Ahead of this weekend’s NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day, many are wondering about the status and whereabouts of two of NXT’s finest.

Founder and executive producer of NXT Triple H has responded to an inquiry regarding what Velveteen Dream and Pat McAfee have been up to during their recent absence from NXT events this calendar year.

Starting with Velveteen Dream, the 25-year-old has not been in the ring since December 2020, where he was defeated by Adam Cole.

Regarding his current status, Triple H said in response to the question from ProWrestling.net: "There’s really nothing to add with Velveteen Dream. We’ve gone over it a million times. Status update - he’s still training. He had a little bit of a physical thing here for a bit. But, still there, still with us, still PC, still training, still on the roster.”

Controversy has been surrounding Dream for some time now, after he had apparently engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour with minors on the internet, but he, Triple H and WWE have looked into and denied any reported allegations.

Triple H and WWE ultimately added that they are thus comfortable promoting Velveteen Dream as a WWE and NXT talent, so it may just be a matter of time before we see him return to the ring.

Pat McAfee's Status

Now onto Pat McAfee. He, like Dream, has also not featured in a WWE/NXT event in 2021, but Triple H explained that his absence is because he just needs a bit of a break.

“He’s a busy dude. We’ve been talking about it.

“He just got married not that long ago. He’s like, if I don’t take a breath for a minute after this Super Bowl, I might not be married for much longer. My words, not his. I think he just needed to take a breather.”

The former NFL punter has seemingly had quite the busy year so far, but given this status update from Triple H, a return to NXT is very much on his mind.

While we most likely will not be seeing Dream or McAfee this weekend, NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day takes place this Sunday, February 14, with the stream set to start at 7pm EST (12am UK time).