When WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels identifies potential future main event talent, the wrestling world listens. In a recent interview with Brad Gilmore of Reality Wrestling, the NXT Senior Vice President of Talent Development pinpointed which rising stars he believes are destined for the big stage.
Michaels, who oversees WWE’s developmental brand, specifically named NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer as the standout female performer.
“I think it’d have to be Stephanie Vaquer from the women’s side, our NXT women’s champion,” Michaels said. “She has just taken the entire world by storm. I think she’s somebody that already had an international name, but once she got onto NXT programming, the entire world, the entire globe and her popularity has just skyrocketed.”
On the men’s side, Michaels highlighted both NXT Champion Trick Williams and North American Champion Oba Femi as two distinctive talents with main-roster potential.
“I think it’s a toss up on our men’s side,” Michaels explained. “Trick Williams and Oba Femi are two guys with, Trick has unlimited charisma, but Oba also has a mystique and an aura about him. They’re two very different individuals, but they’re both guys that are easily superstars that people see are going to be Raw Smackdown superstars in the very near future.”
Gilmore reinforced this assessment, noting, “Oba Femi has a presence and an authenticity about him where you can really see him main eventing WrestleMania one day.”
These endorsements from one of wrestling’s all-time greats carry significant weight as WWE continues building its next generation of stars. With NXT’s move to The CW network bringing increased visibility, these performers have a platform to develop their characters before potentially joining Raw or SmackDown.
As WWE’s Memorial Day weekend takeover in Tampa approaches, featuring Saturday Night’s Main Event, Battleground, Monday Night Raw, and NXT, fans will have the opportunity to see these future stars in action and judge for themselves if Michaels’ high praise is warranted.