the band-aid to hold us over until these other guys come back and then we’ll see from there,'" Levesque said. "If we don’t have that game plan in place when we call these guys up, especially a guy like Finn Balor, then it’s not the right time. You need to have something in your mind and hopefully a long-term plan in place that gets them to where you want them to be. Or at least that would be the goal.”

Balor, 34, will defend his NXT Championship against Samoa Joe at TakeOver. Balor and Joe are perfect examples of what make NXT so special. Both spent years honing their skills on the independent circuit, Balor in New Japan and Joe seemingly everywhere except a WWE ring. NXT has provided a home for these talents to showcase their skills, and Levesque said a big part of the company's future is continuing that movement.

WWE.com

“I am wide open to finding talent wherever talent are," Levesque said. "By talent, I mean the guys who have been doing it for years or finding the guy that fans look down on for not having found their way here [to WWE] right away. I am wide open to finding this talent to make their way to WWE and NXT.”

Of course, this all should sound good to wary wrestling fans. NXT Arrival will see its two-year anniversary in February. Levesque has taken a fledgling developmental program that no one was paying attention to and turned it into must-watch entertainment.

There's reason to believe he could do the same for the main WWE programming. You know, if he ever wrestles "control" of the product for himself.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.