Shawn Michaels Claims College Athletes Make “Night & Day Difference” To WWE

Shawn Michaels has claimed that WWE going after college athletes has made a huge improvement to the company.

In recent years, WWE introduced an NIL program as they stepped up their recruitment of college athletes from different sports.

Some fans have criticised the approach, accusing the company of putting athletes with no interest in wrestling over independent wrestlers, some of whom have spent many years practising their craft in the ring.

But for Shawn Michaels, these college athletes are a big improvement for WWE.

Shawn Michaels Is A Big Fan Of College Athletes

Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Michaels explained the difference that this influx of college athletes has made to the company:

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.

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.

While some NIL athletes have not made the cut in WWE, the program does have one standout success story. Former NXT Champion Oba Femi was part of the first NIL intake after previously being a shot putter at the University of Alabama. Femi is believed by many to be on the verge of a call-up to the WWE main roster, and many expect him to reach the very top of the industry.

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