The Rise Of Triple H | Wrestling Timelines

July 11, 2013 - Performance Center

WWE Performance Center
WWE

The WWE Performance Center officially opens.

The idea is to create a one-stop shop for talent development. WWE recruits talent with strong collegiate athletic backgrounds, trains them using Levesque’s much talked-about “playbook”, and hopes they will one day “main event” WrestleMania. This approach is consistent with the long-held belief that WWE likes to “make their own guys”.

In reality, the system is unfit for purpose. The irony is thick. Very few of these “from scratch” recruits end up headlining WrestleMania.

Charlotte Flair is debatable - she started training before the PC was opened, but had never worked a match outside of the system. Bianca Belair, who went last against Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37, absolutely counts. She was the objective of the PC, manifested. Roman Reigns, who headlines more WrestleMania events than anybody else, is a product of the proto-NXT, before Levesque reimagines developmental in his image and hires the controversial Bill DeMott to oversee training.

Beyond the class of ‘Mania headliners, the crop of talent yielded by the PC, while not unimpressive, is hardly a factory of superstar draws. The wrestlers who experience the most success in WWE during the PC era either barely step foot in it, or supplement their in-ring training with a journey on the independents: Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Sasha Banks…

It is not, in terms of influence over the biggest show of the year, the New Japan Dojo.

While the PC will eventually reveal itself to be a relative failure, the sentiment surrounding early NXT - highlighted by Cesaro, Sami Zayn and PAC, amongst others - is so euphoric that the unthinkable happens.

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!