We’ve been here before. Wrestling promoter-type makes big claim to hype his wrestling show. We repeat said claim, knowing it will get people’s attention even while downplaying it’s significance.
But this time there’s enough meat on the bone to give us a few interesting things to talk about, methinks. So let’s give it another go, shall we?
In an interview with Justin Barrasso, now doing his own thing on Substack called Undisputed, Shawn Michaels did some bragging about NXT. The quote making the rounds
in particular is:
“I’d be lying if I didn’t think we have the best two-hour show on television. And the most exciting.”
WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative (which, whatever else it means, means Michaels is in charge of the developmental/third brand) offers a couple reasons why Tuesday nights on The CW are more thrilling than Dynamite, Collision, Impact, SmackDown, and occasional special episodes of reality competitions.
One of them, I think many of us would agree with. I know I do. HBK posits:
“Ethan Page and Chelsea Green, to me, are two of the most enjoyable people that I watch on television. Whether Chelsea’s on a main roster show or she’s on ours, I just get a kick out of her. She’s fantastic and a hard worker. With Ethan Page, it’s the same thing.”
There aren’t many in my circles of rasslin fans who don’t love Chels, so we’re with him so far. But while Green’s had a nice run with her fellow Canadian on NXT of late, she’s not always around (Page is rumored to be a CW-fave, and may always be around for Michaels). What else does Shawn credit for making his show the best?
“The partnership with The CW is huge. They’ve been fantastic. We’ve had collaborations like NOAH, TNA, and AAA, but all our success comes down to the athletes that walk through the doors of the Performance Center every day in Orlando. It’s a testament to all the work that our coaches and our creative team and the entire production team in NXT.”
Most outside WWE aren’t going to have a take on The CW relationship. We’re also not going to knock the work being done behind the scenes. Not sure Michaels and team have figured out how to really integrate all their partnerships — not to mention to branches of the developmental program like WWE ID, and new television franchises like LFG and Evolve — into their weekly wrestling show yet, though. The main complaints I hear about NXT of late are an unimpressive men’s title scene and too much happening with wrestlers people don’t know. Those collaborations are contributing to that second one for a lot of people.
But let us know what you think — about two-hour TV show rankings, the beautiful & talented Mrs. Cardona, NXT’s various alliances, my decision to write this up at all — in the comments below.
