Cody Rhodes: Shawn Michaels Took NXT, Which Lost Its Cool, And Made It Cool Again

Cody Rhodes discusses Shawn Michaels' NXT.

Since September of 2022, Michaels has been Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative within WWE, putting him in charge of the NXT brand. The brand has gone through significant changes since then, with many fans returning to the show as stars like Ilja Dragunov, Carmelo Hayes and more have shined.

WWE Smackdown Viewership Numbers Since 2019

One man all too familiar with NXT is Cody Rhodes, who made an appearance on the show on October 10th of last year to play the role of general manager for the night. While speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, Rhodes gave Michaels credit for 'making NXT cool again.'

"Maybe one of the hardest things to do in all of sports and entertainment is to get a show that maybe lost its cool, and get it to be cool again. Shawn Michaels has done that, and he’s done it also while developing all these relationships with these young kids who are going to have Shawn Michaels as the first booker they dealt with, somebody who helped them with promos, somebody who helped them in their matches. It’s almost laughable if you say it because every one of those kids should come out being the best wrestler of all time, the best superstar of all time just because it’s Shawn Michaels. I think history is going to be very kind to Shawn, not just as one of the greatest to ever do it, a hall of famer and all those things, but he took a show that, respectfully, had kind of lost some of its shine and he has absolutely brought it back to where it’s doing great numbers, we’re seeing a little crossover. It was a very fun experience for me to be in his house on that night. It was very special."

Elsewhere in the same interview, Cody would reveal he considered a UFC fight two years ago. You can read more about that here.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.

Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.