Tag: Shawn Michaels

New interim WWE NXT general manager named

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A new NXT general manager has been named.

Tuesday’s show opened with Shawn Michaels officially naming Robert Stone the new interim general manager of NXT. Michaels told Stone that for the last seven years, he has done whatever he’s been told, and he knows Stone loves NXT. Michaels said that things could get crazy around here, but he kind of likes it that way. Stone told HBK that he wouldn’t let him down. Ava, the previous general manager, was not mentioned by name nor was her departure explained.

The move comes as Ava (Simone Johnson) announced last week that she would not be renewing her contract with WWE. Shortly after her contract expired, she posted a message on social media critical of the Trump administration and ICE before deactivating her account.

Stone, 42, wrestled in TNA under the name Robbie E before joining NXT in 2019, managing the likes of Chelsea Green, Riddick Moss, and Von Wagner. When Wagner was released from his contract in 2024, Stone became an assistant to Ava alongside Stevie Turner. He also is part of the WWE Evolve commentary team alongside Peter Rosenberg.

Undertaker feels he had better chemistry with Shawn Michaels than Bret Hart

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It’s difficult to choose between the two, but The Undertaker feels like he probably had better in-ring chemistry with Shawn Michaels than Bret Hart.

Undertaker, Michaels, and Hart were three of WWE’s defining stars of the 1990s. On a new episode of “What Do You Wanna Talk About?,” Cody Rhodes asked Undertaker which of the two he liked facing more. Undertaker called it basically a tossup and spoke highly of both. He thinks his very best matches were with Michaels, but Undertaker will always be grateful for how Hart helped him become a better wrestler.

“They were both great. They were both so good in the ring. I probably had the very best chemistry with Shawn,” Undertaker said. “But I tell you what, I’ve said this a few times about Bret, because talking about living this and believing everything, Bret did. And I respect that. When Bret was the champion, he was the champion. And he conducted himself as a champion, from top to bottom. When I started working with Bret, like I was real, real heavy, even in my ring work with the character, right? I was still trying to establish all of that. And there was only so far Bret was going to go with, as he called it, the Frankenstein gimmick, right? There was only so far he was going to go to put me over with that. Obviously, he was a more tenured guy. He was higher up than me, so not a lot I could do about it. And I wanted to have great matches, and I wanted to work with guys like Bret.

“So being able to work against Bret forced me to learn how to work within the gimmick and have not just a gimmick match, but to have really, really good matches. Bret forced me to get out of the comfort zone of the Jason Voorhees, the Michael Myers stuff, and actually put on a wrestling match. So for that, I’ll always be grateful to Bret because he pushed me and made me become better.”

The last match between Undertaker and Hart took place in 1997. Undertaker and Michaels’ rivalry continued past the 1990s and into the 2000s/2010s, including two well-regarded WrestleMania matches.

“Shawn may be the only guy I’ve ever known that could have a five-star match with a broomstick,” Undertaker said. “I mean, he’s just that talented.”

Both Undertaker and Michaels work behind the scenes in WWE now, with Undertaker helping out with Lucha Libre AAA and Michaels leading NXT.

AJ Styles: Opportunity to learn from Shawn Michaels would have been ‘priceless’

Posted on by Ian Carey

AJ Styles discussed never getting the chance to wrestle Shawn Michaels during a recent interview.

WWE previously approached Michaels about potentially wrestling Styles at WrestleMania 33, but Michaels turned the offer down, saying he wished Styles had been with the company 10 years earlier. During a recent interview with Justin Barrasso of The Undisputed, Styles said the opportunity to have learned from Michaels would have been “priceless.”

“The thing that I regret the most about not being able to get in the ring with Shawn Michaels is the opportunity to learn from him,” said Styles. “That would have been priceless.”

“It just wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to work together in some capacity, whether it’s developing talent or just helping the brand get better altogether.”

It was noted in the article that Styles is considering a role with WWE helping to develop talent at the Performance Center following the end of his in-ring career in 2026. Such a role would have him working alongside Michaels at the Performance Center. Styles said that if that were to happen, perhaps he and Michaels would finally get to wrestle each other, albeit behind closed doors.

He continued:

“One day we might be rolling around with no one watching it. That would be enough for me.”

The full interview with Styles is available on Barrasso’s Undisputed Substack.

Report: WWE considering more road dates for NXT TV

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

WWE’s developmental program NXT is based out of Florida, but they look to be spending a lot more time on the road next year. 

According to a report by Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select, NXT is considering increasing their road schedule for TV in 2026. “The emphasis is to get more reps on the road for a lot of their talent on the show,” according to the report. 

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful clarifies that despite the added road dates, the WWE’s Performance Center will still be NXT’s home arena, and there are no plans to abandon the building entirely. 

Our own Bryan Alvarez is reporting that the extended road schedule has been planned for a long time, and in fact is included in NXT’s contract with the CW Network. 

WWE executive Shawn Michaels, who has been in charge of NXT since 2022, talked about the need for house shows a few months ago. 

“We always talk about this: there’s TV, there’s live events, there’s PLEs. They’re all kind of different. And all those performances have to be different,” Michaels said at the time. “And this feel [of the shows is different], and so many things that we say that they haven’t had the opportunity to really experience, because we’re in the Performance Center on a regular basis. And that audience is an audience that is sort of there playing their part on television and doing their role, which they do in a great way more often than not.”

Stubhub currently lists NXT events in Florida, Tennessee, and Washington state over the next few months. However, they are only listing one televised event away from the Performance Center: a February 24 event at Center Stage Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Shawn Michaels says WWE NXT wrestler will have a ‘breakout year’ in 2026

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

WWE legend Shawn Michaels is all praise for NXT wrestler Wren Sinclair.

San Antonio Express-News recently published a feature story on budding Texas native star Wren Sinclair. Still quite fresh in the business, Sinclair has already made a mark on the NXT roster. The feature story addresses Sinclair’s current run and also includes compliments from NXT’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative Shawn Michaels.

The Hall of Famer spoke highly of Sinclair and praised her from a creative standpoint.

“Wren [Sinclair] is one of those people that from a creative standpoint is the joy to get to work with because there isn’t anything that she can’t do,” Michaels noted. “She is somebody who has really understood the entertainment aspect of this job while also doing a wonderful job of mastering the in-ring work.”

Michaels also noted that Sinclair is one of the stars expected to have a breakout year in 2026, “She can do a backstage (segment), and she can be serious one minute and then just incredibly funny in the next. In 2026, I can tell you Wren Sinclair is going to have a breakout year.”

Sinclair made her debut in 2024 and is currently a part of the No Quarter Catch Crew with Charlie Dempsey

NXT Deadline is currently set to take place at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas on December 6th, 2025.

WWE NXT Deadline lineup | Saturday, December 6 | San Antonio, Texas

  • Ricky Saints (c) vs. Oba Femi – NXT Championship
  • Tatum Paxley vs. Izzi Dame
  • Ethan Page (c) vs. Mr. Iguana – NXT North American Championship
  • Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge: Kendal Grey vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Sol Ruca vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice
  • Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge: Myles Borne vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Joe Hendry vs. Dion Lennox vs. Leon Slater

Kevin Nash denies Bret Hart’s claims of a Vince McMahon-Shawn Michaels romance

Posted on by Vincent Verhei

Despite Bret Hart’s claims, there is no truth to the idea that Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels were secret lovers.

That’s according to Kevin Nash, who worked closely with McMahon and Michaels during a year-long reign as World Wrestling Federation champion in the 1990s.

“I spent the better part of three years of my life with Shawn Michaels,” Nash said on his Kliq This podcast. “And I never remember having a double knockout with Vince during any of our travel.”

“There’s just no way that it would be that he never told anybody,” Nash continued. “He couldn’t tell anybody. See, that’s one of those things where you tell a story like that and you say ‘I’m sure.’ But no, you’re not. No, this is all speculation. He saw nothing. He didn’t walk in on, you know, Pat Patterson or anything like that.”

Nash says there’s “no way” that McMahon and Michaels could have kept a romantic relationship secret for nearly 30 years.

Hart made his claims on the Johnny Pro Show while discussing the anniversary of the Montreal Screwjob. “I think Shawn and Vince were sleeping with each other,” he said.

“When I look back, I got caught between two lovers. I got shafted and screwed over and Shawn was so envious and jealous of my position that he finally had to sleep with Vince to get it.”

Nash suggested the timing of Hart’s comments was not coincidental. “I think it’s in poor taste,” he said. “I know they’re talking about the screwjob … somebody, please, get the [censored] over that.”

Daily Update: Naomi, Shawn Michaels, AJ Francis

Posted on by Bryan Rose

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Shawn Michaels: WWE recruiting college athletes has made ‘night and day difference’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Recruiting more college athletes into NXT has significantly improved WWE’s developmental program, Shawn Michaels believes.

The past few years have seen WWE focus more on bringing college athletes into NXT and the Performance Center. In accordance to that, the company has held athlete-specific tryouts and launched its Next In Line program — where athletes can partner with WWE while still in college and create a potential pathway to signing with NXT later.

Michaels, who oversees NXT in his WWE executive role, told the Dallas Morning News that the recruiting strategy has made a “night and day difference” in WWE developmental. He says the college athletes he’s worked with have been able to adapt to pro wrestling quickly.

“When the WWE started recruiting from that incredibly huge pool of athletes, it’s just been, to me, a night and day difference in our developmental program here in Florida,” Michaels said.

“They are already athletes that are 100 percent laser focused on achieving goals. They’re already in phenomenal shape. They’re already disciplined in so many different ways. So they come in kind of built-in, ready to go, and they just are so focused on learning and achieving whatever it is you put in front of them, that as we began to train them in professional wrestling, they just take to it like ducks to water.”

Since its introduction in 2021, former NXT Champion Oba Femi has been the biggest NIL program success. He was a shot putter at the University of Alabama and was signed to the first-ever WWE NIL class.

B&V: Mid-South finale S6:E42 with HBK DEBUT, plus Granny!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

The Bryan & Vinny & Granny & Craig & Shawn Show is back with tons to talk about including our weekly chat with Granny, her wrestling and soap opera report, weekly trivia, and more! Then the boys conclude Mid-South Wrestling with S6:E42. Next week, it’s TWENTY YEARS AGO ON TNA WRESTLING! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, more react to Stephanie Vaquer’s WWE Women’s title win

Posted on by Ian Carey

Stephanie McMahon, Triple H and more are celebrating Stephanie Vaquer’s WWE Women’s World title win.

Vaquer defeated IYO SKY on Saturday at WWE Wrestlepalooza to win her first championship on the main roster, only 14 months after signing with the company. Following her win on the show, Triple H spoke about Vaquer on the post-event show, mentioning her performance on the PLE came after she had been dealing with an illness for weeks.

“In the last few weeks, Stephanie has been very sick. I don’t know the details of what the flu-type thing going on but she was very sick. It was why she missed the TV, it’s why there were some odd build to it.

“She was able to feel well enough and get cleared medically to compete tonight. For her to be able to do that against IYO, who I consider one of the greatest women of all time in this industry. For her to have a win like that tonight to become the women’s world championship is incredible. She has been here for a very short time. As we move forward now, she becomes a dominant force. The landscape of WWE in the women’s division just changed with Stephanie Vaquer becoming women’s champion.”

Stephanie McMahon responded to a social media post by Vaquer shortly after her title win. Vaquer posted, “They call us dreamers, but we’re the ones who don’t sleep” and McMahon responded:

“I believe in you @Steph_Vaquer! All anyone has to do is watch last night’s match with @Iyo_SkyWWE and they will believe too. La Primera es la campeona! Felicitaciones!”

Shawn Michaels also responded to Vaquer’s post after her win on Saturday’s show in Indianapolis. He wrote:

“On behalf of myself & everyone at #WWENXT… congratulations to  @Steph_Vaquer on becoming Women’s World Champion. Couldn’t be prouder of you. Keep on dreaming, La Primera. #Wrestlepalooza”

Shawn Michaels views WWE Crown Jewel 2018 match as ‘a special, separate one-off’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Though he came out of retirement eight years later, Shawn Michaels still views WrestleMania 26 as his actual final match.

Michaels ended his career in grand fashion when he lost to The Undertaker in the main event of WrestleMania 26 in 2010. He stayed away from the ring for several years after that but ended up coming back in 2018, returning in Saudi Arabia at WWE Crown Jewel 2018. He was part of a very poorly received tag match where DX (Michaels & Triple H) faced Undertaker & Kane.

On Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Michaels said the Crown Jewel match doesn’t have an effect on him one way or the other. He views it as a “special, separate one-off” rather than his actual retirement match.

“I don’t know, it was a tag match, it was DX,” Michaels said. “That just felt like a special, separate one-off. HBK and Mr. WrestleMania, the Showstopper, whatever that was ended with ‘Taker at WrestleMania. Because I still came back and refereed the match between Hunter and ‘Taker [at WrestleMania 28]. And again, will always play a role in the WWE.”

Michaels further explained that, in his mind, Crown Jewel 2018 was just him hanging out with his friends.

“A single performance by me, by HBK, by that guy — that’s not who that was,” Michaels said. “That was a dude hanging out with his buddies and having a match. That’s, I don’t know. One was the artist. The other one was a dude, like I said, hanging out with his buddies.”

Michaels, 60, now oversees WWE NXT with the job title of “Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative.” He made an appearance on TV this week to celebrate NXT’s special Homecoming episode at Full Sail University.

Shawn Michaels explains importance of WWE NXT house shows

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Getting out on the road and performing in front of different crowds is an important learning experience for the young prospects of WWE NXT.

NXT recently went outside of Florida for a weekend of house shows in South Carolina and Georgia. Next month, the brand will be in Ohio and Michigan for another slate of live events. Shawn Michaels explained on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet that this is a step WWE is taking to help get the wrestlers in NXT more reps outside of the Performance Center.

“Now we’re back out doing live events in different cities and different towns. This is some of our talent’s first time ever getting out of the state of Florida — with the exception of PLEs — which again, are their own sort of aspect.

“We always talk about this: there’s TV, there’s live events, there’s PLEs. They’re all kind of different. And all those performances have to be different,” Michaels said. “And this feel [of the shows is different], and so many things that we say that they haven’t had the opportunity to really experience, because we’re in the Performance Center on a regular basis. And that audience is an audience that is sort of there playing their part on television and doing their role, which they do in a great way more often than not.”

In his WWE executive position, Michaels is in charge of overseeing NXT. He said the South Carolina and Georgia house shows provided talent with some crowd reactions that threw them off. That can now be used as a tool to help those wrestlers learn and get better at their craft.

“The reception that they get in — I don’t know, Charleston, or, you know, in Augusta, Georgia, and another place, they’re all three different,” Michaels said. “This last time on the road, they all experienced that. And it was something that threw them all off. And they didn’t really understand it because so many of the things that they do all the time didn’t work. So those are aspects that once they experience that, I can now begin to associate with them on a level that we haven’t been able to do it before.”

NXT will be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for its No Mercy PLE on September 27. The next house show loop outside of Florida will be taking place from October 9-11 with stops in Columbus, Detroit, and Cleveland.

Shawn Michaels reveals he is undergoing knee surgery soon

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Shawn Michaels is getting surgery soon.

On the Nightcap podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer mentioned a litany of injuries he’s developed over the course of his career, and revealed that he will be getting double knee replacements soon.

“I’ve had my back fused, I’ve had my shoulder replaced, I have two knees i’m getting replaced probably in a month, and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I knew that going in as you guys did, I knew the price that was going to come with it.”

At the same time, Michaels said that he doesn’t miss the physical aspect of wrestling, as what he does now is just as rewarding to him.

“I don’t. The physical aspect I don’t miss, the travel I don’t miss. I guess I’m able now to still get that same charge when we’re sitting there and I’m telling a story to these talents where I’m trying to convey, this is what we’re looking for out of this match, and we’re going to tell this story, this is going to happen, and at the end, hopefully they come unglued,” he said. “When that happens and it all comes together, it’s that feeling where you watch the joy in that talent’s heart when they’re finally getting it, it’s in a different aspect that I receive kind of that charge that I used to have when I got in the ring.”

Aside from one tag team match in 2018, Michaels has remained retired from professional wrestling since his loss to the Undertaker back at WrestleMania 26 in 2010. He now currently the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative for WWE, overseeing the NXT brand.

Shawn Michaels on running WWE NXT: ‘It’s a role I love’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

At 60 years old, Shawn Michaels is grateful to be in a role where he can give back to the wrestling industry and help out its future stars.

Michaels oversees NXT in his WWE executive role, with his official job title being “Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative.” He’s been working behind the scenes in NXT for almost a decade now but started to take a bigger role running the brand in 2021.

“It’s a role I love,” Michaels told Justin Barrasso of Undisputed in a recently conducted interview. “None of it feels like work for me. And if it helps the men and women here grow personally and professionally, then those are positives.”

Michaels compared working with NXT’s up-and-coming prospects to sharing advice with your children. He’s able to pass down lessons from his Hall of Fame career, along with having an informed perspective from the personal battles he’s fought in his past.

“I’m supposed to be giving back, and I’m thankful that I can do it in a line of work that I know a lot about,” he said. “It’s like sharing experiences and knowledge with your children. We apply that to the young men and women who walk into the WWE Performance Center, and it’s the same thing from a career standpoint. I understand the personal struggle that goes on during this. To not recognize that would be an injustice. I want to make sure we’re covering everything and do my part in trying to help them.”

NXT will celebrate both its past and present next week with a special TV episode taking place from Full Sail University.


Shawn Michaels thinks WWE NXT is ‘the best two-hour wrestling program’ on TV

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Shawn Michaels — who oversees NXT in his WWE executive role — feels like his brand is offering the best two-hour wrestling show on television right now.

In an interview with Undisputed, Michaels credited NXT’s wrestlers for making the show a success, with partnerships also contributing to some fresh faces being featured on the brand.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t think we have the best two-hour show on television,” Michaels said. “And the most exciting.

“The partnership with The CW is huge. They’ve been fantastic. We’ve had collaborations like NOAH, TNA, and AAA, but all our success comes down to the athletes that walk through the doors of the Performance Center every day in Orlando. It’s a testament to all the work that our coaches and our creative team and the entire production team in NXT.”

Other contenders for best two-hour show would include WWE SmackDown, AEW Dynamite and Collision, and TNA Impact.

NXT presented its Heatwave PLE over the weekend, which was headlined by Oba Femi defeating Je’Von Evans to retained the NXT Championship. The fallout from Heatwave and the start of the build to No Mercy will take place on tonight’s NXT episode.

At Heatwave, the Canadian duo of Chelsea Green & Ethan Page teamed up for a mixed tag team victory over Tyra Mae Steele & Tavion Heights. Michaels had strong praise for Green & Page in his Undisputed interview.

“Ethan Page and Chelsea Green, to me, are two of the most enjoyable people that I watch on television,” Michaels said. “Whether Chelsea’s on a main roster show or she’s on ours, I just get a kick out of her. She’s fantastic and a hard worker. With Ethan Page, it’s the same thing.”