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Shawn Michaels on NXT Deadline, Iron Survivor Concept Potentially Going to Main Roster, New Day, More

December 11, 2022 | Posted by Jack Gregory
Shawn Michaels WWE

After this evening’s WWE NXT Deadline, Shawn Michaels participated in a media call to answer some questions and offer his thoughts. You can find some highlights from the call recap below (via PWInsider):

*Michaels stated he was extremely proud of the show tonight. He credited the younger and less-experienced wrestlers for their performances in the Iron Survivor matches and they proved more than equal to the task. Michaels also commented that the participants handled the risk and complexity of those bouts well, and their work motivates him to continue to challenge them.

*Shawn was also pleased by the show’s pacing and thought the creative team did an excellent job.

*New Day apparently experienced “a huge twist and a big surprise” by taking the NXT Tag Titles.

*The Janurary 10 New Year’s Evil event will see the Iron Survivor Challenge winners challenging for the NXT titles.

*Michaels was very pleased with the Iron Survivor match execution. He had one talent tell him it was one of the coolest concepts they had ever been part of but please don’t put him into one again. He referenced the intense mental load taken on by talent from a development perspective, and that new match formats involve a variety of factors to keep in mind for performers. WWE sees these matches as a developmental tool to challege the roster. They plan to gauge the results in the aftermath and further evaluate, as they didn’t entirely know how it would go over. Initial analysis from Michaels is that the format went very well and would likely be up for use again in the future.

*Michaels stated that if Triple H wants to take the Iron Survivor concept to the main roster, he can absolutely use it.

*He followed up by stating that the concept arose from Wargames going to Survivor Series and their felt need for a new and interesting concept. Additionally, in the wake of Halloween Havoc, they wanted something with less emphasis on stipulations and more heavily focused on technical aspects.

*There’s a possibility for NXT Tag Titles to be represented on the main roster with New Day going to SmackDown and a number of other elements in the works and waiting to be finalized. Michaels would like to incorporate New Day as part of the Vengeance Day event if possible.

*Michaels stated he doesn’t intend to let Apollo Crews go but doesn’t have sway over decisions for the main roster.

*He said the story execution in the Iron Survivor Challenges was the aspect he was most proud of.

*On if there was anyone from main roster he’s been unable to utilize despite trying, Michaels said he doesn’t believe so. He is trying to maintain a level of conservatism in his requests. He tries not to over-leverage his relationship with Triple H.

*They were trying to mix things up and display Bron Breakker in an alternate way via the vignettes with Apollo Crews. Multiple members of the roster have bonded over Bron’s fishing excursions, so they took advantage of the chance to use a new outside environment. Michaels gave a lot of credit to NXT Creative Lead Johnny Russo.

*Michaels said the referee in the Isla Dawn-Alba Fyre match is fine and laughed about maybe getting his stomach pumped. He referenced it as “a match built on story and obviously, mystique.” He was pleased by the thought that NXT “had a little something for everyone tonight.”

*Michaels stated he was very pleased that Booker T was present tonight. He knows that Roxanne’s performance was a point of pride for both Booker and himself, and that she did a fantastic job.

*When asked about Bron Breakker getting called up, Michaels said he hopes they can hang onto him for a little while longer to help him develop. He would like to see Breakker get a bit more perfected before sending him up to the main roster.

*Michaels concluded by reiterating that Vengeance Day goes on sale this Friday, December 16 and thanked Denise Salcedo for doing the Kickoff Show.