Is Shawn Michaels failing at producing NXT stars that succeed on WWE RAW and SmackDown? Former World Champion's comments explored (Exclusive)
In many people's eyes, Shawn Michaels has done a stellar job since taking over the reigns in NXT. Since taking over as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, Mchaels has overseen the development and training of some of WWE's best and brightest. However, there are some, including a former World Champion, who believe that while NXT stars are talented, they fail to succeed on the main roster.
The former World Champion in question is none other than Vince Russo. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion shared his thoughts on a recent episode of The Coach & Bro Show on Backstage Pass. Speaking with his co-host Jonathan Coachman, Russo broke down why he believes Shawn Michaels has failed to create NXT stars that succeed on Raw or SmackDown.
When posed with the question regarding Shawn Michaels' alleged failure, Vince Russo laid it out plain and simple. He believes that nowadays, every star is good at wrestling and that it's not good enough to be technically gifted. Hardcore wrestling fans are looking for great characters and good storylines, and in Russo's opinion, neither of those is present in the WWE:
"Good wrestlers are a dime a dozen, everybody is a great wrestler today. That means nothing, bro. You know what that means Coach? That means they're all the same. That means nobody sticks out, that means nobody's a star, and that's why bro when all these great wrestler go from NXT to WWE, nobody gets over, bro. Because casual fans bro...the true wrestling fans know this is fake, know this is work, we don't care how good you are at fake fighting bro, we want characters and we want storylines, which don't exist in WWE," said Vince Russo
An interesting take from Russo, but one that Michaels and others in NXT will likely disagree with. But, at the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Shawn Michaels has endorsed CM Punk as his successor in NXT
Whether or not Shawn Michaels makes stars capable of succeeding on the main roster is up for debate. But, something that is not, is the future of NXT. Like it or not, Michaels has done good work with the developmental brand, but even he can only do it for so long. At the age of 59, The Heartbreak Kid can't stay in charge forever.
With that in mind, in a recent interview on The Ringer Wrestling Show, Michaels endorsed CM Punk as his potential successor. He claimed he would support The Best in the World if he chose to lead NXT after him, further stating that he understood Punk's passion, as he felt the same way too.
It would be interesting to see Punk in charge of NXT, especially given how enamored he is with the project. But, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we are firmly in the Shawn Michaels era.