Shawn Michaels Names Talent Who Developed Most In WWE NXT 2.0

A handful of "NXT 2.0" wrestlers have been showing quite the improvement over the last year, according to WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, who oversees "NXT" as the WWE's Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative.

"I think Bron [Breakker], obviously, it is in his blood," Michaels said, when asked who has developed the most over the last year in a new interview with the San Antonio Express-News.

"Some think he has cheated," Michaels added. "He gets a free pass, but you take someone like Tony D'Angelo or the Creed Brothers, who have done tremendous work, and I will say this, I am a little biased, but Tiffany Stratton is someone who you see visibly get better each time she is out there."

Michaels goes on to mention the WWE's efforts in recent years to recruit more college athletes to try out for the company and notes their work ethic is already instilled from competing in the NCAA.

"I think that is what is interesting and fascinating with the young college athletes that come in here," Michaels said. "All they know is to grind and work to get better. You don't have to encourage them to be goal oriented. That is already in them."

Michaels also noted that because "75 percent" of the NXT roster this past year had been recent college graduates who never wrestled before, their training proved to be a challenge. But those performers, he said, are "starting to see the hard work paying off," which makes him "very excited for what the future holds for NXT and the WWE as a whole."

Breakker is the current "NXT Champion," having won the title in April, and the Creed Brothers recently lost the "NXT" Tag Team Championship. D'Angelo and Straton, meanwhile, have been prominently featured on "NXT" programming.