Former WWE champion reveals how Shawn Michaels helped him through his career-threatening injury
Shawn Michaels has dealt with a lot of injury issues throughout his legendary WWE career. Michaels used his experience in recovering from a career-threatening back injury to help Wes Lee, who went through something similar last year.
Lee announced last December that he would need back surgery and would be out for almost a year. He recovered earlier than expected and made his comeback in just five months when he confronted Oba Femi.
Speaking to The Ringer Wrestling Worldwide podcast, the former NXT North American and NXT Tag Team champion opened up about his road to recovery and how Shawn Michaels inspired him not to give up on himself.
"Prove yourself wrong because the biggest doubter that we ever can really have is ourselves. ... Especially hearing it from the man himself, Shawn, like the demons that he had to battle in order to overcome this injury and come back the way that he did and have an entire second career like that is something that is unheard of," Lee said. [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]
Shawn Michaels was the right man to advise Wes Less. HBK missed four years of his career from 1998 to 2002 due to similar issues. He had to take a long hiatus to give his body some time to heal.
Wes Lee opens up about his relationship with Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels has been in charge of NXT for a couple of years now and has formed an amazing relationship with the developmental talent. Michaels is a great source of knowledge due to his legendary career as one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
Wes Lee is still in shock at times when he realizes that HBK personally knows him and he can turn to the WWE Hall of Famer for advice on wrestling and life.
"I can just pull him aside when I know he has the time for work and just ask him questions about life, and that's something that I never thought that I would have been able to do. I'm able to ask him questions about religion, about marriage, about, like, just keeping your mind right for the business. I'm honored that he is willing to divulge what he's able to utilize in order for him to maintain the fire that he has for this business," Lee said. [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]
NXT is not just a developmental brand for WWE, but it's also a legitimate third brand with great storylines and wrestling. It certainly helps that Shawn Michaels is in charge of the product along with other producers such as Steve Corino, Oney Lorcan, Finlay, Johnny Moss, and Terry Taylor.