Triple H Discusses Candice LeRae's Rise in NXT Ahead of Her Title Match With Shayna Baszler
When Candice LeRae first arrived in NXT in 2017, wrestling fans were chomping at the bit to see [...]
When Candice LeRae first arrived in NXT in 2017, wrestling fans were chomping at the bit to see her bring her impressive wrestling ability from her time on the independent scene to the Yellow and Black Brand. And while she did manage to climb the ranks and earn herself an NXT Women's Championship match against Shayna Baszler on this week's NXT, her journey took a lot longer than most fans expected. She was eliminated three rounds into the 2017 Mae Young Classic and wouldn't wrestle on television again until the following April. She'd finish the year with just six televised matches, all the while taking part in bitter rivalry between Johnny Gargano (her real-life husband) and Tommaso Ciampa that spanned almost the entire year across multiple TakeOver shows.
Once the storyline wrapped up LeRae was able to establish herself in the women's division, first in a feud with Io Shirai earlier this year and then by winning a four-way match on NXT's first live episode on USA to earn a shot at Baszler. During an interview with ComicBook.com on Wednesday, Triple H explained the reasoning behind LeRae's usage in her first two years with the promotion.
"It's tough when sometimes fans want you to ignore what's in front of them," he said. "So they want you to acknowledge the fact that they (Candice and Johnny) are married and acknowledge the fact of who they really are then, but give her the opportunity [to compete] as if they're not. And it's tough when you have a one-hour show, and Johnny and Tommaso are in this moment where they are the show, and their storyline is so emotional and so in-depth. How does she [go from] Tommaso just basically [sticking] a dagger in her husband, and then she just walks out there and goes, 'Hey, it's time for my match.'"
"And we had conversations about it, and she would come to me with tears in her eyes. [She'd sayd] 'I need to do more, and I need to be me.' I'd be like, "I just need you to wait as the opportunity grows, and just as this [the feud] slows down.' It's tough to say to somebody, 'your career is pausing a little bit because your husband right now is in such a big thing,'" he said. "But that was the truth."
"The Game" said now that Gargano's storyline with Ciampa is over, she can become the big-time player on the brand her fans were hoping for.
"She's in a more normalized role, where she can be a factor that she should have been," he said. "And it just took time to get there. And the thing that's the hardest part for talent here, all talent. When you're in limbo, when you're sitting there going like, 'Well, why am I not on the show this week?' Because not everybody can be on the show every single week, but it's the hardest thing to explain to people. And then when that opportunity comes, and you get that moment, it all goes away, and you forget about that it ever happened."
Along with LeRae vs. Baszler, this week's NXT will feature an NXT Championship match between Adam Cole and Matt Riddle and The Undisputed Era vs. The Street Profits for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
