EdgeHeaD

Tuesday 30th November 2021 – 10:00AM EST The wrestling world was abuzz with news that something big was about to happen, with many fans sharing a link to a YouTube video on social media. This video contained what appeared to be a countdown with whatever it was counting down to seemingly happening within 24 hours time. Wednesday 1st December 2021 – 10:00AM EST – BROADCAST LIVE ON YOUTUBE. A black screen fades into a room filled with around 100 people, many of whom are here by invitation because something is happening. Reporters. Wrestling reporters armed with tablets, notepads and anything else they can use to record the events that are about to transpire. Towards the back of the room, are a select number of wrestling fans (as evident from many of them wearing t-shirts of their favourite wrestlers from around the world). Towards the front of the room, there is a podium with a microphone perched on top. Behind the podium is a screen with the countdown on it. Once the countdown had reached its end, former WWE announcer Tom Philips walked into the room and approached the podium… Tom Philips: Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us here this morning for an event that is going to change the landscape of wrestling. I know the internet has been rampant with rumours on what this may or may not be…but I am not the person to share that with you. Instead, I’d like to introduce you to the man who will answer all of those questions. Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome the man formerly known as Triple H…PAUL LEVESQUE!! The audience in attendance erupt with cheers and applause although it is evident that a number of these people had speculated that the man once known as Triple H was behind this. The familiar sound of ‘The Game’ by Motorhead blasted throughout the room as the former WWE Champion walked towards the podium dressed in a business suit. He shook hands with Philips who stepped to the back of the stage. But wait…how did we get here? Why is he being referred to as the man FORMERLY known as Triple H? Let’s rewind the clocks a little and revisit the events that have lead us to this moment right now. On September 8th 2021, it was announced that Paul Levesque aka Triple H had undergone successful heart surgery following a ‘cardiac event’ caused by a genetic heart issue. WWE reported that he was expected to make a full recovery although no information was given as to how long this would take and who would assume his responsibilities within WWE during his absence. With Triple H out of the picture for now, his ‘baby’ NXT saw a dramatic transformation, going from what was once an edgy, must-see television event, producing high quality shows to a watered down, more ‘colourful’ show. And whilst most fans could live with a little rebrand, what they didn’t expect was the sheer amount of change the NXT roster would see. Change that also caused waves within the main roster of the WWE too. In the months following Wrestlemania, WWE made a large number of releases from its roster, citing budget cuts as the reasons for this, and those who remained on the roster breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they were safe. It soon became apparent that nobody was safe. Between the months of April and September, we saw major names leaving the company; names such as Adam Cole, Bronson Reed, Bobby Fish, The IIconics, Andrade, Buddy Murphy, Aleister Black, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Tyler Breeze and Fandango. But on November 4th, the hits just kept coming with WWE.com reporting the releases of a pool of talent including Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux and Ember Moon amongst others. 14 days later it was announced that the company had parted ways with the likes of John Morrison, Tegan Nox, Hit Row, Drake Maverick and several other names. All of these releases seemed to have one thing in common…they were superstars and athletes brought into the WWE by one man…Triple H. Some of these names sought alternative employment with iMPACT Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling but others remained off the screens. Let’s fast forward to November 19th 2021 where WWE announced that due to recent health issues, Triple H would no longer be a member of the World Wrestling Entertainment roster going forward. Nobody could believe it. Surely not? Triple H lives, breathes, eats and sleeps wrestling and now he’s gone? Social media was rife with rumours that this was simply a cover up. Since this announcement, Triple H/Paul Levesque has not been seen in public and has posted nothing on social media. Until now… Back to the present day…Paul Levesque stands at the podium soaking in the applause from the audience in attendance. As they begin to quiet down, he starts to speak… Paul Levesque: First of all I’d like to thank you all for coming out here this morning, especially as not one of you has a clue what is about to happen. I’ve heard all of the talk, I’ve heard all of the rumours. So let’s not waste any time and let me put all those rumours to rest. 11 years ago, I was given the position to be the leader of a new movement…to be the guy who ushered in a new era in “sports entertainment”…to be the guy who brought you all NXT. In those 11 years, I scoured the globe for the BEST talent in the world so that they could be showcased on a global scale. In that time, NXT gained a following and grew to highs that even I didn’t think possible and that was down to the incredible athletes who put their bodies on the line week after week, and down to you fans for tuning in each and every week to see what was going to happen next and who was going to show up. I saw men and women finally get the spotlight they deserved and we turned them into superstars who I knew would become champions, would headline pay per views, and who would lead WWE into the next generation. The audience started a small NXT chant and applauded. Paul Levesque: Every so often, I would get a phone call from WWE headquarters to tell me that they were gonna call up the talent that I had found for them. I’m talking about people like Samoa Joe…Andrade…Aleister Black. I could go on with a whole list of names who were finally getting their shot. And I was damn proud of them because they deserved it. So imagine my frustration, when I saw the writers of RAW and the writers of Smackdown piss all of my hard work, all of the talent up the wall. The first few times this happened, I took it in my stride and put it down to business. But slowly and surely, I realized that these so-called “writers” wouldn’t know talent if it slapped them in the face because I had to watch bad gimmick after bad gimmick attached to the men and women who should have been allowed to go out and there and do what I knew they could do…WRESTLE! And I just couldn’t stand for that anymore… Once again the crowd cheered and applauded the emotion coming from Paul Levesque. Paul Levesque: And then to see the baby that I helped make…NXT…turned into a joke because it was producing far more entertaining television than anything you would see on RAW and Smackdown…and that’s hard to say for someone who gave their blood, sweat and tears to the WWE. I saw all of your comments on the internet and I watched as thousands upon thousands of viewers tuned out. I wish I could say that I had the power to influence the decisions that were made, but we all know only one man has the final say. And it pains me to say this because he is my father in law…but Vince McMahon is out of touch with the wrestling business. So I did the only thing I knew I could control…and I quit. And you know what I did after that? I personally called each and every single one of those men and women who were fired, and I apologized. I apologized for letting them down. I apologized that I couldn’t do more for them. I apologized for the bad gimmicks, for the lack of creativity, for the trash bags that were sent to them. And once I’d done apologizing, I begged for them to hold out a little longer because I promised them a change was coming. And that change starts TONIGHT! The crowd piped up again with YES chants… Paul Levesque: Which is why I stand before you today. I am proud to bring to you the next generation of wrestling. In 2019, I watched as Cody Rhodes went out and made his mark in the world, as he brought us an alternative – AEW. And it got me thinking…what if there was ANOTHER alternative? Another place where you could go and watch WRESTLING, not Sports Entertainment. I made some calls and I talked to a lot of people to see if they were interested. And trust me when I say this…they were interested. It would be wrong for me to say that I have done this all by myself, so I’d like to introduce to you the man who has been by my side throughout…ladies and gentlemen…SHAWN MICHAELS! Shawn Michaels walked out on to the stage to thunderous applause and hugged his best friend. Shawn Michaels: Surprised to see me? Did you think Stephanie was about to walk out?! Back in November, I received a call from this man right here and he barely even said a sentence before I said “I’m in” because I saw what he did with NXT. But I also saw the anger in him when talented guys were called up to the main roster and wasted and that’s the moment that NGW was born. A small N-G-DUB chant broke out amongst the fans in the audience whilst the reports were typing away furiously… Shawn Michaels: So this is a call to anyone who identifies as a WRESTLER…to anyone who wants to BE a WRESTLER. NGW is open for business and we want the best of the best. Whether you’re ‘elite’, whether you’re a ‘chief’, whether you’ve fallen out of love with wrestling but are starting to get that itch. You come to us…we promise we will make you love it once more. Our door is open to everyone. The audience clapped and applauded, with various fans in attendance shouting out names of wrestlers who they clearly thought should be signed. Triple H took to the podium again… Paul Levesque: This is our chance to right the wrongs of my father in law. This is our chance to showcase talent in the way it is meant to be showcased. And without giving too much away, there are gonna be a lot of faces that you know and love…and I know you love them because I see your posts on facebook…I see your tweets. But I also promise some very BIG surprises that you’re not gonna believe because you just never know who might show up. Some unfamiliar music started to play as the audience looked around to see where it was coming from. Out from behind the curtain stepped none other than JOHNNY GARGANO!!! Gargano soaked in the huge applause as he approached Levesque and Michaels and shook their hands. Paul Levesque: And that’s just the start…so let this be your notice. On Saturday January 1st 2022…wrestling is back. And if you’re not down with that, then we got two words for you… The audience chanted SUCK IT in unison… Paul Levesque: GAME ON! Levesque, Michaels and Gargano came to the front of the podium and smiled as their raised their hands whilst the audience gave them a standing ovation. After a short while, they made their way behind the curtain as the screen faded to the NGW logo with a countdown to January 2nd underneath…