21 Things We Learned From The WWE Network's NXT All-Star Panel

What we picked up from Monday's must-see WWE Network special.

by Andrew Pollard
NXT All-Star Panel
WWE

Monday night is traditionally 'wrestling night' in many a household across the globe. Sure, viewership numbers are dwindling, but Monday is still so often all about wrestling.

Whilst Monday Night Raw continues to suffer from overplayed match-ups, absurd booking and the 3-hour broadcast conundrum, this past Monday provided some much-needed must-see WWE programming. Sure, Raw was as 'meh' as it's been for the last few months, but the WWE Network aired what was dubbed an NXT All-Star Panel show.

Hosted by Byron Saxton, the show featured Triple H, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Sasha Banks, with all of the talent out of character and talking openly about a multitude of fascinating facets of the business, of NXT, and of their time trying to make it as a WWE superstar.

The show itself gave viewers a glimpse behind the curtain, and all involved came away from the special with their stock increased. Along the way, we were given some great snippets of information, including an indication of just how and why NXT came to be and how it's run to this day.

In case you haven't had chance to watch it yet, or if you may have missed any of the key points, here's 21 things to take away from the brilliant NXT All-Star Panel.

21. Triple H Proposed The Idea Of NXT

NXT All-Star Panel
WWE.com

Now we all know that NXT is well and truly Triple H’s baby, but it’s been rarely addressed previously just how the brand came to be.

As revealed by The Game on the All-Star Panel, it was Hunter that went to Vince McMahon about revamping the WWE’s developmental system in Florida. Vince’s response was to ask just what Triple H would do with the system if he was tasked with starting an alternative brand.

From then on out, complete control over the newly-dubbed NXT went over to Hunter.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.