After facing ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38 this year, Kevin Owens has set his sights on another legendary Texan: Shawn Michaels.
In April, Owens faced Austin in the main event of Night One, losing to the Rattlesnake in Austin’s first match in 19 years.
Austin and WWE were said to be extremely pleased with how the match went and there have been discussions of another match at WrestleMania 39 next year.
Owens Vs. Michaels
Appearing on Kevin Raphael’s podcast this week, Owens revealed that he recently pitched a match between himself and Shawn Michaels.
Owens figured that after the Austin match happened, nothing was impossible and he and Michaels discussed the match when Owens came to NXT to host the KO Show in October.
Michaels told Owens that he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t considered getting back in the ring, especially after seeing the match with Austin in April.
However, he also said that he doesn’t think he should wrestle again.
Owens said on the podcast that the goal is to wrestle two of his all-time favorite wrestlers (Austin and Michaels) a goal that he’s already half-completed.
Michaels Back in the Ring
Owens Vs. Michaels would be a huge match, but he’s hardly the first person to set his sights on Mr. WrestleMania.
AJ Styles previously pitched a match with Michaels, one that the two-time WWE Hall of Famer turned down.
Michaels retired from in-ring competition in 2010, but competed at Crown Jewel 2018, teaming with Triple H to defeat the Brothers of Destruction.
The match was the biggest payday in Michaels’ career, and it is believed he earned around $3 million, equivalent to $1,800 per second of the nearly 28-minute match.
Wrestling fans aren’t always very welcoming of outside celebrities that cross over to the wrestling world. However, in recent times, we have seen a number of people breaking through and earning the respect of the fans. One such performer is Logan Paul and Shawn Michaels believes that his drive to actually be good at the sport is the reason behind his success.
The Heartbreak Kid recently appeared on Notsam Wrestling podcast. During the interview, he was asked what has helped Logan Paul gain the respect of the community. The former world champion explained that the YouTube star understands the psychology of the fans and he is ready to put in the work:
“He’s just got such a real drive. He understands. He’s a bright kid.” said Shawn Michaels, “He understands [that] ‘I’m an outsider. They’re gonna take me this way. I’ve got no problem earning my stripes. The best way I could do that is to be good at this. I will give it the time and the effort.’ Even in the midst of an extremely busy schedule.
He’s got a lot going on in his life. He’s another person again, I guess you could arguably say he doesn’t need to be choosing to do this. But he is and he has a great deal of respect for it. I think that’s what really helps as well.”
Logan Paul made his wrestling debut at WrestleMania 38 and he has wrestled only three matches since then. Though he has managed to impress people with his performance. Paul’s match against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel has especially helped him gain the respect of the WWE Universe.
You can check out Shawn Michaels’ full interview below:
Shawn Michaels was part of many iconic moments during his wrestling career. From achieving his boyhood dream to his matches with The Undertaker, HBK always knew how to bring out the emotion from the crowd and create a lasting memory. One such moment people still remember to this day is his WrestleMania XXIV match against Ric Flair. Michaels defeated Ric to end his WWE career and the ending of the bout is considered one of the most iconic moments in the history of the business.
The former world champion recently appeared on Notsam Wrestling podcast. Among other things he also talked about this match and revealed that he actually came up with the plans for this bout in the middle of the night:
“That particular match was something that came to me in the middle of the night. I woke up out of sleep. I think it was like two o’clock in the morning, [I] got up out of bed, and then just went to the table and started writing. Then I’m coming down to the end of it. Those thoughts that are in my head and of course, like a movie [I get] a little teardrop. I’m like ‘Oh my goodness. Is this too like namby pamby?’
I mean, wrestling audience, they can be tough. I just thought, ‘oh, I don’t know.’ But again, because it was so emotional for me because I knew where Ric was at that time, and I knew how important it was to him. It was genuinely important to me because it was important to him.”
‘It Was My Chance’: Shawn Michaels
The WWE Hall of Famer explained that even though he wasn’t sure about the crowd reaction, he decided to share the idea for the ending. Shawn Michaels revealed how Ric Flair reacted to it and who was the person who helped him perfect it:
“I wanted this to be really unbelievably special for him. It’s my chance for him to say of all the great matches he’s had, my best one was with Shawn Michaels. At whatever age he was at that time 56 or something. So there were a number of reasons I wanted it to go well, but then you’re looking at this ending and it’s like, sounds like a love story and that may not really go over well with a tough crowd. But I kept it.
I presented that to Michael Hayes and Ric when we got there to WrestleMania. Ric just patted me on the leg and goes ‘Thank you.’ and I was still waiting, like, does that thank you [mean] it’s good or is that [not]? Then I ask Michael and he’s the one that helps. Now he starts to think about framing it and making it what it turned out to be.”
You can check out Shawn Michaels’ full interview below:
Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels recently spoke during a media call to promote NXT Deadline this Saturday night.
During the call, Michaels said he was open to having Sean Waltman (X-Pac) wrestle in NXT in the future. The Heartbreak Kid complimented Waltman on being in the best shape he has been in a long time.
I know he has been getting back in there here and there and I got to tell you he’s like in the best shape he’s been in a long, long time. He looks fantastic. Obviously, that would be something I had to, run up the flag pole and everything.
Shawn added that the younger talent would benefit greatly from getting inside the squared circle with Waltman.
Look, the talent would benefit from that so much. I know he has a blast. So that’s an option that we’re allowed to explore, I jump all over it.
But I will. It’s amazing, we’re all buddies and all that stuff like it, but it pales to you guys, but he won’t say anything to me about it. I’ll say we’re all busy trying to work.
We can’t just pick it up and doing it off the cuff like we use to. When we did the panel and everything, he was really focus on helping us out and getting that done.
I got to tell you, that would be awesome. The talent would benefit from that so much, and clearly, we do as a program. If we have Kid do anything with us, that’s a huge plus for NXT.
Shawn Michaels Announces New Match Type for NXT Deadline
NXT Deadline will air this Saturday night from the Capitol Wrestling Center (WWE PC) in Orlando.
The premium live event will be headlined by Bron Breakker versus Apollo Crews for the NXT Championship. There will also be men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches at the show.
Shawn Michaels appeared on a recent edition of NXT to explain the rules for the new match type.
Five superstars will compete in the 25-minute match
Two superstars will start the match, a new superstar will enter every five minutes
The superstar with the most falls after 25 minutes wins
Falls can be won via pinfall, submission or DQ
One fall is worth one point
When a superstar loses a fall, they must get out of the ring and sit in a penalty box for 90 seconds
The superstar who wins the match will become the #1 contender for the men’s or women’s NXT Championship
When the COVID-19 pandemic happened in 2020, WWE held its events at the Performance Center as the world shut down.
WWE NXT has made the Performance Center its home since then, but it looks like the brand will be taken on the road for big events starting in February.
According to WrestleVotes, the “Vengeance Day” Premium Live Event will take place in Charlotte, NC. The Twitter account tweeted out the following:
Taking The Show on The Road
(WWE)
“Hearing some great news out of the PC this afternoon, source states NXT is returning to the road for their future Premium Live Events. Starting with “Vengeance Day” on February 4th from Charlotte, NC.”
It’s unclear the venue that the brand will use for the show, although it’s likely to be booked at a smaller venue. In October, Shawn Michaels, who oversees creative for the brand, stated that WWE had no plans to book large buildings like they had been a few years ago for TakeOver shows.
WWE will present its Deadline special this Saturday with the main event of NXT Champion Bron Breakker defending the belt against Apollo Crews.
Mike Tyson may be considered one of the greatest boxers to ever grace the ring, but his time as a WWE-sanctioned official leaves a lot to be desired.
After being suspended from boxing for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield, Tyson joined the World Wrestling Federation in January 1998.
Tyson aligned himself with D-Generation X, but turned on the group at WrestleMania 14, knocking out Shawn Michaels in the ring.
The Count
Despite WWF implying for weeks that Tyson would be competing at WrestleMania, the boxing legend was the ‘special enforcer’ for the main event between Michaels and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.
Speaking on the latest Mailbag Monday, former WWE referee Mike Chioda revealed that he was tasked with teaching Tyson how to count the pinfall, which was a difficult process.
“Believe me, I tried to teach him how to count. … He counted so fast, I was like ‘Oh sh*t.’ I must have spent like an hour with him, ‘Here, just 1-2-3.’”
Mike Chioda.
After this lengthy lesson, Tyson would count the pinfall for Austin, but despite all of Chioda’s training, the count is noticeably faster than it should be.
Tyson’s count would see Austin win his first WWF Championship and cement the ‘Attitude Era’ in professional wrestling.
Tyson in Pro Wrestling
In January 2010, Tyson would serve as the guest host of Monday Night Raw, before being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April 2012.
Tyson was also a playable character as part of downloadable content for WWE ’13.
In April 2021, Tyson once again served as a special enforcer, this time for AEW, and returned to the promotion for an episode of AEW Rampage earlier this month.
WWE NXT will soon see the debut of the promotion’s newest match stipulation: the Iron Survival Challenge
On this week’s WWE NXT, Shawn Michaels appeared to announce the new match, adding that NXT is a brand focused on “innovation.”
The match will have its debut on December 10, at WWE NXT’s newest event ‘NXT Deadl1ne.’
The Rules
With a brand new match type debuting, comes brand new rules for fans to learn.
In his announcement, Michaels confirmed that there will be two Iron Survivor Challenge, one men’s and one women’s match.
The 25-minute match will see five Superstars compete, with two opponents starting, with a new entrant entering every five minutes.
Every fall a Superstar earns grants them a point, and forces the pinned Superstar into a penalty box for 90 seconds.
The person with the most falls at the end of the match will be the winner.
The victors of the men’s and women’s matches will earn an NXT Championship match and NXT Women’s Championship match respectively.
NXT Deadl1ne
Little is known about NXT’s newest Premium event, but the timing of the show has been notable.
The event will be held on the same day as Ring of Honor’s Final Battle Pay-Per-View, the third major event for ROH since Tony Khan’s purchase in March.
ROH Final Battle will have a special start time of 4 pm Eastern and is expected to finish before NXT Deadl1ne kicks off in the evening.
Hours after a listing for a new trademark filed by WWE was published for the term Iron Survivor Challenge, the reasoning behind the filing may have been revealed.
According to the United States Patent & Trademark Office database, WWE filed for the trademark on November 10th under Entertainment services.
A new match type is coming to the NXT brand under this name, according to Fightful.
What’s The Match?
(via WWE)
The report stated the Iron Survivor Challenge may have some “scramble” element to it, and other “unique” elements have been pitched for the gimmick bout.
WWE has been hyping that WWE Hall of Famer & Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels will appear on tonight’s NXT, where he is slated to issue a statement about the NXT Deadline Premium Live Event on Saturday, December 10, that doesn’t have a main event match confirmed for it yet.
Sources implied to the media outlet that Michaels’ announcement would be related to the Iron Survivor Challenge, but that was not confirmed.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker will defend the title against Von Wagner in the main event of Tuesday’s show.
What was Bret Hart told prior to his infamous Survivor Series 1997 WWF Championship match with Shawn Michaels?
The match, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this week, saw Hart lose via submission despite never tapping out to the Sharpshooter.
Hart had informed WWE higher-ups that he was leaving for WCW, but had creative control that meant he could refuse to lose to Shawn Michaels, his real-life rival at the time.
The Match
Clocking in at under 20 minutes, the match is one of the shorter bouts Hart and Michaels had especially compared to their WrestleMania 12 Iron-Man classic.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated this week, Hart explained how the match had only just gotten started when Vince McMahon called for the bell.
“We had another 25 minutes. The match was already good, and we hadn’t even hit our stride… Even when we didn’t get along, Shawn and I always had great chemistry together in the ring.
“That match was just starting. All the brawling was done just to set up the actual match. It was going to really get going after I reversed his sharpshooter. We pictured the crowd standing up and going crazy. That was going to be the moment when it took off.”
Bret would leave the WWE immediately after the show, but not before laying out McMahon with a black eye backstage.
After a 2006 WWE Hall of Fame induction, Hart would return to WWE fully in 2010 and has made appearances since.
Bret Today
Despite being deeply hurt for years over the Screwjob, Hart has said he is in a much better place these days.
Looking back at his career, the Hitman is proud of what he did despite the Screwjob.
“I’m proud that people still appreciate what I did. When I wrestled, I wanted to have the best match I could every night. I never believed in going to a certain city and taking it easy. I gave 100% every night.”
Hart is one of a select few to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, first in 2006 and then in 2019 as part of the Hart Foundation.
WWE is coming off its latest NXT premium live event – Halloween Havoc – this past Saturday night was headlined by Bron Breakker defending the NXT Championship in a Triple Threat match against Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh.
“Halloween Havoc was NXT’s most-viewed standalone PLE since the start of the Peacock relationship. By standalone, I mean running a weekend where there is no main roster PLE.”
TakeOver: In Your House 2021, TakeOver 36, and WarGames 2021 were the only three standalone premium live events the brand put on since the Peacock partnership began in early 2021.
Internal Feeling
(WWE)
Halloween Havoc 2022 can now be added to that list, topping them all. Zarian also added how NBCUniversal, the parent company of the USA Network, the home of weekly NXT TV and Peacock, feels about the brand.
“More on Halloween Havoc — Execs were “encouraged” that additional promotion helped translate into additional viewership for this PLE. The overall attitude towards NXT from NBCU side of things has been very positive over the past few weeks.”
A few weeks ago, WWE dropped the “2.0” from the NXT name as the brand had taken on a new identity starting in September in 2021. WWE will present the next NXT premium live event, NXT Deadline, on December 10 — the same day as Ring of Honor’s Final Battle pay-per-view. No matches for NXT Deadline have been announced just yet.
Shawn Michaels and The Rock never worked a singles match together in their wrestling careers. The only time that they shared the ring was when Michaels served as a special guest referee for two of The Rock’s matches.
Over the years, there have been rumors that Michaels’ attitude in the 90s towards The Rock caused Rock to never want to work with him. In 2017, Rocky Johnson, the father of the Rock, shared that Rock was upset that Michaels caught him too hard with the Sweet Chin Music, leading to a confrontation between the two.
Before Rock became a top star, Michaels retired in 1998 but made sporadic appearances in the following years. He returned full-time in 2002 at WWE SummerSlam against Triple H.
While speaking to Logan Paul on ImPAULsive, Michaels was asked where things stood with The Rock and noted that it wasn’t as bad as people thought.
Shawn Michaels on The Rock
(WWE)
“I’ve never worked with him. His daughter [Simon Johnson] is here [in NXT]. The times I’ve seen him, we’ve always gotten along okay. I don’t think it was as bad as everyone made it out to be. I know I gave everybody a hard time back when I was younger. When I came back, I made sure I went up to everybody and was at least like, ‘Sorry.’ That’s the best that I could do. When I came back in 2002, I knew there was going to be, ‘We’ll see.’ It was important to me to go around and make amends and at least tell everyone, ‘Sorry about the way I was. I have no excuse. I’m willing to earn back whatever. If you never talk to me again, I’m cool with that too.”
Michaels is currently the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative at WWE, while The Rock is arguably the biggest movie star in the world,
WWE is looking to introduce NXT brands globally as soon as 2023. During Saturday night’s NXT Halloween Havoc post-show media scrum, Shawn Michaels talked about moving the brand outside of the Performance Center as well as plans to expand globally.
NXT has had 3 different iterations over the last 13 months. The decision was made to move their USA network show from Wednesday to Tuesday nights. It also added a new logo and went to a more developmental style brand. It was renamed NXT 2.0.
Present day, the current iteration of the NXT brand is a hybrid between 2.0 and the black and gold era. Excitement is high, which is why Shawn Michaels says that the next step for the brand is moving globally.
Michaels, who serves as WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, is hopeful that they will be hosting Premium Live Events outside of the Performance Center.
“From an NXT standpoint, we’ve been getting out live events here in Florida and we certainly look forward to getting out of Orlando in 2023.” Michaels said.
“From an NXT standpoint, getting out for Premium live events. Hopefully, that means getting out for live events as well outside of Florida. Those are decisions that come from people above me. We certainly want to do it and we’re excited to do it, but we’re going to start with Premium Live Events and see how that goes first. “
NXT Mexico and Japan
Moving NXT outside of Florida in 2023 looks to be a lock. Moving the brand outside of the United States is a larger goal and also looks to be on the horizon sooner rather than later.
According to Fightful, WWE trademarked the term NXT Global back September. The United Kingdom version of the brand was added in 2018 and will be repackaged as part of NXT Europe.
It would make sense for NXT to move to other regions of the World. Michaels says that talks of NXT Japan and NXT Mexico have surfaced.
“I know there’s been talks of NXT Japan and NXT Mexico. As I understand it those announcements could be coming down the road in 2023, so this company continues to grow and expand.”
– Shawn Michaels
Michaels joked that he “knows a guy” who is very interested in NXT and its expansion, so he doesn’t think fans will have to wait long before some big announcements are made.
WWE NXT specials could soon be hosted outside the WWE Performance Center.
WWE presents its Halloween Havoc special this Saturday night. To promote the event, WWE’s senior vice president of talent development creative, Shawn Michaels, recently spoke to TV Insider.
During the interview, he was asked about the possibility of holding NXT events in traditional arenas and away from the training facility.
“Absolutely. As you mentioned, we started with the Florida loop, or the coconut loop, as we call them. We’ve briefly discussed getting out for our premium live events,” Michaels responded. “Do we want to do that at the end of the year or start at the beginning of the new year? We had Stand & Deliver for WrestleMania weekend, which is the first time many of our talents were out of the Performance Center.”
Back to Touring
(WWE)
At its peak, NXT would tour nationally for house shows and specials. The NXT brand resumed touring in Florida back in June for the first time since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“It’s certainly something we want to get back to. We have every intention of doing that. We’re actually having talks on how we want to go about executing that. This will go beyond shows in the state of Florida for certainly premium live events but regular live events. As you know, that is part of the developmental process. They have to get out there and perform on the main roster all around the world. They might as well get their feet wet in NXT.”
NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh will headline Saturday’s Halloween Havoc.
WWE NXT Halloween Havoc is just around the corner on October 22nd. The card is stacked with three title matches, a Weapons Wild match, an Ambulance match, and a Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal match.
Bron Breakker is scheduled to defend the NXT Championship at the special show. Breakker will put the title on the line in a Triple Threat match against JD McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov.
Ilja is one of the only WWE stars that holds a victory over Intercontinental Champion Gunther, formerly known as Walter in NXT UK.
Dragunov defeated Walter at NXT TakeOver 36 to capture the NXT UK Championship. NXT UK has since folded as a brand but WWE will be launching NXT Europe in 2023.
The growth of #WWENXT to include all of Europe will not only bring diversity and opportunity to in-ring competition, but also recruitment and development of athletes from around the world. @WWE wants the best from around the globe!!! https://t.co/QInphcIVe8
Shawn Michaels recently spoke with Connor Casey of Comicbook about a number of topics. The 57-year-old discussed the NXT Championship match at Halloween Havoc this Saturday.
The Heartbreak Kid said Dragunov is an “incredibly special young man” and is looking forward to the Triple Threat this Saturday night.
I don’t think anybody would be surprised to know that we’re thrilled to have Ilja here as we are with so many of our UK stars. But he is obviously an incredibly special young man, a very unique talent, to say the least.
And look, I’m excited because first of all, I’ve watched Ilja and JD go at it before. It’s nothing short of spectacular every time. Then you add Bron in there. I’m anxious to see the intensity between Ilja and Bron. I think that’s going to be a fantastic match.
Bron Breakker captured the NXT Championship from Dolph Ziggler on the episode of WWE RAW following WrestleMania 38. The 24-year-old has held the title for 194 days and it will be interesting to see if Bron leaves Halloween Havoc still the NXT Champion.
WWE legend Shawn Michaels currently works as the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative.
NXT is WWE’s developmental brand and has undergone massive changes as of late. The company moved away from the Black & Gold vision of the program and went for a more modern aesthetic with NXT 2.0.
Following Vince McMahon’s departure and Triple H’s rise in power, the company recently revealed a new logo for NXT that is similar to the old days on the September 13th episode of the show.
Speaking with Connor Casey of Comicbook, Shawn said that fans shouldn’t expect to see the 2010s version of NXT return and that today’s product is a “hybrid” of the two eras.
I certainly don’t want to undersell anything, but I don’t know that it’s a new era where there’s a big change.
Certainly, there was the Black and Gold, there was 2.0 and now we have, I think what I guess is a hybrid.
I mean, we don’t want this NXT to really have to be defined as anything other than your NXT, to be perfectly honest.
I don’t want this to be Hunter’s or Vince’s or even mine for that matter. This is the NXT that belongs to the men and women of NXT that come through our system and to those passionate and loyal fans that watch us some support us, to be perfectly honest.
Shawn added that the company is committed to bringing back fun to the wrestling business and is excited about developing the stars of tomorrow.
This line of work, the WWE and the wrestling business as a whole was always about fun and enjoyment and entertainment, and that’s what it’s going to get back to.
I don’t know if that’s been missing for the last several years, but the one thing that we’re all excited about is that we are looking to kick a— and have a great deal of fun and enjoyment for the years to come.
WWE’s NXT brand got away from what it was meant to do by becoming the third brand, according to the gold brand’s own head Shawn Michaels.
When NXT launched as a developmental program in 2012, the goal was for the show to produce talent for Raw and SmackDown.
After moving to the USA Network in 2019, NXT became a third brand, akin to Raw and SmackDown, until the revamp into NXT 2.0 last year.
Getting Away
With stars like Finn Balor, Keith Lee and the Undisputed Era, WWE NXT as a brand focused more on stars long-established in NXT.
Speaking on the latest episode of After the Bell, Shawn Michaels explained why the show got away from its developmental roots.
“There was a time that people felt like [we got away from developing talent] and maybe we did get away from that. But it wasn’t really us getting away from that. You think about the pandemic and everything else. It was hard to recruit. It’s hard to get younger talent.
“Everything was locked down so we had to create a live television show with all the people we had. Thankfully we had a hell of a crew.”
While NXT 2.0 has since morphed back into WWE NXT, the plan is for the show to continue being a developmental brand for the main roster.
The Next-in-Line Program
Part of the new-developmental era of NXT has been the Next in Line program, which focusses on collegiate athletes with little to no wrestling background.
The NIL program has been received with a mixed response by fans, who believe it makes no sense to focus on people who don’t have experience.
Speaking about the NIL program, Michaels spoke about bringing a new side of the development to WWE.
“You never stop developing in this job. I’m a different form of developmental, so to speak.
Now we’re finding raw, really raw, new talent. I think that really hasn’t been done in NXT until now. We’re talking about people who were in college last year.”
The WWE Hall of Famer added that despite what some believe, WWE will continue to seek talent from the independent scene.
Triple H
Shawn Michaels is the head of WWE NXT, but that wasn’t the case a year and a half ago.
In September 2021, NXT’s original leader Triple H suffered a cardiac event which would ultimately lead to the game’s in-ring retirement.
This, along with the launch of NXT 2.0, left Michaels in a difficult position as the sudden head of the brand.
“It was a comfortable and easy transition when I came here and started doing live Television on USA [Network.] Running everything was a different kind of responsibility. It was abrupt, but at the same time, that’s what I enjoy about the job. As you know, things can change on a dime and you have to learn to adjust to it.”
Michaels began in NXT in 2016 as a coach before becoming a producer in 2018 and now head of the brand.
Shawn Michaels had the chance to work for Vince McMahon as both an in-ring wrestler and someone working in creative in WWE.
That all changed when McMahon resigned from his duties as Chairman and CEO of WWE amid the WWE Board investigating him for alleged sexual misconduct and hush money.
WWE later confirmed that from 2006 through 2022 (including amounts paid and payable in the future totaling $14.6 million), funds were not appropriately recorded as expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
Also, WWE identified two additional payments totaling $5.0 million, unrelated to the alleged misconduct by McMahon that led to the investigation from 2007 and 2009, that were not appropriately recorded as expenses in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
Shawn Michaels on Vince McMahon’s Departure
While speaking on The MMA Hour about NXT, where he oversees creative for the brand, Michaels was asked if he ever envisioned a day that McMahon would not be running WWE:
“No. You can talk about it, but I never envisioned the time when Vince wasn’t there running stuff. All of us who have known him and worked with him for as long as we have, everyone knows, and I mean this lovingly, but he wanted to pass at his desk. That’s who he is. That’s how he’s built. I had every reason to believe that’s exactly what he was going to do. He always made jokes that, ‘If I die at Gorilla position, the show has to go on. Don’t move me. We got to get to seg 10 and 11 and finish the show.” You can talk about it, again, there’s lots of big talk in our line of work, but very rarely you see it get delivered on, but he’s always done what he’s felt was best for business.”
Following Vince’s departure, Triple H took over creative for the main roster while Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named co-CEOs.
Michaels noted that, from top to bottom, a huge uplift in morale can be felt everywhere throughout the company.
“There’s certainly, I would say it’s no secret to anybody that there’s a huge uplift in morale, from top to bottom in the WWE, whether it’s RAW, SmackDown, or NXT, everybody’s very excited for the future,” Shawn Michaels said.
“Look, I’ll say this, the one thing that was always really positive in NXT and again, the positive about all these other former athletes that come in, they were already excited and focused and ready to go.
“Now we’ve just made sure that we’ve topped that off and everybody from top to bottom, roster-wise, is excited about the future. All of us working there are equally as excited because we all know that we’re pulling the rope in the same direction.”
(BT Sport)
Longtime WWE CEO and head of creative Vince McMahon was recently forced to step down from his positions.
After allegations of sexual misconduct, McMahon stepped down as CEO, forcing Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan to take over as co-CEOs.
Soon after, once investigations into the allegations began, McMahon officially retired from WWE, stepping down as head of creative, handing the reigns over to his son-in-law and former WWE Champion Triple H.
Since “The Game” has taken over, the general reviews of the WWE product from fans to those backstage have been generally positive.
Gunther will defend the Intercontinental Championship tonight against Sheamus in a rematch from their epic encounter at WWE Clash at the Castle.
The Celtic Warrior came up short in the match at the Premium Live Event earlier this month, but the crowd in Audience still gave him a standing ovation. It was a match that received rave reviews from fans and critics, and the rematch is going down tonight on the season premier of WWE SmackDown.
Former Intercontinental Champions and WWE legends have taken to Twitter to hype tonight’s match. The legendary Bret Hart recently posed that he was in the crowd for their bout at Clash at the Castle and is excited to see the rematch tonight.
Had the pleasure of watching @WWESheamus and@Gunther_AUT’s Intercontinental Championship match from ringside in Cardiff. Can’t wait for the rematch tonight on #SmackDown.
Had the pleasure of watching @WWESheamus and @Gunther_AUT’s Intercontinental Championship match from ringside in Cardiff. Can’t wait for the rematch tonight on #SmackDown.
Shawn Michaels promoted the match tonight as well. He noted that the title meant so much to him during his career and is pumped to see Sheamus & Gunther lay it all on the line tonight.
The Intercontinental Championship has meant so much to me professionally and personally. I couldn't be more excited to see @WWESheamus and @Gunther_AUT lay it all on the line tonight at #SmackDown!!!
WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H took to Twitter to hype up tonight’s massive title match.
Two of the hardest hitters in this business battling for one of WWE’s most storied championships. I know@Gunther_AUT and @WWESheamus are ready to tear the house down tonight on #SmackDown. #ICTitle
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle also posted on Twitter that the IC Title really helped jumpstart his career. Angel announced that he will be tuning into the title match tonight.
The title that really jumpstarted my WWE career, and so many others. Your Olympic Hero will be tuning in for @WWESheamus vs. @Gunther_AUT tonight #itstrue#ictitle
Sheamus has won a world championship four times, the United States and tag titles three times, the Money in the Bank, the Royal Rumble, and the King of the Ring. The Celtic Warrior has never captured the Intercontinental Championship in his incredible career and time will tell if that changes tonight.
After taking two weeks off from live shows in favor of taping episodes last month, WWE NXT returns to the USA Network and will look different than it has in the past year.
Bryan Alvarez noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Live that he has heard that a new set will debut tonight, which is why the last couple of weeks of shows were taped.
“As I talked about a couple of days ago, there’s gonna be a new set of some sort,” Alvarez said. “But I was told it was not gonna be as dramatic as the switch from NXT 1.0 to NXT 2.0.”
Although Alvarez indicated that the set will debut tonight, it will not be as elaborate as the previous set. The colors will likely match the new NXT logo that has gone away from the bright colors to the black, yellow, and white fans are high on.
We back!!! After a few weeks off, we are live again from the slightly revamped Performance Center for the season premiere of #wwenxt place looks really good, elevated the seats to give more room outside the ring and better views for us in the stands pic.twitter.com/xinzJZandn
Shawn Michaels is very fond of his days in one of the most popular wrestling factions of all time, Degeneration-X.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently spoke with the New York Post about the group’s legacy ahead of their 25th Anniversary reunion at the October 10th edition of Monday Night Raw, which will take place from the Barclay’s Center in New York.
One of DX’s most famous signature taunts was the crotch chop, a move the Heartbreak Kid credits fellow Hall of Famer Sean Waltman for originating.
“The first place I remember seeing it was Sean Waltman, who was then known as 1-2-3 Kid and later X-Pac, doing it over in the UK. Then all of a sudden, we were doing it as a group, to each other, kind of thinking it was funny.”
Everything In DX Felt Natural
Michaels would later discuss how comfortable the group felt while on television together, explaining that a lot of their on-screen chemistry stemmed from their friendships off-screen.
“From a television standpoint, as we started to do DX, it just felt kind of natural. A lot of things that we did on TV as DX were things we were doing as friends behind the scenes long before we ever brought it to TV.”
Despite being a heel faction DX became super over with the WWE Universe. When asked why he thought they were being cheered Michaels states that their amusing antics and occasional truth bombs probably resonated with fans.
“At first, they felt like we were doing it to them — and their favorite superstars — and they booed us. But after awhile they found it amusing because some of the things we said were true and resonated. Nothing seemed to bother us. We always had a witty comment for someone else.”
DX would not have been the group it was without the presence of the Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna. Michaels acknowledges this, adding that not only was Chyna a trailblazer for women’s wrestling, but that her impact probably would not have been the same if she was wrestling today.
“From a performer standpoint she would clearly fit in and be phenomenal. I think what makes her the awe-inspiring, innovative and transforming woman that she was was that she did it earlier than all of them. It would be a bit more commonplace today. She would certainly have an incredible career — but I don’t know that she’d be the trail blazer today that she is if she were currently doing it today.”
Michaels is now one of the main heads of NXT since Triple H took over for the now retired Vince McMahon.
Shawn Michaels wowed fans for decades with his in-ring ability, but was a better heel than a babyface, according to Jim Ross.
Michaels played both roles until 1998, when a back injury would force the multi-time World Champion into retirement.
After four years away and personal development, Michaels would return in 2002, and other than one brief stint in 2005, would spend the rest of his career as a babyface.
Better Heel
Jim Ross worked closely with Shawn Michaels throughout both men’s tenures in WWE, and called some of the Showstopper’s most iconic matches.
Speaking on the most recent episode of his ‘Grilling JR’ podcast, Ross and co-host Conrad Thompson recalled Michaels’ heel work from 1997 and the formation of DX.
“[He’s better as a] Heel. Absolutely. He felt more natural and more organic in his own skin being a heel. It fit him. It did not seem like he was trying to be a bad guy. He was a pr*ck. His character was a pr*ck. He was cocky and undersized in the eyes of some, but his skill set was [incredible.]”
“Shawn was a natural heel. He’s best suited for that role… he enjoyed his booking.”
Jim Ross on Shawn Michaels being a heel in 1997.
“When you’re an athlete like Shawn Michaels and you’re constantly compared to one guy, Ric Flair, you’ve done a pretty good body of work. Shawn was a natural heel. He’s best suited for that role, and I think like any other talent. he enjoyed his booking.
“Him being a babyface, was a little stretch, because people didn’t trust him. He had been so unpredictable and so forth. But as a heel, that fit him perfectly.”
D-Generation X
Part of Michaels’ 1997 heel run came as the leader of D-Generation X, which initially consisted of himself, Triple H, Chyna, and Rick Rude.
Speaking about Rude, who would leave the group for WCW not long after, Ross questioned the defunct promotion’s decision to bring him in.
“When Rick left, walk-out in the middle of the night kind deal, and showed up on Nitro, I thought it was creative booking. I thought it was bold. But I also thought it was a ‘one-take Jake.’
“How much mileage can you get out of a guy who can’t take bumps? How can you have a top heel, manager, bodyguard, whatever, who can’t take bumps? I haven’t figured that out yet. 25 years later and I still don’t get it.”
Rude had previously told the WWF that he was unable to take bumps, citing a back injury.
For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.
Shawn Michaels may have worked with Vince McMahon for decades, but the relationship between the two wasn’t always friendly.
During the mid and late 1990s, Michaels, by his own admission, was battling personal demons, which would be a factor in his four-year retirement from wrestling.
Although Michaels would eventually return to WWE after finding God, the Heart Break Kid’s reputation as difficult to work is still remembered years later.
Traveling
During the New Generation era, the WWF tried to maintain ‘kayfabe’ by keeping heels and baby faces apart at all times, in case fans spotted them outside of an event.
For many wrestlers, that meant keeping away from their closest friends, which Shawn Michaels was not ready to do.
Speaking on the ‘Kliq THIS’ podcast, Kevin Nash recalled Michaels exploding on then WWF head Vince McMahon, who quickly backed down.
“They told Shawn[Michaels] that Scott [Hall] couldn’t ride with us, because they were working the matches together. And Shawn, I mean just zero to one hundred went to ‘Mother f***er! You got me on the road 300 days a year and you’re going to tell me who I can spend my time with?!’
“And Vince just went like [raises hands] ‘Woah. I didn’t realize it was that. Okay. If it’s that much of a deal to you three, jeez. Do what you want to do.'”
When asked why McMahon, traditionally someone who had things done his way, was so quick to back down, Nash said that the quality of the Michaels-Hall feud gave them leverage.
“The match was so good. What are they going to do?”
Kevin Nash on Vince McMahon not punishing Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall.
To the Club
It wasn’t just travel arrangements that McMahon tried to have control over, as Nash also had his share of demands from the then-Chairman of the company.
Speaking about his own experiences with Vince, Nash recalled he and The Undertaker being told to keep out of strip clubs as they were babyfaces, and McMahon believed that a face wouldn’t visit such an establishment.
“Me and ‘Taker got called into the office. Principal McMahon told me and ‘Taker that he didn’t want to see us or hear of us being in any strip clubs. He said it wasn’t a good image for Mark [Calaway] and I because we were both babyfaces at the time.”
Despite the strong warning by McMahon, both men defied the order and had a reunion at a club.
“I look straight across from me in the room, I see this long flicking hair, I see a bandana. I look over and I f**king just see ‘Taker. We’re not gonna sit with each other, we’re just like, ‘Oh, so you didn’t listen either.’ It was just acknowledged, like, ‘F**k that, right, man?’”
Kayfabe
With wrestlers appearing regularly out of character on social media, many have argued that ‘kayfabe’ is dead in the modern day.
Addressing the idea, Nash recalled finding out that wrestling isn’t as legitimate as it is portrayed on TV, and whether kayfabe can still exist.
“I knew this sh*t was a work when I was ten. Don’t have a boom mic when you’re doing the shot. I say ‘oh! Boom mic. I’m watching a movie. Oh, he hit him 45 times in the face, and there’s no blood.’
“You’re selling the disbelief that these two guys are going out there and trying to beat each other’s ass. You can tell when you have the people. When you have a hot angle and you have the people and you work stiff.
“You can say what you want about Bill Goldberg but when he was on his streak… people sat up.”
The former WWF Champion also claimed that Edge Vs. Dominik Mysterio on last week’s Raw was able to “hook me in” with how aggressive Edge was following the latter’s heel turn at Clash at the Castle.
For use of any quotes from this article please give a h/t to SEScoops.
NXT Black and Gold is back. WWE celebrated the one-year anniversary of the NXT 2.0 brand this week and presented a solid show. It kicked off with a cage match and ended with Solo Sikoa winning the North American Championship.
Though this wasn’t the end of the night as the commentators noted that there was one more thing in store for the fans.
This announcement was followed by a voiceover from the new head of the brand Shawn Michaels, who noted how the show is constantly evolving:
“NXT has been and always will be developing superstars of tomorrow. We will always reflect and acknowledge the past. NXT is constantly evolving with a focus on the future. Superstars develop and move on, but our message to our passionate fans will never change – We Are NXT.”
The message was accompanied by a graphic that started with the logo of NXT 2.0 but slowly changed into a Black and Gold design, shedding the 2.0 branding:
With Triple H now the in charge of WWE creative, we can safely assume that this is a hint that the show he built will be returning to its roots.
WWE has not provided a lot of details so it’s hard to say how this transition will happen. One thing is for sure that fans will accept this change with open hands.
AEW star Adam Cole, a former NXT Champion, immediately took notice of the NXT rebrand and posted the following on social media:
Shawn Michaels have received a brand new title in WWE. The Hall of Famer is now recognized as WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative by the promotion officially.
After uneasiness over the future of NXT UK in the last several weeks, the company finally revealed what’s next for the development brand yesterday.
The promotion sent out a press release and confirmed that the UK brand will be expanding its scope and will be relaunching as NXT Europe in 2023.
Another curious thing in the press release was that Shawn Michaels, who had been working without an official title so far was listed as a Vince President now.
HBK retired from in ring action back in 2010 to spend more time with family. He returned to the company in a backstage role at the Performance Center in 2016.
The former world champion initially only helped train recruits at the PC but he started helping with the creative side of things for NXT in 2018.
Shawn Michaels stepped up and became the godfather of NXT when his best friend Triple H had to take time away due to his health issues in September 2021.
Now this new title suggests that Michaels’ responsibilities have increased further, and he might be overseeing the NXT Europe brand as well as any other development brands the promotion may be planning to launch in future.
