Shawn Michaels Explains How WWE Training Environment Has Changed

Former world champion Shawn Michaels is now retired from the ring and works as WWE's Senior Vice President of Talent Development, essentially meaning he's in charge of NXT. Sitting down with Stephanie McMahon for an episode of "What's Your Story?" Michaels reflected on some of the biggest changes in WWE's training environment from the time he came up to today.

"The part that moved me the most is the idea that it doesn't have to be the over-the-top kind of tough love that we all got," Michaels said. "On one hand, I recognize that there are gonna be people that are going to say that the way we got brought up ... turned us into men and all of that, but all of that has changed. And just to be a little bit more open and understanding of all the different personalities and all the different – I don't know – I guess emotions."

Michaels credited current WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque for instilling this culture change when he was in charge of NXT. Now that Michaels is at the helm, he's been looking to his past for lessons about how to teach the current generation. The former WWE Champion dealt with a lot of insecurity during his early days in the industry, and there weren't very many support systems to deal with that kind of thing except camaraderie with other wrestlers, which is why he gravitated towards a friendship with Levesque, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall.

Further reflecting on WWE's current training regimen, Michaels estimated that it takes most who are new to the industry about three years to become fully acclimated, which is another drastic shift compared to his upbringing. The primary reason why it takes longer to get new recruits acclimated to the business is a lack of reps, as Michaels recalled working a hundred matches or more within his first few months with the company.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "What's Your Story? and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.