Shawn Michaels On Vince McMahon’s Role In NXT Changes

WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels has discussed his role in NXT and has disputed reports that Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were running what became NXT 2.0.

Following the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ and given the prolonged absence to brand founder Triple H due to heart surgery, NXT began to look like a very different animal in the second half of 2022.

The black and gold gave way to the rainbow era of WWE’s developmental brand with many stars and behind-the-scenes staff leaving their roles. Reports at the time had suggested then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and his right-hand-man Bruce Prichard were taking charge of the brand but it now seems that might not have been the case.

Speaking to Bleacher Report, Shawn Michaels – one of the people in charge of NXT – has discussed the rumoured backstage changes and says there is no way McMahon or Prichard had time to be so hands-on with the brand:

“When Hunter first left, it became all me, and certainly from a television standpoint, Matt Bloom is the head coach and takes care of everything from a PC training standpoint, but when it came to NXT 2.0 television, that’s something myself and my team took over creatively.”

“I know a lot of people thought Vince and Bruce were doing that. I can promise you, they did not have the time to do NXT television. If it’s good or if it’s bad, that’s on me.”

Shawn Michaels continued by saying everyone was put in a tough spot because of the changes but that in itself was a valuable lesson:

“Again, everyone was put in a real tough position, we all were, but that’s where you learn to do things in WWE. That, to me, is a form of talent development, which is understanding that things can always change around here and you have to adjust to that. The show always goes on.”