After "pretending" to fire WWE Hall of Famer Booker T on Raw, WWE COO Triple H discusses why he has to prove he's truly in control of WWE as his WrestleMania clash with Sting approaches.

During Triple H’s weekly interview with Michael Cole, the Chief Operating Officer discussed his upcoming induction into the International Sports Hall of Fame and what to expect from  NXT’s involvement at the Arnold Sports Festival, from March 5 to 8. Watch the full interview above.

Michael Cole: Let’s talk about you as an executive and what’s coming up over the next few days. We’re heading to Columbus, Ohio…

Triple H: Let’s talk about the fun stuff! Let’s talk about that, let’s talk about the Arnold Classic, let’s talk about NXT.

Watch Triple H welcome the NXT Universe to Columbus, Ohio

Cole: Let’s start with you. A huge honor is coming your way Saturday. You’re getting inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame. 

Triple H: [It’s a] big thing for me. The International Sports Hall of Fame, with Arnold Schwarzenegger inducting me, that’s huge. I’ll go in there with some of the greats in all of sports — from ours, including Bruno Sammartino and including Mark Henry, who’s an Olympic champion and one of the greatest strongmen of all time. It’s an honor to be part of that. It goes beyond just being great at what you do in your chosen sport or your chosen profession. It’s in how you influence people outside that. That’s really what I’m proud of more. Most of the people in there have had some kind of impact on people, whether it be with health and fitness or just impacting people’s lives.

Cole: Finally, you are really impacting a lot of people’s lives as you really shape and mold NXT into the brand that it’s become. It’s a big weekend for NXT because for the very first time, it’s moving outside Florida, doing a mini tour in Ohio, built around the Arnold and will be involved in the Arnold Sports Festival over the weekend. How important is it for the NXT brand for this to all be taking place.

Triple H: The Arnold Sports Festival is one of the biggest all-encompassing sports expos in the world. Three hundred thousand people or so will go through Columbus in the weekend or the week of the Arnold Sports Festival. They will have more athletes than the Olympics will. It’s really amazing, and NXT is going to be a massive part of that. We have the biggest space there. The Performance Center is going to have a public-facing tryout to let people see really what it’s like. We’re going to lift that veil up to let people see what it’s like for a person who wants to try to become a WWE Superstar. [It’ll show] what they have to go through, what type of commitment, what type of sacrifice, what type of heart, desire and drive they have to have to succeed and to get chosen. Because very few get chosen to go to the Performance Center and train to become an NXT Superstar and hopefully, eventually a WWE Superstar. 

Cole: So if someone does well at this open tryout, they’re going to get an invitation to go to NXT? 

Triple H: They very well might. While you’re talking about NXT, these are the first events we’re doing outside the Florida area, where we hub. It’s an awesome opportunity. The first show we put out in Columbus sold-out in less than two hours. The second show, the next night on Friday in Cleveland, sold-out in less than an hour. The brand is on fire. It’s the most popular thing on WWE Network. I look forward to it growing. 

Cole: Congratulations on NXT and the International Sports Hall of Fame. 

Triple H: Thanks, Michael.