NXT shocked the wrestling world this past week by having TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace appear to challenge Roxanne Perez.
Speaking to Adrian Hernandez recently, NXT’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels opened up about the partnership, revealing that things are still being “worked out” internally.
“Right now, a lot of things are still being worked out internally. Obviously, I try to be honest with folks all the time, there are people above me that I leave to making those kinds of decisions,” said Michaels. “What I enjoy doing is what we did last night, which is having the opportunity to bring real surprises and real ‘oh my God’ moments back to the WWE, back to wrestling, back to NXT. That’s what we had last night.”
Michaels joked that he was “owed one” after 2024 Royal Rumble
Michaels joked that he told Triple H that he was “owed one” after Grace appeared in the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble, and is excited to see what Grace has in store this coming on June 9 at NXT’s Battleground.
“I have been very public about being a fan of Jordynne Grace. I expressed to [Triple H] privately that I was very jealous that he had her for the [2024 Women’s Royal Rumble],” Michaels said. “He owed me one, he owed me a big one. We’re thrilled to have her for Battleground and and we’re thrilled to have her next week. This is going to be a huge, epic event. One, for NXT to be the first brand to be out there in the [UFC Apex Arena] is just really, really big for us. And we are so honored to get to be the brand to launch that. And then, to one up ourselves, which we always try to do, having TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace contend for the NXT Women’s Championship, fighting Roxanne Perez, is going to be really big. Crowning a new North American Women’s Champion in a Ladder Match…a big, big night.”
Michaels is looking forward to showing off even more next week
Elsewhere in the discussion, Michaels also brought up Ethan Page, who shocked the crowd by appearing at the end of the latest episode of NXT. According to Michaels, there’s still things he doesn’t even know about the situation, but is excited to show off more next week.
“We’re talking about big stuff, and of course ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page, which is…look, a lot of questions still that I’ve got to get answered on that one, because that was kind of a last-minute thing as well,” said Michaels. “But look, I love it when it goes off the rails like that. Because that’s what makes this business so great. And it really is, it’s an exciting time, it’s a good time to be a wrestling fan, when even those of us who are supposed to know what’s going on, even when you can have some crazy stuff going on with us, I think is fantastic. It’s been a joy to do, and we’re really looking forward to bringing you more big information and announcements next week, and into the future.”
