WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michael recently appeared on the Ring Wrestling Show to discuss his role for NXT, what his responsibilities are for the brand, how difficult it is for him to promote, and what his booking philosophy is for NXT going forward. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On his NXT responsibilities:
“Usually Hunter’s the one that’s out there in front of the cameras and doing all the talking for NXT. But obviously as you know, his responsibilities have grown, and it also means that clearly mine have grown. The image of NXT still needs to be represented, that falls on me. Clearly I’m thrilled to be able to do that and be out there supporting NXT and trying to get it the recognition that it deserves. But it is a new role for me. I usually am more comfortable behind the scenes and doing my job. But look, this is an exciting new time. I love the men and women in NXT. I love helping them out, love producing the television show. We’re excited about Halloween Havoc. I’m thrilled to have this kind of responsibility.”
Admits that promoting NXT is the hardest part of his job:
“Look, I think is the hardest aspect of the job for me, to be perfectly honest, is getting out there and promoting NXT and making sure that we keep this brand alive and well. It’s intimidating to have to follow in the footsteps of everything Hunter created here, but in certainly up for the challenge, and I’m very thankful that he put together a great team to help me out in the process.”
On his booking philosophy:
“From my standpoint, I look at, we have to combine putting on obviously a two-hour entertaining wrestling show every week, but at the forefront of all of that, to me, I usually try to focus on the development aspect. It is my job and our job collectively at NXT to bring these young men and women growth and experience and help them to encounter things that they may encounter on the main roster. So honestly that’s what I put at the forefront is repetition in those types of things, from s television standpoint, whether it be storylines, promos, just television time, certain spots. I don’t mean spots in a match. I mean spots on the card, so to speak. Opening the show, the middle of the show, a personal storyline, a championship storyline, being on top and understanding the pressures and the dedication and the lack of time off that one may to go through. So there are a number of different aspects that we try to bring to this. But for me, I always try to put development at the forefront. Look, sometimes that makes it challenging to put on the absolute best wrestling show that you can.”
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)