Shawn Michaels Says He “Begged” to Retain Je’Von Evans in NXT

NXT head booker Shawn Michaels recently revealed one wrestler whom he would have loved to keep on the developmental brand forever. NXT lost several talents to the main roster earlier this year. One of them is The Young OG, Je’Von Evans, who signed with Monday Night RAW in January 2026.

During a recent appearance on Ringer Wrestling, Shawn Michaels revealed that he begged to keep Evans for some more time in NXT.

“Certainly, Je’Von obviously was somebody I was begging for. ‘Can we please keep him for another six months? We had every intention… He was one of the last ones where they were like, ‘Oh!’ From an NXT standpoint, we were, in our minds, obviously built around Je’Von Evans over the next year. That was the model, and they were like, ‘We’re taking him, too.’ ‘Oh!’ I pushed back a little. ‘Six months?’ ‘No!’ ‘Three?’ ‘No!’ Alright, fair enough! If that’s the worst news you have to have that they are taking too many of your people, that means you’re doing a pretty good job,” Michaels said.

Check out the video below:

Je’Von Evans will make his WrestleMania debut next weekend. He is set to participate in a Six Pack Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at Night Two.

Please credit Ringer Wrestling and give an H/T to 411Mania for the transcription if you take quotes from the article.