Shawn Michaels says the transition to NXT 2.0 would have been easier if Triple H was able to be around in his usual capacity.
Triple H is the mastermind behind the NXT brand. In the middle of his journey as the man in charge of the WWE developmental brand, Triple H was able to convince his friend, Shawn Michaels, to be a small part of the NXT brand which eventually developed into a full-time job for Shawn Michaels who is now the vice president of talent development in WWE.
Starting in September 2021, the NXT brand underwent an overhaul and is now referred to as NXT 2.0. Visually, the brand is completely different from the black and gold, dark, and grungy vibe that the brand was presenting beforehand and there is a new host of talent attempting to find their footing in the WWE Universe.
Speaking with Instinct Culture by Denise Salcedo, Shawn Michaels spoke about his initial thoughts when he learned of the transition to NXT 2.0 and details how it would have been different had Triple H been able to be around in his usual capacity prior to his cardiac event.
"I think the biggest thing was that I didn't know I was gonna be the one having to do everything {laughs}. I was going to hopefully assist Hunter and put into place what he wanted us to put into place. It came a bit quick obviously. For the last 35 years that I've been with the WWE when they make a decision, it's done, it's quick. They are so efficient, so quick and they just don't sit and wait around. I think that was probably the biggest adjustment. I think we had probably three weeks, and we didn't have a whole lot of information. By the time we got the information it was coming down by the last week and we went ahead and applied everything that we could. It's fun, it's a nervous excitement. You don't really know what to expect but you're looking at something where there's no roadmap to doing it so you have to try and figure it out. I still enjoy that kind of stuff, Hunter and I, much like the DX days, went out there not having any idea what we were gonna do, we were just gonna go out there and have fun and enjoy doing it. That's how this kind of started from the get-go. It would have been a lot easier had he been there the entire time to assist that's for sure."
Speaking about Triple H's condition, Shawn Michaels would say he is starting to enjoy this “ well deserved” break as he recovers from his cardiac event and Shawn Michaels also says that there was an adjustment period for Triple H who has been working nonstop for several years.
"Most of it is me bothering him to be perfectly honest. He has worked so much over the last several years and I don't think he understood that it becomes your normal. For him to step away for a little bit, look, that takes getting used to. I went through it obviously, I am one of the rare people that was ready to do it and embrace it. But when it just happens out of the blue and you're not expecting it; for him to go a hundred miles per hour to nothing was an adjustment. But I think he is, especially around this time of year, he's now starting to realize like 'hey this isn't too bad.' I think he's bordering enjoying himself now {laughs} to be perfectly honest it's a well-deserved break for him, for sure."
Triple H was recently spotted touring the site of the new WWE headquarters weeks after his cardiac event. Learn more here.
Thanks to Denise Salcedo for sending the above quotes. You can check out the full interview embedded above.