Shawn Michaels Disputes Reports About Bruce Prichard And Vince McMahon's Influence On WWE NXT
Shawn Michaels has put to rest rumors surrounding who was really running "NXT" towards the end of last year and into this year.
Michaels began working at the Performance Centre back in 2017. He returned to the ring for one last match at Crown Jewel 2018, teaming up with former D-Generation X teammate Triple H to defeat the Brothers of Destruction (Kane and Undertaker). Michaels retired from in-ring action for good soon after and join the "NXT" brand as a writer and producer. He worked his way up to second in command to Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
Michaels initially took over the show after Levesque suffered from a cardiac event in late August of last year. Levesque underwent heart surgery and took several months off to recover. He returned to his duties at the Performance Centre and "NXT" back in June.
Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard were reportedly the ones responsible for producing "NXT" at the time, in addition to handling the big picture aspects such as marketing, promotion, and direction.
Reaction To McMahon/Prichard Reports
"When Hunter first left, it became all me, and certainly from a television standpoint," Michaels said while speaking with Bleacher Report. "Matt Bloom is the head coach and takes care of everything from a PC training standpoint, but when it came to "NXT 2.0" television, that's something myself and my team took over creatively. I know a lot of people thought Vince and Bruce were doing that. I can promise you, they did not have the time to do "NXT" television. If it's good or if it's bad, that's on me."
Michaels said that it's been a huge joy to work with all the talent and run the show, and while it was an adjustment for everyone involved, it's been a fantastic experience.
"Again, everyone was put in a real tough position, we all were, but that's where you learn to do things in WWE. That, to me, is a form of talent development, which is understanding that things can always change around here and you have to adjust to that. The show always goes on."
Michaels added that when he started in the Performance Center as a coach, he never expected to eventually be the second in command, let alone running the show and having the final say over what makes it to TV.
H/t to Bleacher Report for the transcription