During his appearance on My Mom’s Basement, Shawn Michaels spoke on his coaching style with NXT wrestlers. Here’s what he had to say:
When I was coaching on a more regular basis — I never watched my stuff with people. I was very uncomfortable doing that. When I did it, it would be one time, usually after whatever pay-per-view or Raw or whatever the case may be. I’d have them burn me a DVD, and I’d watch it once and take my notes mentally and that would be it. I wasn’t one of those guys who pored over his stuff a lot because I always thought the business was evolving and growing and moving. I was pressing forward. I did have to get over that when I started coaching guys who grew up with me. When I found I was able to connect with them on a mental and emotional level, both professionally and personally, by letting them understand where I was at in that match.
What connected most with them was where I was at personally and emotionally going into those matches and understand that there were always nerves and expectations and to deal with that and convince them that there was never a thought in their mind that I didn’t have. I wanted them to at least know that there was somebody affirming what they were going through. This business is hard enough just in a physical sense. The mental and emotional stuff can also be difficult, and I wanted to make sure I help them with that as well. I probably got a lot closer to these guys than they expected at first, but we all appreciate it a little more….everything that I did was what it was. I want them to continue to press forward and grow and evolve because that’s what drives this business and drives success.
You can listen HERE.
Credit: My Mom’s Basement. H/T 411Mania.