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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 his main event picture around moving forward, even if that run would likely be cut short because Paul “Triple H” Levesque would likely be breaking down HBK's door to get him on RAW or SmackDown.
And if it didn't work? Well, how couldn't it work? Would the fans in Texas really boo Steveson out of the building in a match against none other than Baron Corbin?
… yeah, that's exactly what happened, and Steveson hasn't been seen since.
Asked about Steveson's future in NXT on the No Mercy media call, Michaels let it be known that he still has plans for the Olympian; he just has to wait for their schedules to align.
“We certainly have every intention of using Gable. For me, honestly, Gable obviously has a number of outside commitments, and it's just me trying to figure out what's the best way that I could work with that, with him. I obviously don't want to get in the way of any of his personal goals,” Shawn Michaels said via Fightful. “That's obviously what we're doing now, just trying to find out… we've had him on live events, which have been fantastic down here in South Florida and Central Florida. Just making sure that I know his schedule and get as best organized as we can and then sit down with him and figure out how we want to map things out going into the future. Everything has been fantastic, he's just sometimes a pretty busy young man, and I want to do everything I can to be conscious of that and work with him the best way possible going forward.”
Would Steveson have been absent from NXT television had he gone over like gangbusters at the Bash? Maybe yes, maybe no, but after a brutal showing that left more than a few fans wondering if he has any future in the sport, period, it's safe to say the next time Steveson gets into a professional wrestling ring, it will require a well-thought-out plan on how to make it work, with a heel turn likely in the cards to embrace the hate.
Shawn Michaels comments on NXT‘s ratings goals.
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Elsewhere in his No Mercy media call, Shawn Michaels discussed NXT's recent push for bigger ratings numbers, which, as it turns out, is a concerted effort from WWE to push the show to new heights.
While Mr. Michaels admits he isn't the biggest numbers guy, the goal from Vince McMahon, Nick Khan, and company has always been to bring up not just the total number of fans who watch the Tuesday night show but specifically the younger fans between the age of 18-34, who largely are the same age as the performers who appear on NXT weekly. If WWE can capture these fans, WWE believes, they will be set up very well for the future.
“I think at the beginning, you look at those ratings every week. I'll say this, I'm not a numbers guy by any stretch, but I've learned more about numbers. Two times I was focused on ratings, the one time you're the champion holding the title for this company, and then when you're the guy running the show that has to get those ratings. So at the beginning, I did. I focused on them quite a bit. Now, I understand the long game, I understand the goal,” Shawn Michaels said via WrestleTalk.
“Obviously, we're always thrilled when they go up. That's the thing, right now we have been trending up and trending up in those demographics that everybody speaks of, significantly. We're talking 26 percent in the 18-49 and probably 61 percent in the 18-34.
“When I first had to step in for Hunter and then eventually took over here in NXT, the conversation I had with Vince is him wanting me to focus on that 18-34. I will say this despite other stories that have been out there, it was never being compared to anybody else. It was just him wanting us to focus on the 18-34 because he wanted us to have a younger demographic. That's the one that has grown significantly in these last two years, so we're very proud of that.”
You know, on paper, WWE has a pretty good idea, as getting younger fans to watch NXT will make them fans of the younger Superstar whom they can “grow with” into the future. While finding the next “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson remains the goal, getting fans to invest in those performers before they become household names will help to ease that mission.
