
HHH on Vince McMahon-NXT, Chris Jericho NJPW Rumor and Cody Talks AEW Video Game
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
HHH Talks McMahon's Influence on NXT
Many have questioned WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's potential involvement with NXT since its move from WWE Network to USA Network, but NXT founder Triple H put to rest any thought that McMahon is micromanaging the show.
In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Triple H suggested that McMahon is a fan of what NXT brings to the table and is content to continuing letting it operate as it has for the past several years:
"Everything that happens within WWE has Vince's fingerprints on it. There is no NXT without Vince. It wouldn't exist without him. He wants NXT to be different, something for the more passionate fan base. It's a darker, grittier feel, it's different. He totally understands that. But he has no desire to be in the day-to-day operations. Vince has a lot of other things on his plate."
The first hour of NXT has aired on USA each of the past two weeks with the second hour airing on WWE Network. Beginning this week, however, a full two-hour NXT show will air on USA every Wednesday night.
This week is especially important since NXT is set to go head-to-head with the debut of AEW Dynamite on TNT.
Triple H has put together a big-time card opposite AEW's inaugural show, headlined by Adam Cole defending the NXT Championship against Matt Riddle. Also, Shayna Baszler will defend the NXT Women's Championship against Candice LeRae, while Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish of Undisputed Era will defend the NXT Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits.
NXT has developed into one of the most successful brands in wrestling under Triple H's watch, and it doesn't appear as though there will be any significant changes to the product on USA.
Jericho vs. Tanahashi Reportedly Planned for Wrestle Kingdom
A long-anticipated dream match between Chris Jericho and Hiroshi Tanahashi is reportedly on the horizon.
According to Barrasso, multiple sources have said Jericho and Tanahashi are set to clash at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 14 at the Tokyo Dome on Jan. 4, 2020.
While Jericho is under contract with AEW, Barrasso noted that both he and Jon Moxley negotiated deals that will allow them to work matches with NJPW as well.
Jericho's most recent NJPW match was against IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada at Dominion in June. After losing to Okada, Jericho attacked the champion, only for Tanahashi to make the save.
As the reigning AEW World Champion, Jericho's primary focus is currently on All Elite Wrestling, but competing against Tanahashi in a big match at Wrestle Kingdom would undoubtedly bring Jericho a significant payday.
Jericho has already faced multiple top stars in NJPW in recent years, including Okada, Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito, with Tanahashi undoubtedly the biggest name left to cross off his list.
Tanahashi beat Omega for the IWGP heavyweight title at this year's Wrestle Kingdom, but even if there isn't a title involved, a match against Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 14 could be an even bigger deal internationally.
Tune into TNT on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET to catch all the action of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.
Cody Talks Potential AEW Video Game
AEW executive vice president Cody Rhodes is constantly looking for ways to grow the AEW fan base, and getting involved in the world of gaming is one clear way to make that happen.
In an interview with Brian Mazique of Wrestling With Mazique, Cody discussed what plans are in place for an AEW video game (beginning at the 12-minute mark):
Cody noted that himself, Omega and AEW's vice president of business operations are spearheading the video game discussions, and while he suggested nothing is close to getting done, Cody did add, "It's the game the people want."
That led to a discussion about the WWF WrestleMania 2000 and WWF No Mercy video games for Nintendo 64 in 1999 and 2000. Those games, which were developed by AKI Corporation and published by THQ, are widely considered the greatest wrestling video games of all time.
Cody seemed to confirm the AEW video game would be within the same realm as those games, which will be music to the ears of most longtime fans.
WWE 2K is essentially the only game in town from a wrestling video game perspective currently, but if AEW can get in on the act with an old-school feel, it would unquestionably appeal to a large portion of the wrestling audience.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).
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