Shawn Michaels Articles - Page 3

Though it hasn’t always been played out in public, over the past year and change, there has been a behind-the-scenes struggle for power between Paul “Triple H” Levesque and his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, for creative control of WWE’s on-screen product. From Levesque putting his stamp on SummerSlam 2022 with the debut of Damage CTRL, to […]

When Adam Copeland, aka Edge of WWE, made his debut in AEW at the end of WrestleDream, fans effectively watched in real time as he filled the spot abdicated by CM Punk following his firing after All In. Now sure, technically, Punk and Copeland are kind of like apples and oranges, as the former is […]

When Shawn Michaels took over for his long-time DX partner Paul “Triple H” Levesque as the leader of NXT, he was given the unenviable task of getting more eyes on WWE’s developmental product. On paper, the challenge was trickier than it might have seemed, as, despite having a solid spot on the USA Network, the […]

On a day where Shawn Michaels created plenty of news on his NXT No Mercy media call, talking about recently released stars like Mustafa Ali and Dana Brooke, explaining the absence of Gable Steveson, and even discussing the demographic preferences of WWE’s Tuesday night show, the “Heartbreak Kid” was in the news for another reason: […]

When Gable Steveson made his in-ring debut for NXT at The Great American Bash, it served as a major moment for the man with the book, Shawn Michaels. If Steveson looked legit and the crowd ate up his American Olympic Hero schtick, the multi-time World Champion would have one heck of a piece to build […]

When news broke that Mustafa Ali and Dana Brooke were among the Superstars released by WWE earlier this month, fans the world over wondered how it would affect Shawn Michaels‘ plans for NXT ahead of No Mercy. Sure, having to change plans on the fly is nothing new for Mr. Michaels, as the very nature […]

Some WWE fans are likely still adjusting one week after the company released a plethora of talent. Though, there were executives who did not see all of the departures coming, as was evidenced by recent booking decisions. Shawn Michaels had no idea that Mustafa Ali was being let go until shortly before it actually happened, […]

Kurt Angle looks pretty darn good for 54. Now granted, maybe that’s because he’s more or less had the same look for his entire run in professional wrestling, and in 2023, wrestlers like Sting are continuing to work regularly into their 60s, but even now, four years after his last match, Angle still gets asked […]

When Cody Rhodes came up short in the main event of WrestleMania 39, it served as an inflection point in his professional wrestling career. After spending months hyping up the match, talking to seemingly anyone with a microphone about past, present, and hopefully future, the “American Nightmare” saw his night end with a whimper, not […]

Things have changed a lot for Seth Rollins over the past few years within the WWE Universe and outside of it; he’s turned heel, had a baby, cycled through about a half dozen different monikers, and became WWE’s reigning “Drip King,” at last on the male side of the roster. Stopping by GQ to talk […]

As crazy as it may sound, Dominik Mysterio is on a pretty prolific run in the WWE Universe right now as the NXT North American Champion. Winning the title on NXT television on July 18th, the second-generation WWE Superstar has successfully defended his title twice, once on SmackDown versus Butch and against on RAW versus […]

After trying to establish NXT as its own brand with its own Superstars and its own championship ecosystem under the 2.0 moniker, Shawn Michaels has decided to turn back the clock and take a different approach to developmental, looking back on the days when Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were on top of the black […]

After being drafted onto RAW two years ago, shortly after signing with WWE on an NIL deal, Gable Steveson is finally set to make his WWE debut at NXT’s The Great American Bash, where he will wrestle Baron Corbin in what is shaping up to very fun effort for the fans in Austin, Texas and […]

While NXT is first and foremost a place to develop new professional wrestlers – even if Nick Khan and company have also tasked Shawn Michaels with also getting the ratings up ahead of a future media rights deal – the brand has long served a secondary feature of helping to rehab the careers of talents […]

Though Shawn Michaels hasn’t wrestled a match since all the way back in 2018 when he and fellow DX member Paul “Triple H” Levesque took part in an ill-conceived bout against the Brothers of Destruction at Crown Jewel 2018, fans have been wondering if the 58-year-old “Heart Break Kid” would ever consider dusting off his […]

If there’s one topic that wrestling fans have thoroughly enjoyed debating over the past month or so, it’s whether or not LA Knight is a “ripoff” of Attitude Era legends like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and whether or not that has any effect on his status as WWE’s fastest-rising “Megastar” […]

When Shawn Michaels made his debut for MSW all the way back in 1984, professional wrestling was a very different place. Sure, some things have remained the same to this very day, as Vince McMahon is still more or less in charge of WWE, but the way performers are treated both by promoters and other […]

As Shawn Michaels and WWE attempt to elevate the NXT brand to new heights, mainly with weekly viewers but in general too, the dynamic quarter of Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, and Dominik Mysterio, collectively known as The Judgment Day, have made flying into Orlando immediately after RAW a part of their weekly routine, […]

Rhea Ripley is an absolute star. A triple crown champion who became the youngest person in WWE history to accomplish the feat at WrestleMania 39, Ripley is currently entrenched as the first-ever WWE Women’s World Champion in day 106 of her reign, and while she hasn’t had a relentless schedule, she remains one of the […]

While Shawn Michaels, by his own admission, doesn’t always get every booking decision he wants for NXT, as developmental understandably falls a bit lower on the pecking order than RAW and SmackDown, HBK has been incredibly creative in finding ways to put his young Superstars over with a little help from the experienced stars who […]

With NXT’s The Great American Bash rapidly approaching, Shawn Michaels has been working the phones and working his webcam like crazy to help get more eyes on his top stars like Carmelo Hayes, Ilya Dragunov, Tiffany Stratton, and maybe even Bron Breakker, who doesn’t technically have a match on the card just yet but could […]

Seth Rollins is WWE’s premier fighting champion. Since securing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Rollins has taken on seemingly all challengers who have dropped his name on television, besting Damian Priest in an open challenge, plowing through Bron Breakker in a hard-fought contest back in NXT at […]

What is the greatest match in WrestleMania history? Is it Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III? “Macho Man” Randy Savage versus Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat at WrestleMania III? Hulk Hogan versus The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI? Or maybe something more modern like Shawn Michaels versus Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24 or […]

While Eric Bischoff isn’t what you would call an AEW homer, as he critiques the promotion as much, if not more than he complements it on his various podcasts, the former ECW leader and WWE Hall of Famer will point out the good stuff when he sees it, as he at least attempts to calls […]

WWE is arguably the best sports entertainment wrestling firm. Although storylines are scripted, that doesn’t make pulling off stunts easier in the ring. In fact, throughout history, we’ve seen various wrestlers suffer serious injuries that often ended their careers. But for some, it even changed their lives forever. For this piece, let’s take a look […]

With NXT Battleground rapidly approaching, the third show of WWE’s huge four-day Memorial Day Weekend extravaganza, Shawn Michaels decided to take a page out of Tony Khan’s book – one of many things he would take from TK’s book this weekend – and hold a media call with reporters to discuss the forthcoming show and […]

Though he wasn’t elevated to the main roster during the WWE Draft, it’s hard to argue that Carmelo Hayes isn’t going to be hearing his name called by Samantha Irvin and/or Mike Rome in the not-too-distant future. He’s the only performer to ever hold the North American Championship, Cruiserweight Championship, and NXT World Championship during […]

After watching 14 main roster acts hear their names called during the first day of the 2023 WWE draft, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn sat back in awe with the rest of their NXT class as “The Heartbreak Kid” himself, Shawn Michaels, announced that with their final pick on Day 1, SmackDown was taking the […]

With the WWE Draft rapidly approaching, stars from RAW, SmackDown, and even NXT have begun to look at the landscape of the promotion they cash checks from in order to predict where they will land moving forward. With Paul “Triple H” Levesque already announcing that Roman Reigns will have his titles merged on whatever brand […]

On March 29th, 1997, the WWE Universe changed forever when “Stone Cold’ Steve Austin finally accomplished his seeming birthright and defeated “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels for the then-WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania 14. While the “Rattlesnake” had won championships before in the WWF and elsewhere, including a run alongside HBK with the World […]

Though their run in NXT appears to have come to an end, it’s hard to look back at Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston’s run in developmental as anything other than a success. The duo earned massive pops, secured the final title needed to become triple crown tag team champions in WWE, and helped to put […]

After attempting to do yet another open challenge for his North American Championship, a match blown up by persistent fighting among the members of the NXT Universe, Wes Lee had to be pulled aside by Shawn Michaels to request he, you know, offer up championship matches like a normal person. “Wes, Wes, look, you know […]

Though he technically has a WWE contract and is a member of the RAW roster alongside his wife Candice LeRae and Kayfabe son-in-law Dexter Lumis, Johnny Gargano will always be known as Mr. NXT for his incredible in-ring efforts in the developmental promotion. According to Cagematch, Gargano has wrestled 260 matches and counting, which feels […]

At end of Roadblock, the first NXT show of the month of March, fans watched on in horror as Roxanne Perez, the current NXT Women’s World Champion, collapsed onto the mat after successfully retaining her title in a match against Meiko Satomura and had to be taken away from the performance center in an ambulance. […]

Ever since Meiko Satomura was announced as the next challenger for Roxanne Perez, Shawn Michaels, and company have drilled it into fans’ heads that the match was going to be a war of attrition. The show ran segments where Satomura held grueling workout sessions, with everyone invited by Perez tapping out before the show came […]

After weeks of anticipation, Shawn Michaels and Grayson Waller were finally afforded a chance to sit across from each other on a very special edition of The Grayson Waller Effect at NXT Stand and Deliver, and needless to say, the duo did not disappoint. Coming out to the ring to an incredible chorus of cheers […]

After finally getting a response to his call-out of Shawn Michaels on television, on Twitter, and on Instagram Live, Grayson Waller took to social media once more to thank HBK for accepting his invitation to be a guest on The Grayson Waller Effect. “G’day Mr. Michaels, I just wanted to say a huge thanks for […]

Grayson Waller isn’t a Shawn Michaels guy, and unfortunately for HBK, the feeling is very much mutual, as the “Down Under Wonder” has put it upon himself to wage a personal war against NXT‘s head honcho in the leadup-to the biggest show of the year, Stand and Deliver. After declaring before the show that he […]

After hijacking the ending of last week’s edition of NXT with a surreal channel-changing spot, Shawn Michaels has officially let Grayson Waller know that he isn’t allowed on television for the final NXT of the month of February. Now granted, will Waller actually stay off of television, or does he have some sort of trick […]