Shawn Michaels talks about Bron Breakker.
Shawn Michaels was in the WWE when The Steiner Brothers had their brief stint with the promotion. In fact, it was Rick Steiner that made the call to Kevin Nash letting him know that Shawn Michaels needed a bodyguard.
Now, Shawn Michaels is guiding the career of Rick Steiner’s son Bron Breakker, an NXT Superstar who came on the scene as part of the new NXT 2.0
Speaking in an interview with Denise Salcedo, Shawn Michaels explained who stands out to him in the new NXT and why he likes the second-generation Steiner.
"Bron, Tony, all the WarGames guys, Carmelo and Grayson, the guys that we threw into the deep end right away and have performed so well. Of course, it's a huge testament to our 1point0ers, they have been faithful, they have been patient, they have been understanding but at the same time those young talents have gone out there and done an amazing job. Gigi and Jacy, again being thrust into a very prominent role right away, when they came in they had some experience but I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them, it was just a matter of being able to find the right person and then all of a sudden Mandy became available... Bron and Tony have done phenomenal. The Creed Brothers, those boys they are bad, they are all bad, they are legit just bad dudes but to have them come to the back and just be so excited, hugging you and just being so jazzed about what they are doing out there at such an early time it's infectious and so we're having more and more of those people coming along. When it's that fun for them, it's fun for us as well. Even if it doesn't go perfectly they are doing such an amazing job. Tony D' Angelo has probably had 6 matches, live on television, everything else has been reps in the warehouse that's staggering. To be in a main event, to have to understand commercial breaks, the end of the show and going off, that is a lot to put on young men and women. They are doing it because they rise to the challenge, they like that pressure situation because again that's why they got into sports for."
Speaking specifically about Breakker, Shawn Michaels would call him a wonderful combination of his father and uncle
"He's a wonderful combination of his dad and his uncle, but there is a purity there, he's still an innocent, excited, enthusiastic young man and that energy again is infectious. There is believability, he's not playing a part, he's being who he is. I have been crushed by that young man coming back and hugging me in the back because he is really excited and just enthused about doing this. {laughs} It's just off the charts, but again this just comes from family. I am just speculating, but I think they've helped him to understand that if you're smart this could be an unbelievable life, have a real future for yourself and the family that you might want to have, all of those things and he understands that it's all right here before him. At the same time, while he's being fun and excited and enjoying what he's doing, I think he understands that at the same time he is a professional, he's an athlete that wants to be good at the job he chose to do. He really does put in the time to not just rest on his laurels, I mean let's face it I think at this point he can easily coast or not try as hard but instead, he takes the responsibility of 'I appreciate this role you guys are putting me in, I wanna make the most of it and I want more.' He tries to lead in the locker room as well, and I think that is a fantastic thing and that comes from guys like Pete Dunne, Tommaso Ciampa, telling him about that as he's going on this journey."
As for the new generation of stars, he would say that they have a better chance of succeeding because they only get better by being in the ring with people that are better than them.
"You can only get better being in the ring with people that are better than you, so as good as the black and gold brand was there was also right now, out there in the world right now, it's young on young. You're not in the ring with people so much better than you, that's one of the things we are able to do here in NXT 2.0 which again is the same way I started and where Hunter learned, Taker and Steve-- we were all in the ring with people who were better than us and could lift us up. We're doing it in real-time, we're doing it on live TV, you really are seeing right there first hand the development of young men and women and in this case, our women develop; you're seeing the stars of tomorrow with the stars of today. That is something that hasn't been consistent in the wrestling business for a long time because there were so many young talents just working with each other out in the indie scene and I don't mean that to hurt or in any way discredit the indie scene but it was really difficult when you don't have a veteran in there that knows what they are doing."
Fightful has live coverage of WWE NXT 2.0 as it airs on the USA Network, beginning every Tuesday at 8 p.m. eastern time.
