Shawn Michaels is up for the challenge of making NXT the best brand it can be.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Shawn Michaels spoke about all of the changes in NXT over the past year. From filling in for Triple H to two rebrands, Michaels spoke about the challenges he faced while running the brand, including not always answering to Triple H as he dealt with health issues.
“Me stepping in from the outside really, you can be here in Orlando, but not have any idea what’s going on sort of from a corporate standpoint in Stamford. That’s where it was really difficult for me. I stepped in and no longer was really answering to Hunter. I was answering to other people, and quite honestly, I wasn’t really sure who that was because it was different people at different times. So it was very challenging. But look, I will say the one thing in this company that you have to make sure you adjust to is change. Things can change overnight, but it was my understanding that Hunter did want to get back to the developmental.
“Now I don’t think we would have done it as drastically. For instance, starting out on the first shows with 75% new people. We wouldn’t have put anybody out there before we were ready. So there were some things that were sort of insisted upon that we couldn’t control, that I certainly couldn’t control, and Hunter, because he wasn’t here, had no say in the matter. Make no mistake about it, it was challenging, and it wasn’t fun having to be that guy to try to balance both sides, putting on a two-hour live wrestling event with people that have never done it before is not easy.”
Michaels went on to say that facing that type of adversity only brought the NXT crew closer together. He stressed that it was rough, but they came out the other side and became better for it.
Michaels also spoke about his goal for NXT, noting that he is focused on developing talent most of all.
“All this is about is feeding the machine. But look, I don’t want this to be Hunter’s NXT, I don’t want this to Vince’s NXT. I don’t even want it to be mine, to be perfectly honest. I feel like I’m filling some pretty big shoes. You can never do the first and be the original. Hunter’s already done that and established that. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a lot of firsts and a lot of originals, so I’ve learned that you don’t come back and try to copy that again. We are, at the forefront, I’m more focused on developmental, about developing the young men and women that we have pass through here and getting them prepared for the main roster.
“In the process, if we are able to build back this brand where we can back into those arenas and start selling them out, that’s a bonus. But I can’t say honestly that that’s the goal right now. To me, I’m focused on the development of these young men and women. But I tell you, the more people we can get that have experience and that we can filter through our system, it’s only gonna help.”
Read More: Shawn Michaels: What We Accomplished With NXT 2.0 Is ‘Nothing Short Of A Miracle’
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