Shawn Michaels Gave Rising WWE Star Valuable Advice
A WWE star who just got called up to the main roster has shared the sage advice given to him by Shawn Michaels.
To many pro wrestling fans, Shawn Michaels is a two-time WWE Hall of Famer who is regarded by many people to be one of the best in-ring performers and one of the greatest WWE superstars in the history of the company.
In addition to that, Shawn Michaels is also the Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative for all of WWE. In addition to that, a recent memo revealed that WWE’s Talent Development and Recruiting will report to Michaels after a shakeup in the company’s talent relations department.
What that means is not only does Micahels run the WWE NXT brand as he has done for the past three years, but he also has a major say in who gets hired by the company.
One man who Michaels worked closely with over the last three years is Carmelo Hayes, who is a former NXT Champion, two-time NXT North American Champion, and arguably the biggest star on the brand (along with Bron Breakker) over the last three years.
Hayes was recently drafted to the WWE Smackdown brand. During an appearance on The Ringer Wrestling Show, Hayes revealed some wise words that Michaels shared with him.
“He told me, straight up, ‘You can never take a day off. A lot of these guys can take a day off and they’ll be accepted, but you can never take a day off or phone it in.’ It sucks in a way, but at the same time, I’m open to the challenge because the bar, for some reason, is raised higher because of my size. People are expecting way more.”
“I can’t make mistakes. Not on top of my size, but being perceived as someone who is being pushed to the forefront. I feel a lot of criticism from people off everything I do.”
Carmelo Hayes Considers Himself a “Shawn Michaels Guy”
As the discussion continued, Hayes made it clear that he’s a “Shawn Michaels Guy” meaning he’s a favorite of Michaels. It’s something that wrestlers said in the past about being a “Paul Heyman Guy” about their closeness to WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman. Hayes went on to talk about more of the advice given to him by Michaels.
“I’ve had the microscope on me for a long time. I’m kind of used to it now, but the bar is very high. One, when you’re a Shawn Michaels guy. Two, when you’re a first round draft pick. Three, being undersized. Four, being of color. There are a lot of things that come into play with that pressure.”
“I’m open to that challenge and looking to prove people wrong. As far as Shawn Michaels goes, he gives me that advice all the time: ‘You have to be better than the rest at everything. You can’t lack. What you lack in size, you have to make up for in every other category.'”
Things are going well for Carmelo Hayes on the WWE main roster because on Smackdown in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Hayes moved on in the King of the Ring tournament thanks to a victory over Baron Corbin.