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 performers has changed for the better, with an improved base level of respect pretty much across the board.

Discussing the changes that have come through the industry from his debut to his time running WWE's developmental brand, HBK noted to K&C Masterpiece that he thinks WWE has built a strong culture designed to make new performers succeed.

“Every now and then, when they complain about much of anything, we give them a little come to Jesus chat. (laughs) I’m pretty good about not being the bitter old-timer. I screwed up a bunch and try to show them the error of particular ways. It’s a different business. Some of it is for the better. It’s a much healthier atmosphere than it was when I started,” Shawn Michaels said.

“There are some people who argue that it makes them a little softer. I can’t disagree with that in some respects, but at the same time, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be better and can’t be shaped up. We have a great culture here that Hunter [Triple H] put in place a decade ago. It’s something we continue to build on.

“Every now and then, we need to remind them of just how great it is to do this line of work, how good it is they have to do it, and obviously getting the opportunity to jump outside the state of Florida and come to the state of Texas is going to be a blast for everybody.”

As a befit of WWE's developmental system, which has been going strong for well over a decade in this current iteration, HBK doesn't have to look too far for his never generation of NXT and even WWE stars, as he feels as though he has about a half dozen performers who are going to be very big stars on the main roster in the not-too-distant future.

“Now this is about the generation of a Bron Breakker, Julius and Brutus Creed, Tiffany Stratton. We have a number of young men and women that are coming through NXT that are going to be huge, huge superstars on the main roster,” Michaels told WrestleBinge via TJR.

“I don’t think anybody is gonna be surprised if they see Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes headlining a WrestleMania someday in the very near future.”

With the Creed Brothers having seemingly already exited developmental after dropping a Loser Leaves NXT match to Schism, it would appear the cream of Mr. Michaels' crop will be rising to the top before fans can say, “and starting this moment, from now… from this moment on… this'll be the moment… starting now, of the genesis of McGillicutty.”

Seth Rollins credits Shawn Michaels for inspiring if WWE career.

Though he and Shawn Michaels only recently linked up in developmental, as their NXT runs didn't overlap until Goldrush, Seth Rollins has nothing but nice words to say about the “Showstopper,” going so far as to suggest on Out of Character with Ryan Satin that “Mr. WrestleMania” is a big reason why he went into professional wrestling in the first place.

“He’s really the reason I felt I could do what I’m doing. I was never going to be Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, or André The Giant, the people I grew up watching were all giants. Shawn and Bret were the first two people that I was like, ‘Oh, I think I can do that. Maybe if I’m lucky enough to get to 6 feet tall, I might be able to do that.'” Rollins said via Ringside News.

“I don’t have to be a 300-pound, 6 feet 7 giant or whatever. To be able to share that experience with Shawn, and to be able to get any amount of respect out of him — for what I’m able to do, as a character and a performer — means the world to me. I am really at a loss of words to describe what that [embrace with Shawn] meant to me. It was very special, I was extremely humbled that I had any amount of respect from The Heartbreak Kid.”

While the moniker “the next Shawn Michaels” has become almost a meme at this point, with seemingly every charismatic cruiserweight getting the label at one point or another, the “Visionary” is arguably the most worthy heir to HBK that WWE has produced over the last decade, with the duo destined to sit together forever in the Hall of Fame. For both performers to get to work together now, even at this stage of the game, is just gravy.