Shawn Michaels explains his vision for NXT.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently had an interview with Busted Open Radio to promote the NXT Heatwave special this weekend. Among other things, he was asked about talents that come from other sports and how he teaches them that it’s about the moment and the emotions and not just the moves.
HBK explained that the moments in wrestling have to be earned. He gave the example of his WrestleMania match with Undertaker and mentioned that two talents can do the same match today and people will just say it was boring because they don’t have the same connection with the crowd.
Shawn Michaels then mentioned how he was told to slow down a bunch during his early years too, but he only did so when he had developed equity with the fans:
I’ve said this many times. A lot of people that disagree with me. I always want to sell action down here first. I can’t speak for the rest of the world. I was told to slow down a bunch.
I went faster to get over and then when I felt like I earned the right and I had the equity as a WWE superstar to then begin to slow down and create those moments, I did. And that’s what we try to convince them of here, to teach them here.
A Totally Different Show: Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels said that talents learn about the importance of moments when they have a storyline where they are able to get that response from the crowd.
Though they don’t always get that chance since everything moves faster in NXT. The former World Champion then claimed that he would rather sell action if they’re not able to create moments, because he wants NXT to have its own identity:
I will say, guilty as charged, if you’re not going to do that, I’d rather sell action right now. And I’ll also say, I don’t want NXT to be a SmackDown or a Raw lite. We have those. I want it to be a totally different show. It needs to be a brand that also stands on its own, and it is. It’s totally different.
It’s unlike any other brand out there in the world, if you ask me, because nobody has the model that we have. Nobody builds people up just to lose them. Everybody builds people up to build around those guys. We’re unlike any other beast out there,
NXT Heatwave will be taking place from Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas this Sunday on August 30, 2026.
