11 Things We Learned From Triple H On Cody Rhodes' Podcast
6. Some Advice AJ Styles Gave Him
AJ Styles has gone on record to admit that he didn't really know left from right when he first debuted in WWE way back at the 2016 Royal Rumble. In fact, before he walked through the curtain that night, the ex-TNA man wondered if company fans would even really know who he was. Thankfully, people were delighted to see Styles reach the big dance.
Trips told a cool story on 'What Do You Wanna Talk About?' that involved AJ. According to 'The Game', Styles decided to ask him for a chat then wondered if he’d mind a bit of advice. Triple H said sure, so AJ suggested sending almost everybody to NXT before they hit the main roster. When HHH asked why, Styles said it’s because he was bluffing for his first 6 months in WWE; producers and management would talk about stuff when laying out matches, and he had no clue what they were going on about.
The sheer scale of WWE’s production was daunting and lost on him, and he didn’t want anybody else to freeze or shoot themselves in the foot despite their talent. Hunter admired his honesty, and his willingness to try and aid others who might experience the same fright. During the talk, AJ said: “You guys shoot a movie. Everybody else is just following wrestling”".
Hunter liked to think that WWE heightened what other wrestling companies were doing in terms of TV production, and he took AJ's comments on board. Even some experienced pros who have been around the block would benefit from seeing how WWE shoots programming in NXT before hitting Raw or SmackDown.