Shawn Michaels Defends Controversial NXT Booking

Shawn Michaels has explained why WWE is stacking NXT Stand & Deliver with multi-person matches, something that some fans don’t like at all.

NXT Stand & Deliver will have an early start on April 19 as the stars of the brand get their own chance to shine over WrestleMania weekend.

The card for NXT’s own showpiece event has received attention as only one match on the card is scheduled to be a regular singles match. That match will see Ricky Saints defend his NXT North American Championship against the winner of a fatal four way match set to take place on the April 15 edition of NXT.

And Shawn Michaels thinks when it comes to showcasing talent, sometimes more is more.

Shawn Michaels Happy To Give Talent A Chance

Speaking on The Bobby Bones Show podcast, Shawn Michaels explained why so many multi-person matches are on the card at Stand & Deliver and it’s a case of giving talent the chance to shine:

We have a lot of multi-person matches at Stand and Deliver. And look, a lot of people don’t like that. But these young men and women work throughout the entire year. Not all of them get an opportunity to be on PLEs, to be on those road shows, to be on those televisions that are on the road that we’ve been doing so much more of lately.

We want to give as many people as we can an opportunity to perform on the biggest weekend. That’s the reason people get into this line of work to have that experience, to have those moments. And we’re hoping to have a lot of standouts at Stand and Deliver…I think it’s something that we definitely keep an eye on and any time there’s a performance or somebody that goes above and beyond whether it’s in a match or throughout the entire year, we try to take care of them as much as possible.

The confirmed card for NXT Stand & Deliver on April 19 so far is:

• Oba Femi (c) vs. Trick Williams vs. Je’Von Evans – NXT Championship
• Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Giulia vs. Jaida Parker – NXT Women’s Championship
• Nathan Frazer & Axiom (c) vs. Gauntlet Match Winners – NXT Tag Team Championship
• Ricky Saints (c) vs. Fatal Four Way Match Winner – NXT North American Championship
• Six Woman Ladder Match for the vacant NXT Women’s North American Championship